WSF Calgary vs BC Nov 6

[Hambone]

I was going to post this in the Events room but there has been no activity there for several years. Last tickets offered for sale were for the 2014 Grey Cup.

I probably will have a pair of prime seats available for sale for the WSF. Not to worry I will still be attending, just not in my seats. My buddy with the seat beside me was supposed to be the honouree for a surprise retirement party hosted by his former business partners in a BC Place suite for the Winnipeg game 2 weeks ago. It got canceled due to one of the partners testing positive for Covid 3 days before the game. They have rescheduled it for the WSF but we had already bought our playoff tickets.

Seats are excellent; 45 yardline behind Lions bench, section 213, Row O, seats 3 & 4. ST holder price is $85 each. If interested PM me.

[ddanny]

i am sure someone will buy them got mine on tuesday

[David]

Not sure if this is the official game thread for Sunday, but tickets are moving well. Apparently, over 10,000 tix were sold on Day 1. Farhan reported on Friday that only a couple thousand tickets remain in the lower bowl (I don't know if this includes or excludes the two tarped sections in the east end zone or not). Once those are sold, the club will make the decision to open the upper deck.

Club is going to need the "dome field advantage" (a loud, boisterous crowd) that's going to make it difficult for Maier and the offense to hear the snap count. Remember, several Stampeders boldly told Farhan several weeks ago they would prefer to play in B.C. Place, maybe not realizing Vancouver is an event city.


DH

[ddanny]

Also the weather cold in Calgary

[Toppy Vann]

The President said the roof is to be closed in honour of Wally Buono.

If I had to take a measure of which team is firing on all cylinders heading into next Sunday based solely on BC vs Wpg and Cal vs Sask, the clear winner has to be the Stampeders.

Over 300 yards rushing!

Stamps played like the Bombers did - decisively in all aspects.

Ironically these last two Stamps beatdowns (coached by Dave Dickenson) of the Riders in successive weaks might weigh more heavily on the Riders decisions on GM Jeremy Day, HC Craig Dickenson, OC Jason Maas just to name a few. I think they're good coaches but these season was not the one to miss the playoffs with the GC in town.

The Riders couldn't stop the run and 3rd charted QB Tommy Stevens took a short yardage play 87 yards for the longest run from scrimmage in 2022.

Granted the Riders didn't have much to play for but I wasn't getting a sense that a lot of guys cared even to play for their jobs next year.

Dave D admits he should have called a time out then have BLM take the field as it took a bit of time to give him the ovation he deserved.
In another irony, I wonder if Fajardo basically signalling to fans he too knew he was done led to not seeing him last night
OR
Did they think he get booed. Odd that they didn't use him on some short yardage plays and give him a shot when the score was in reach.

Having said, the Lions QB sure seemed confident that the mechanic issues will be fine and he did what he needed to do vs Bombers.

I hope Ryan Phillips has a plan to stop their run.

[B.C.FAN]

This looks like the official game thread so we might as well keep it going.

I'd like to discuss a point that David made in the Winnipeg game thread and that Farhan Lalji and J.J. Adams later picked up in a Twitter thread that even injured Calgary O-lineman Derek Dennis 'liked', that the Lions aren't stout enough on the defensive line and are vulnerable against Calgary's running game.



I don't disagree that the Lions need to be stronger against the run than they were in Winnipeg, but I caution against reading anything into their Winnipeg effort, or lack of effort, especially in the front-7. And it's ludicrous to compare the B.C. defence to Saskatchewan's.

On the season, the Lions ranked fourth in the league against the run, allowing an average of 94.1 yards per game. They were third, less than half a yard behind Calgary, going into the final game. I expect them to play with a lot more intensity in the WSF, especially with the season on the line and a boisterous home crowd behind them.

Here are the final CFL run defence rankings, based on yards per game:

1. HAM 82.9
2. CGY 89.1
3. WIN. 89.3
4. B.C. 94.1
5. MTL 98.1
6. TOR 102.4
7. OTT 105.5
8. SAS 118.1
9 EDM 119.1

Steve Richardson would have been a welcome addition to the defensive line but we'll have to wait for next year, hopefully. The Lions have had good production from their defensive ends and linebackers. Inside, Tibo Debaillie, Josh Banks and David Menard have all been solid against the run. I don't expect the running game to be dominant for either team on Sunday. Like most games, the WSF will most likely be won or lost through the passing game, special teams and turnovers.

