It’s finally game week.
Preparations kicked off on Tuesday for the Stampeders as they get set for their first preseason game of the season when they battle the visiting BC Lions on Saturday at 2 p.m. at McMahon Stadium.
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It will be the first real taste of opposition for Calgary who hosted their Red and White scrimmage game this past weekend.
Following Saturday’s test against the Leos, the Stamps wrap up exhibition play in Winnipeg next Friday.
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Quarterback Group
The Stamps still have six pivots in camp as they head towards the preseason. With no two-a-days this season, there have been less reps for the players, but head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson is happy with the learning his QB group has still been able to do despite some challenges.
“We have a lot of guys so we’re struggling to get everyone work,” said Dickenson. “I think what I do see is that all of our guys understand our system. There are so many different defensive looks they can go against so it’s really hard to not maybe have a scouting report on another team.
“At times I think we look really sharp, crisp on their decisions but then something on defence throws you out of the ordinary and you can tell (they are) spinning a little bit, not seeing what they are expecting and all of the sudden they’re holding the ball and taking sacks.”
Locked. pic.twitter.com/y547NX5CQ4
— Calgary Stampeders (@calstampeders) May 19, 2024
Receiver Recovery
There were some tough injuries for the Red and White last season, especially at wide receiver with the likes of Canadian Jalen Philpot missing the entire season and all-star wideout Malik Henry going down early due to a ruptured Achilles.
Dickenson talked about the progress they have made and how they look so far in camp.
“Today was excellent, (Jalen’s) best practice,” he said. “Maybe I’ll back off tomorrow though. He had a good day so let’s not maybe push it two days in a row. He did everything today and looked good.”
As for Henry, he’s similar to Philpot in terms of slowly ramping it up.
“He had another good full day as well, “continued Dickenson. “They’re being smart. Malik does a lot of different treatments to try to keep his body right. He looked fast today, didn’t obviously play a lot in our Red and White.
“We need those guys, our receiving core is starting to get a little bit of muscle injuries. We don’t have a ton of bodies, it seems like we’ve lost a few Canadians as well. We will see how we play out but I like where we’re at.”