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November 24, 2017

Tired Of Losing Big Game

OTTAWA – @SincerelyToot doesn’t give, well, a toot about sparkly numbers leaping off the page of a stat sheet.

“For me, personally,’’ DaVaris Daniels is saying, as the Stampeders wound up their final practice of 2017 on the University of Ottawa campus, “I always seem get to the big stage and … lose.”

A soft, mournful shake of the head.

“Man, I am getting so tired of that.”

A year ago, marking his Grey Cup debut, the dynamic Daniels snared seven Bo Levi Mitchell pitches for 89 yards. Both Stamp highs.

To what end, he asks now, refusing to be placated.

What has lingered, festered since then, of course, is the hollow residue feeling of the epic 39-33 OT loss to the Ottawa RedBlacks in the 104th Grey Cup, like the dull, chronic ache of an abscessed tooth.

“I don’t care if I make a single catch (Sunday), long as we win, as long as we’re champions,’’ says Daniels. “If you could guarantee me that, I’d take it in a minute. In a heartbeat.”

The collective mood of the Stamps, he assures one and all, is entirely different than a year ago in Toronto.

“Last season was kinda like this whirlwind, a fairytale, with the awards, the streak. All this extra stuff going on. It’s distracting. Kinda fun. Maybe we got caught up in it a bit.

“But all that matters is winning the last game. That’s what we learned. So congratulations to Alex (Singleton, Most Outstanding Defensive Player) and Roy (Finch, Most Outstanding Special Teams Player). It’s great, being recognized like they were.

“But the first order of business is to win a Grey Cup.

“I had to go that firsthand last year, winning the Rookie of the Year and then losing the game. You’re so happy, so proud and then only a couple days later it felt like the whole trip was just a waste of time.

“The worst feeling I’ve ever had.”

DaVaris Daniels (Photo by David Moll)

Given the dazzling array of skills available in his tool box, it’s hard to believe Daniels won’t be a difference-maker come Sunday, that he could somehow be totally shut down by the Toronto Argonauts’ secondary.

But his point’s well made.

The common good is the greater good now.

“With DaVaris, with any great receiver, it just depends on how the defence plays him,’’ reminds Calgary pass-catching coach Pete Costanza. “If we get a lot of 1-on-1 match-ups, that’s when you see he’s had some of his bigger games. He’s a playmaker, a game-changer.

“Toronto’s going to dictate in a way, because as a defence you can always roll coverage and try to take certain guys away.

“But he’s ready. As a rookie last year the stage was not too big and that goes with him having played in a national championship game down in the States.

“I’m sure every one of those guys in our receiving group has dreamed of playing in a championship game, making 10 catches for 120 yards, a couple of TDs and being named Player of the Game.

“Can that happen? Sure. But when you’ve got five guys and one ball you don’t know how the things are going to play out.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little selfless, do your part within the scheme and let the quarterback – you’ve heard me say it a million times – make the right reads.

“If Bo throws the ball your way, then it’s on you to make a play. D.D.’s awfully good at that.”

For Daniels, four days into the Ottawa stay, Sunday cannot arrive soon enough. There’s a restlessness.

“These last two days of waiting are the hardest,’’ he reckons. “You hear about all the stuff going on outside. You watch TSN. Things are crazy. Family’s gettin’ in. It’s a lot to deal with.

“So it’s time to play.”

One. A dozen. None.

Sunday’s catch total is irrelevant, as long as the outcome turns out right. Whatever it takes at the end of the day to be, as Sinatra sang of New York, king of the hill, A-No. 1, top the heap.

“Lifting that Grey Cup,’’ repeats Daniels, “means everything to me.

“Personal stuff doesn’t matter as long as we take back what we came here for.

“Stats are just there for the day. The win lasts a lifetime.”