Calgary just seems so far ahead of the pack in the CFL. And, Grey Cup loss aside, have been for awhile. Why is that you think?
Do they do things differently? How are they able to maintain such a level of continuity and consistency?
One thing that I've noticed is their use of ratio. They have 10 Canadians on their roster that are WR and RB. That's a huge number. And they get used. Plus they have true ratio busters in Canadians starting in the RB and MLB positions.
Many teams need to juggle several positions if a starting Canadian goes down. Because of depth in Canadians they can substitute without the juggle.
Of course it helps to have BLM there. The best QB by far in the CFL inmo. And arguably the best HC and GM combo in the league. But that is not just a fluke is it?. And speaking of GM Hufnagel he sure seems to stay out of the way. Unlike some like Jim Popp and Buono.
An interesting comment was made by TSN guys about DD. Apparently he has NEVER had a losing CFL season as a player, assistant, coordinator or HC. That's pretty amazing (if true...I never fact checked:))
A good GM who will not make a player a top paid person in their spot. He understands if players want to chase that big contract....it just won't happen there. This allows them to retain a lot of talent year in and year out. When Bo's contract took the big bump this year, we saw that it meant the exodus of a few players they rather wanted around. In a small cap league you need to do this to have sustained success.
It comes down to QB'ing. Bo Levi is smart , very accurate and very consistent. With Drew Willy at QB the Stamps might only be a 9-9 team. A good QB who can extend drives helps the defence and special teams, too.
Hufnagel recruits backups who are only starters and are told they'll have to bide their time to wend their way into the lineup.
His starters are very good (obviously having one of the top QBs in the league helps) but in many cases the guys on the sidelines - the reserve squad and the backups - ARE BETTER!
It's a very good system with a consistent group of coaches. That makes all the difference imo. If an offense doesn't have to learn a new system every season that makes an impact.
...to note: in the last ten seasons, Calgary has never finished lower than third, thereby making the playoffs for at least ten years, with five seasons getting the semi-final bye and home field advantage for the final...in that run they have made it to the big game only four times, and only won it twice, with one of the those GC victories secured as a result of a late game-changing penalty...
...the stamps had the ability over the past ten years to have a dynasty, and it slipped through their fingers like sand...
....successful regular seasons are fun, but GC wins are what history remembers, and the stamps have not 'separated' themselves in that category at all...
The Stamps of the last ten seasons, remind Johnny of the 2000-2008 Alouettes. Tons of regular season success, many Grey Cup appearances, but choking in the big game, and few too many Grey Cups (just 1 in 6 Grey Cup games).
As an Als fan who has lived through so much recent coaching upheaval, what impresses me with the Stampeders is their stability with their assistant coaches.
For instance a guy like DelMonaco who puts together an effective o-line game after game, no matter how many injuries he has to deal with.
Yes I'm impressed with this too. Coaching continuity is easy to say but hard to have.
Same with Mark Kilam, their ST coach too. He's been there forever. And DD was offered several HC jobs but chose to bide his time.
They just seem to have a way of retaining and grooming successors. Both in coaches and players. Pretty impressive.
And now they have Ryan Dinwiddie, a very very bight guy, being taught and groomed by DD. All under the radar as opposed to rushing him along a la Montreal's habits.
Green Riders I can live with our mediocre cup ratio/winning seasons ;D