Stamps Player Blog

COPELAND: A big improvement

September 6, 2008

I think there were plenty of things better tonight than last game, but I think the biggest improvement was the level of emotion we had. Guys understand that it’s the second half of the season and every play is important. They know that we need to execute and make the most of our opportunities and it showed tonight.

Our offence was kind of up and down, but we executed when we needed to. We had some big drives including probably our biggest drive of the season following that fumble. To take the ball right back down and score was huge. That got everybody fired up and let us know that our execution could win us the game if we went out and played hard.

I thought the play that I scored on was awesome for the team. It was a great play call for the defence that they had been showing and it was a great throw from Hank; he put a lot of heat on it, threw in the hole and I went up and made the catch which swung the momentum for us.

In this offence, you have to capitalize on every opportunity you get because with the number of playmakers we have, it could be a while before you get another opportunity. I think at times people can forget just how deep we are and how many weapons we have. We’re just beginning the second half of the season now and I’m sure this won’t be the last time you here my name.

They had a chance at the end and luckily we were able to make a play. I knew they had a good jump on the ball and coach Dickenson always teaches us that if you can’t get to it, slap it out and that’s what I tried to do. I jumped up and hit it out of bounds. I’m not sure what it looked like on the replays, but I felt like I was the last to touch it and we were able to hang on for the victory.

Off the field, married life has been treating me well (Copeland got married on Aug. 30). It’s been awesome. I’ve got the best wife in the world and I love her to death. I’m happy to have her and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

See you next week,
Jeremaine Copeland, #80

Jeremaine Copeland bio

JAMES: More emotion, better result

September 6, 2008

First of all, I’m just happy to come away with the win tonight. After getting spanked like that on Monday, coming out of here with the win is tremendous. I give all of the credit to my teammates and the coaching staff.

We played with a ton of emotion tonight and we made plays, especially on the back end. The d-line was getting after them tonight, which was great to see. Our intensity picked up and as a result our game picked up.

We made little tweaks and changes to our defensive scheme, but the bottom line was that we made plays tonight. To beat a quarterback like Ricky Ray you have to make plays. He’s going to make plays and we have to match him and I think we did a great job of that tonight. I’m very proud of my teammates after a performance like that.

Because we won, getting the defensive game ball and the watch from TSN was great. I’m happy, but more because we won than anything else. The individual stuff is just a nice bonus. I’ll enjoy it for now, but it will be back to work in a couple of days to get ready for Montreal.

We’re getting on the bus now, so we can’t really celebrate, but we’ll enjoy it tomorrow. I’m looking forward to hanging out with the guys and having a good time and I’m sure they feel the same way.

I can’t wait to get back to work. I’m going to enjoy the victory for now, but once Sunday comes it’s all business. I’m excited to play against my boy Keron (Montreal defensive lineman Williams) so I’ll be extra fired up.

To all my Stamps fans,
Shannon James, #23

Shannon James bio

JAMES: Redeeming ourselves

September 5, 2008

This is Shannon James reporting live from the Westin hotel in Edmonton. We just had breakfast and had our defensive meetings this morning. I watched film all last night, attended our special teams meeting and then headed to bed.

It’s been a rough week coming off of a loss like that. We didn’t play well at all. They executed and we didn’t. The good thing is that we get a chance to redeem ourselves quickly with the short week.

I don’t really know what happened on Monday. I know I didn’t expect that kind of performance. Once those planes flew over, I felt like we were really going to bring it, but we didn’t. The offence feeds off of the defence and vise versa and neither of us had it, so nobody was able to feed off of anyone.

From the defensive side of the ball, we need to go out and play a great game tonight. We owe it to ourselves, our teammates, our coaching staff and the fans of Calgary. We know it’s going to be tough to come into Commonwealth and get the win, but we’ve done it before and we can do it again.

My focus right now is to get ready and to go out and play to the best of my ability. I know my teammates are going to do the same and I think you’re going to see a lot of emotion out of us today. On Monday we didn’t have it, which is inexcusable, but tonight we’ll be a different team.

I’m going to go back to my room in a little bit and watch some more tape. After that, I’ll probably listen to some music and talk to some of my friends from back home to get my head right. Then it will be time for the team meal, chapel and before you know it we’ll be at the stadium suiting up. Once we step into that locker room it’s all business.

I want to thank all of the fans for coming out to the game on Monday. Sorry we couldn’t win for you, but tune in tonight and we’ll get it done.

Yours truly,
Shannon James, #23

Shannon James bio

BROWNER: We've made adjustments

September 5, 2008

We need to go out and play 60 minutes tonight. From what I’ve learned in the CFL, you can be down a bunch of points with three minutes to go and you’re still in it. Guys need to play for a full 60 minutes in order for us to win and I think that’s really been our focus coming in.

This week we made adjustments. Coach Jones has a defensive philosophy that we’re confident in. They happened to get some plays on us last week, but that doesn’t mean we need to scrap everything. We made normal adjustments; we didn’t make many changes, just little adjustments. Simple things like disguising things differently. Basically, we did the things you’re supposed to do when playing the same team back-to-back.

