At the end of the day, the Calgary Stampeders Red and White Mock game is best described as a learning tool.
The game, held Sunday at McMahon Stadium, is a controlled scrimmage with the players tossed into different situations to see how they react.
“We have a long way to go to become a good football team,” said head coach John Hufnagel. “There are some bright spots out there. They were flying around with energy.
“There was a few issues with substitutions but there will be a wealth of learning information from this film.”
For some players, like Brad Sinopoli, it was a chance to showcase in game form all the fruit from an off-season of training.
The quarterback turned wide receiver caught five balls to lead the team in his first game as a pass-catcher since his college days.
“We are making progress,” Sinopoli said. “We are just trying to get better each day and this was the first chance to be in a game-like situation.
“All in all, I think it went fairly well.”
Hufnagel also singled out defensive back Chris Randle, who sniped the only interception off a pass from Kevin Glenn.
Under centre, the combination of Drew Tate, Glenn and Bo Levi Mitchell were given fairly equal amount of chances to lead the offence.
Hufnagel said he’d like to take a chance to watch the film before assessing his quarterbacks in detail.
“They all made some throws, they all missed some throws,” he said.
During the game, every possession meant a different situation for the players to work through, whether it was red-zone offense, stuck near your own end-zone or overtime plays.
Practices continue all week at McMahon Stadium, with the Stamps hosting their first pre-season game on Friday against the BC Lions.
A seasoned secondary
A year ago, Quincy Butler, Fred Bennett, Jamar Wall, Derrius Brooks, Chris Randle and Keenan MacDougall — not to mention all the guys who didn’t make the cut — were going through their very first Stampeders training camp.
This season, all those guys — plus veteran mainstays Keon Raymond, Brandon Smith, Eric Fraser and Demetrice Morley — are back as part of a more-seasoned and wiser Stampeders secondary
“Yeah, it makes for a different camp,” says Tony Missick, the coach who oversees the secondary, “because I no longer have to teach the game of the CFL. Now I can focus more on technique and scheme, which is great. Instead of starting from zero, I can start at 10 and get to 20. It’s definitely a plus to have 10 guys returning.”
Not only does Missick have a lot of familiar faces around him, he has a versatile group at his disposal as injuries forced the Stamps to move players around and many of the defensive backs saw extensive action at multiple positions.
“They did a heckuva job,” says Missick. “They made it to the Grey Cup. We fell short of our ultimate goal, which was to win the Grey Cup, but to have that many injuries in the secondary and to have guys fill in and move from position to position, that’s great experience and you can’t replace that. Now I have a group of guys who can play almost any position.
“Every guy got hurt at some point last year, so we moved players around and a lot of guys gained valuable experience at multiple positions. But hopefully we won’t have to play the piano like that again this year. Hopefully, everybody stays healthy, but if something does happen, we’re ready because we have that experience.”
With all the returnees, you’d think the newcomers would be in tough to crack the roster, but Missick says the team is keeping an open mind.
“We look for the best person for that position,” he says. “We don’t show favouritism. Our first goal is to secure a great player and we’re not choosing a vet just because he was here last year.
“If a vet isn’t doing what he’s supposed to be doing and a rookie comes in and takes his job, then so be it. That rookie really has to step up and be on top of his game. You’ve got to play the best you possibly can every day.”
Play of the day
During the afternoon mock game, receiver Anthony Parker was sprinting down the sidelines, threw out his arms and made a nifty over-the-shoulder catch.
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Injury Update
Import defensive back Quincy Butler sat out Sunday morning while import receivers Nik Lewis and Khalil Paden both returned to practice. There were no other developments on the injury front.
Tomorrow’s schedule
The Stamps are on the field for rundown at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, June 10 at McMahon Stadium. Media availability with players and coaches will be at approximately 4:30 p.m.