Day 5 of training camp saw the quarterbacks take centre stage.
With only one more practice before the Red and White Game on Sunday at McMahon Stadium, Jake Maier and Matt Shiltz took their play to another level.
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Quarterback Play
It started with a perfect pass on a corner route from Shiltz followed by what would have been a 20-plus yard scramble a couple of plays later.
Then, in the last session of the day, it was Maier threading the needle on multiple occasions to move the ball down the field.
“I did see some good things,” said general manager and head coach Dave Dickenson. “I feel like our defence is causing a little bit of havoc. We did an end-of-the-game scenario three times and all three groups were able to get into field-goal range but then the defence stiffened up and stopped them.
“I do think the quarterbacks are growing. We lowered the number by one and it wasn’t easy because Chris Reynolds had done some nice things, but we just have to understand that when you’re out there take advantage of reps and make it count.”
Shortened Roster
Thursday was the first practice since the Stampeders trimmed their roster by 10.
Reynolds – along with Canadian defensive lineman T.J. Rayam – were the most notable cuts, after both spent the entire season with the Stamps last year.
Dickenson says all of the decisions are hard.
“We preach that we’re competing and trying to give everyone an equal chance,” he explained. “There’s a lot of guys that are very close. We don’t know if we made the right decisions. We talked it out and there was evidence to support it and as a team there’s going to be a bunch more tough decisions coming up at the end of this month.
“It’s never easy, we get it, it doesn’t mean we don’t care about those guys. But it is just the reality of our business.”
Calgary now has 75 active players and 15 Canadian rookies that don’t count towards the limit at camp.
Notes
Fan Fest returns to McMahon Stadium on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is completely free for all attending. MORE INFO
The Red and White Game runs from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday at McMahon and is free and open to the public.
