The goal isn’t to be good.

Not even great.

It’s to be the finest to ever hit the field.

“We want to be the best defence in the league and we’re trying to be one of the best defences ever,” said Stamps defensive lineman Ja’Gared Davis.

After an unspectacular start to last Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, where back-up quarter Chris Streveler connected with Ryan Lankford for the opening score, the Stamps defence found their foothold en route to a 39-26 win.

“For us, more than anything, the first drive we started off sluggish,” said Davis. “We weren’t tuned in, we weren’t locked in and it showed.”

“That’s not our level of defence.”

“That’s not to the level that coach [DeVone] Claybrooks coaches us to, week-in and week-out.”

“To be one of the best ever, we can’t play that way. We took it upon ourselves to play like the best defence to ever line up in the CFL.”

The plan to stop the Bombers was simple at its core: shut down Andrew Harris and the run game.

Considering Harris racked up just 13 yards on the ground, you can put a checkmark beside that one.

“We knew all week coming into the game that Andrew Harris is a big part of their offence,” said Davis. “We know he’s one of the most dynamic backs in the league and being able to take away one aspect of their game – the running game – it made them more one-dimensional and helped us focus on everything else.”

“To be able to do that and to the magnitude that we did, it felt good.”

Davis was a major contributor in the victory.

While wreaking havoc alongside his fellow lineman, the big man was able to something that no other Stampeder lineman had done previously: intercept two passes in one game, scoring a touchdown on one of them.

“Last time I scored a touchdown would be my rookie year up here – nope, it was actually last year,” Davis recalled. “Micah [Johnson] had a strip sack and I took it to the house.

“I thought about doing a touchdown celebration, but then I realized I was going to have to come right back out on defence. I’m too big for that. I’ll save it for the next time I get into the endzone.”