I can’t speak for everyone, but for me the last game was shocking. I didn’t see us losing to Edmonton. Not once, let alone twice. It’s not that I underestimated those guys; I just thought we had the better team. For us to lose to them twice, it sucked. It’s like a slap in the face and it makes us want to do the little things to get better so that we can win today.

If the Stampeders play Stampeders football, we’ll win. We need to score some points and fly around on defence like we know we can. In all of our losses we’ve looked good at some point, now we just need to carry that over for the whole game and we’ll be fine. We need to play every down and everyone on the team needs to win their one-on-one battle and we’ll win. It’s simple really.

For me personally, I’ve been watching a lot of film this week. What I learned is that Ricky Ray is smart. If we’re not disguising our plays and our looks, he’ll pick us a part. Tonight I’m really going to focus on hiding my coverage’s and disguising what we’re doing out there.

Hope we can make you proud,
Brandon Browner, #27

Brandon Browner bio

RAMBO: Just arrived at Commonwealth

September 4, 2008

So it’s Thursday and we’ve just arrived at Commonwealth Stadium. We’re going over the field as we usually do and they’ve turned on the sprinklers as they always do. I don’t know why and I’ll probably never figure it out, but they do it every time. From what I saw, the field is all right. It’s in the best condition it can be.

I feel good and the team looks good, too. We had a good day of practice yesterday. It was light, but fast. It went real well, quick and snappy for the most part. Hank looked good, his toe is not a problem. We also had Ben Sankey in this week and he lit it up at practice. Barrick (Nealy) had another good week of prep so we’re feeling good and everyone from the quarterback position is ready to go.

We’re just looking to go out and execute our plays and keep doing what we’ve been doing. We have a great gameplan in place and we just need to go out and play with emotion and enthusiasm. We need to bring a great energy in and we’ll beat the Eskimos tomorrow.

The difference between this week and last week’s game will be the energy. The Stampeders are going to come out with a lot more this week. It’s going to be all out, attacking the ball, heads up football.

I think it’s about time we come out and play Stampeder football. We’ve been lollygagging around, we’ve been up and down and I think this week the emphasis is on every one of us. If everyone comes out and does their individual job then we’ll come out with a win.

I don’t think anybody can hang with us when we play our game. We have to be turnover-free, penalty-free and play a balanced game. A high-tempo, real emotional game and we’ll be fine. It should be fun and I hope everyone enjoys the show.

Rambo (a.k.a. the original) over and out,
Ken-Yon Rambo, #85

SANKEY: Full circle

September 3, 2008

Well Calgary fans, we can call this full circle. This is Ben Sankey, otherwise known as Lucky #7 and I feel like I’m in a scene from Back To the Future. I’m back in the mix of crazy quarterbacks for the greatest team in CFL history, the good old Red and White.

I’m so blessed to be back, and excited to be a Stampeder again. I love Calgary and feel like the houseguest that just won't leave. I appreciate all the support given to me in my five years as a Stampeder.

We have to rekindle the magic of the 2001 Grey Cup and give you guys what you deserve. I had a chance to go home for a few weeks and see my family and reflect on my football experience. It will always start with Crowchild Trail and end up somewhere on 17th Ave.

Football is such a blessing, and to get paid is icing on the cake. It allows sometimes crazy guys like myself, to develop into more mature, appreciative young men who are blessed to be talented with some of God’s gifts.

I love the game because of great fans like we have in Calgary. The way they cheer, laugh and cry can be remembered for a lifetime. Lets go get Edmonton this Friday night!

Keep the support and God bless,
Ben Sankey, #7

Ben Sankey bio

CORNISH: Locker-room dynamics

September 2, 2008

Hello again fans,

Welcome back to the second edition of the Jon Cornish football blog. Previously, I discussed game preparation and how each player gets ready differently. Today I'll focus on locker-room dynamics and how positive morale within the locker-room is of the utmost importance to any championship football team. The locker-room is where your day of football begins and ends. It almost becomes another home to many players, being the place where pads are put on, injuries treated, after-practice plans made and where jokes are often made.

For the 2007 Calgary Stampeders, perhaps too much focus was lost in the locker-room. Some of the players that are no longer with us contributed to a locker-room that was fun to be in but lacked appropriateness for what we were trying to accomplish. Teachers say an organized desk leads to organized studies; a locker-room that one is able to focus in is very important to success, both as a player and a team. Before and after practice is a great time to mess around with the guys. The levity in the locker-room helps offset the earnest nature of the sport we play because, apparently, football is serious business.

Talking about non-football related things in meetings is generally frowned upon, the same as any other workplace, so the locker-room allows players to discuss jokes or topics they may have thought of while watching film.

The 2008 Calgary Stampeders locker-room is considerably different, and better, than the one of last season. It seems to me that people are even funnier than last year, there is a more relaxed atmosphere and players are more focused before going out on the field. All these things contribute to a place that is both fun to be in and beneficial to the goals we seek to accomplish.

