For the Calgary Stampeders, it’s all about rebounding. Bouncing back. Forgetting about last Saturday night. Their second straight loss last Saturday had so much wrong with it…and yet, the silver lining in all of it, is that just 5 days later, they’re back in it against the very same team. Not a whole lot of time to really dwell on things, however, just enough time for the memory to stay fresh and act as a motivating factor for the return match up tonight at Mosaic in Regina.

You break it down, and to me, there are 3 keys for a Stampeders victory tonight. The first is very simple…it’s allllllll about the intangibles. This team has GOT to stay mentally sharp! Dumb penalties, ill advisded mistakes, brain farts as it were, cannot happen tonight like they did far too often 5 nights ago. Penalties are going to happen…and they can be looked past. But holding calls, unneccesary roughness after a play, piling on and illegal block penalties have got to be eliminated. They are momentum killers, and they hurt the team far more than just yardage…the same way dropped passes do. That’s where the bounce back comes into play. I really believe we’ll see a strong game from Jermaine Copeland, who is out to prove Saturday’s nights case of the droppsies was an abbiration. It’s all about staying sharp tonight, that’s the biggest one for me.

On top of that, the Stamps have got to make sure they do a much better job of protecting on the front lines. Saskatchewan was able to throw so many different looks at the Stamps Saturday, and they had Hank on the run throughout the night. But on top of that, they also were able to quell the running attack of the red and white. The different blitz packages Saskatchewan threw at Calgary meant that Joffrey Reynolds have a tough time getting any traction. I still feel he needs to be used more heading into this game, but credit the Riders for doing a good job in neutralizing him. Henry Burris cannot be on the run tonight like he was Saturday. Numerous times, there were open receivers but #1 couldn’t see them because he was too busy avoiding a sack. That’s gotta be paramount tonight.

Finally, it works both ways. The Stamps didn’t get very much pressure on Marcus Crandell Saturday at ALL. And lets remember…Marcus Crandell isn’t NOT a good quarterback! He played poorly in the second half, and yet the Stamps weren’t getting pressure on him…just imagine how bad he’d look if they’re getting in his face. I know Wes Cates is the MAIN focus tonight, and he should be. But they’ve also gotta make sure Crandell doesn’t get too much time…Rob Kerr could complete passes with time! Make Crandell try to beat you, because that’s when he’ll make mistakes.

Stamps and Riders tonight…lookin forward to it!

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