[ddanny]

I believe the lions will be ready like coach Cambell said 10 minutes to forget about the Winnipeg game on Friday

[SammyGreene]

Practice week begins with walk thru Tuesday. Full practice Wednesday in Surrey then off to BC Place to practice Thursday and Friday.

[David]

Also the weather cold in Calgary

True, but that would play in the Stamps' favour, no?

I took it to mean, "dome game with a small-ish crowd. We'll play it on the road, thanks!"

DH

[ddanny]

ok i think it is going to be 25,000 in there at the least it will be noisy when Calgary has the ball

[Dusty]

Club is going to need the "dome field advantage" (a loud, boisterous crowd) that's going to make it difficult for Maier and the offense to hear the snap count. Remember, several Stampeders boldly told Farhan several weeks ago they would prefer to play in B.C. Place, maybe not realizing Vancouver is an event city.
DH

I wonder how many of the newly sold tickets this week are from Calgary fans coming out to catch their team in a playoff game. I reckon it will be easier for them to get tickets for the semi-final than the final game.

[DanoT]

This looks like the official game thread so we might as well keep it going.

I'd like to discuss a point that David made in the Winnipeg game thread and that Farhan Lalji and J.J. Adams later picked up in a Twitter thread that even injured Calgary O-lineman Derek Dennis 'liked', that the Lions aren't stout enough on the defensive line and are vulnerable against Calgary's running game.



I don't disagree that the Lions need to be stronger against the run than they were in Winnipeg, but I caution against reading anything into their Winnipeg effort, or lack of effort, especially in the front-7. And it's ludicrous to compare the B.C. defence to Saskatchewan's.

On the season, the Lions ranked fourth in the league against the run, allowing an average of 94.1 yards per game. They were third, less than half a yard behind Calgary, going into the final game. I expect them to play with a lot more intensity in the WSF, especially with the season on the line and a boisterous home crowd behind them.

Here are the final CFL run defence rankings, based on yards per game:

1. HAM 82.9
2. CGY 89.1
3. WIN. 89.3
4. B.C. 94.1
5. MTL 98.1
6. TOR 102.4
7. OTT 105.5
8. SAS 118.1
9 EDM 119.1

Steve Richardson would have been a welcome addition to the defensive line but we'll have to wait for next year, hopefully. The Lions have had good production from their defensive ends and linebackers. Inside, Tibo Debaillie, Josh Banks and David Menard have all been solid against the run. I don't expect the running game to be dominant for either team on Sunday. Like most games, the WSF will most likely be won or lost through the passing game, special teams and turnovers.

It is worth pointing out that Defense against the run stats can be misleading: Let's say you have a Special Teams unit that consistently gives the O less than ideal field position. And you have a QB that plays great ball control football with quick short and medium passes and some bombs, so the team ends up dominating time of possession and the scoreboard. Now the other team abandons the run game and is up against an all star studded Defensive Backfield, coached by a DC who is a possible future Hofer. This, of course, describes the Lions and is the basis for my concern about stopping the Stamps running game.

[Hambone]

Club is going to need the "dome field advantage" (a loud, boisterous crowd) that's going to make it difficult for Maier and the offense to hear the snap count. Remember, several Stampeders boldly told Farhan several weeks ago they would prefer to play in B.C. Place, maybe not realizing Vancouver is an event city.
DH

I wonder how many of the newly sold tickets this week are from Calgary fans coming out to catch their team in a playoff game. I reckon it will be easier for them to get tickets for the semi-final than the final game.

I'd estimate not very many. There will be some diehards who make the trek from southern Alberta but I think you're looking at 200 tops. That might be generous. Calgary averaged only 23500 this year meaning they had an average of 10000 empty seats they couldn't sell for their own home games. I think most rival fans we see in BC Place are long time fans of those clubs who happen to have relocated to the lower mainland, Vancouver Island and the southern interior as opposed to folks who travelled from the prairies just to see their faves.

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions announced Monday that ticket sales are now open in the upper bowl. Ticketmaster chart shows both sidelines and the west corners are open.

[TheLionKing]

Calgary's vaunted running attack ? Simple solution: ball control. Don't let them have the ball. Easy peasy