The devil’s in the details.

A simple mental mistake can have major consequences in the game of football.

Consider this – three of the Stampeders first four games came down to the final play and their trio of losses have come by just a combined 11 points.

“It’s literally been one play, we’ve been one play away from being possibly 4-0,” said stalwart linebacker Jameer Thurman. “It’s the little things and the details that we’re lacking. It’s just one play of the little things and details that could have made a difference in the outcome of all of these games.

“We’ve just got to figure out how to not put ourselves in these situations to keep it so close where it comes down to that.”

Thurman and company are laser focused on that goal.

“I can only speak on defence and special teams because those are the groups that I’m a part of,” he said. “Guys are committed to their assignments, there are not a lot of mistakes going on, it’s just one play here and there. And lapses happen during games, but for us those lapses happen in a critical situation that ends up costing us those games. We just have to strive for perfection. We understand that if we’re going to be in these types of games we have to learn how to finish them and come out on top.”

Receiver Markeith Ambles echoed that statement.

“We just got to look ourselves in the mirror and just tidy it up. See the mistakes and learn from them,” said Ambles.

“I think once we get the little things fixed everybody becomes a little bit more disciplined we’ll come out on top in more of these games. I don’t think we’re worried, we’re a close knit group and everybody’s giving it their all. So once we fix the little things we’ll be right where we need to be.”

As leaders on a young team with many new faces, Thurman and Ambles have made sure to try and share their knowledge on what it takes to win in the CFL.

“I’ve talked to the young guys, I’ve told them the standard we have and they’ve been playing up to that standard, they’ve lived up to it,” Thurman explained. “It’s just little things here and there that are costing us. We get the reps in practice, we communicate on the field, we talk about these things throughout the week. But still, when we go out there it’s executing on those little details that are costing us those games that we have to fix, and we’re going to fix them.

“This is not acceptable, us being 1-3 right now. We are all mad right now because we understand where we should be in the league, so we’re going to get back to the drawing board and we’re going to fix things that we need to. Maybe it might be just going over something in practice that we can do differently, one little thing that might be the difference, or not. But we’re going to try and figure this thing out.”

The Stampeders will host their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Elks, for the annual Labour Day Classic on Sept. 6.

The added intensity and emotion of the tilt could be just what the doctor ordered.

“I think we’re going to come in rejuvenated and refreshed this week,” said Ambles. “It’s going to be a big game, I’m excited. I know it’s going to be fun since its Labour Day, I’m looking forward to it.”

“I know we’re always hungry for Labour Day, but now we’re even hungrier,” added Thurman. “We’re going to be at home again so we can’t keep this going in front of our fans either, because they don’t deserve this. We put too much work in for us to be ending up on the losing end of some of these games. I’m excited, I know the guys are excited and we can’t wait to get back to work.”