When Teyo Johnson arrived on the team he was immediately surprised. Inside the locker-room a player was wearing a Mexican-style wrestling mask, something that covered his whole face. Teyo, arriving from the NFL, immediately wondered what in the world was going on in this locker-room. The rest of the team simply recognized this as a player being the unique and funny person that he is.

Any locker-room is a hard place to be for a new player just arriving to a team. Just like in any environment, being in close proximity creates friendship. Many newcomers immediately see how close we are as a team and may be shy and have trouble becoming part of it, but our 2008 team is very receptive to new players and welcome them warmly.

Last year, however, it wasn't quite so nice for some rookies, namely myself. My rookie season started out with my clothing going for a steam clean in our sauna room. I was the subject of a great deal of rookie jokes, so I made an effort to welcome all newcomers not with a cleaned out locker (often a joke done to rookies that scares them into thinking they were cut) but with a hand shake and a smile.

Although I did not mind being the subject of rookie torment, I believe such things are seeing their last days as the men that went to college and were able (allowed) to do such things are nearing their retirements. As a rookie in the locker-room there is a sign that says, "A Rookie is better seen, not heard." I just wish I had read that last year!

See ya next time,
Jon Cornish, #9

Jon Cornish bio

BURRIS: We made too many mistakes

September 1, 2008

Number one, it just goes to show you that when two teams are evenly matched, mistakes make a big difference. Those two turnovers definitely hurt us, because they were able to turn them into 14 points.

Offensively, we have to do a much better job of finishing off drives. Early on we moved the ball consistently and early in the third quarter we got that touchdown, but we have to turn those threes into sevens. We can’t give a team like Edmonton back-to-back chances with a short field and especially once they have had a chance to see what our defence was doing and make adjustments. They had a chance to wear down our defence, when we left them on the field that long.

It’s tough to know exactly what’s happening on the field when you’re not out there, but I think we felt good. We thought we had a good bead on what they were doing and were able to get the running game going. We wanted to keep them off balance as far as running the ball inside, tosses outside and utilize quick throws for Dave. When you’re not on the field for 10-12 minutes, it can get the offence out of rhythm and that’s pretty much what happened.

I think the short week is definitely going to be a good thing. It’s kind of like the back-to-backs with Saskatchewan. We played so bad and were able to get in, look at the film right away and identify where we went wrong. This is a resilient team and we have shown that we are able to bounce back from adverse situations and I’m sure you’ll see a different team come Friday in Edmonton.

I should mention the injury real quick. It was nothing major, just my toe. I kind of got horse-collar tackled and bent my foot back. It’s just sore and I fully expect to be back on Friday.

We will be back,
Henry Burris, #1

CARPENTER: We just got outplayed

September 1, 2008

We just got outplayed, point blank. We have to learn how to play week-in and week-out. We have to take one game at a time instead of getting too far ahead of ourselves. Give all of the credit to them; they played a good game. They competed the whole game and that’s all I can really say.

Right now with the situation we’re in, each game is a big game. Labour Day or not, every game is huge. Each game means something and that’s why we have to take one game at a time. We can’t worry about the game after this game or the game after that game. We can’t control that; the only game we can control is the game in front of us. You have to play like the next game is the biggest game in your life and not worry about any others.

The difference tonight was that they made plays when they needed to. They competed and executed the whole game and we didn’t. There were no shocks from them tonight.

The short week is a good thing right now, because we’re playing the same opponent and we just have to go in and make the corrections and fix our errors and we’ll be ready to again.

I’m just looking forward to getting back out there. A loss like that leaves a bad taste in your mouth; any loss leaves a bad taste and you want to get back on the winning side. You definitely want to get back out there so you can get that feeling out of your mind.

Dwaine Carpenter, #29

COLLINS: I can't wait

September 1, 2008

I’m coming into my first Labour Day game. I’ve heard what the atmosphere is going to be like and I’m excited. I hope to get some intensity from my teammates and the crowd and get another victory.

I keep hearing everything; all of the hype and I just want to get into it. I can’t wait to see what it will feel like. This is a CFL rivalry, and a key match-up in the standings and I just want to get to it.

These types of games are really for the fans, but the players feed off the energy from the crowd. Any play can be a big play. The fans can take over and get you excited for even the smallest of plays and that makes it even more intense. I played against L.S.U. and that was one of our biggest rivals in college (attended Mississippi University). That game or Oxford/Ole Miss, both of those crowds were crazy. Anytime you play a rival in college the crowd is big and rowdy.

Lysack (Stamps safety Wes) told me that this game would be nuts. He said it would be like playing a cross-town rival with how close Edmonton is. With that said, we have just been looking at it like it’s the next game. It’s always the same in practice, we go hard and practise like it’s any other game. We get ready for the next opponent, week in and week out.

All of the stuff that’s been happening off of the field is exactly that. It’s off the field. With everything that’s happened with the hurricane and such, I try to leave that off the field and make sure that it doesn’t affect my mind on the field. It’s time to play and I’ll worry about all of that when I get home at night.

I’m going to go out on every play and do what I’m supposed to do and play to the best of my abilities.

My prayers go out to everyone in New Orleans,
Milton Collins, #14