Grey Cup 2017 Picks: Will Calgary Stampeders Find Redemption Or Are The Argonauts As Strong As They Believe?


The Calgary Stampeders are looking for redemption after their upset Grey Cup loss to to the Ottawa Redblacks in 2016. The team is fed up with the failures of the past and they’re 100 percent ready to put the painful 2016 loss behind them to focus on the present and the 105th Grey Cup in Ottawa at TD Place Sunday. The Prince George Citizen wrote that the Stampeders “have every intention of exorcising their demons” this time against the Argonauts at Grey Cup 2017, and nothing is going to stop them.

There’s a lot of pressure on coach Dave Dickenson and the Stampeders after their devastating loss in 2016. They were heavily favored to win, and now it’s tough to stop replaying the overtime 39-33 loss that fans just can’t stop talking about. But Dickenson says that “opportunity is knocking” again, and this time, Calgary will answer loud and clear.

This is the Stampeders’ fourth Grey Cup in the last six years, and they already took home the coveted cup in 2014 in a 20-16 win over the Hamilton Tiger Cats. They want that feeling again. Defensive back Joshua Bell said that it’s been “such a long week” looking back at failure and he’s ready to win.

“I’m tired of talking to microphones, I’m tired of doing this. I’m ready to see Toronto.”

Ottawa Redblacks’ Henry Burris celebrates after the Grey Cup 2016 upset win over the Calgary Stampeders. [Image by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images]

Global News Network reported that Dickenson said he’s had a lot of stress this time around as he focuses on finalizing the roster. Some of the players had small tweaks in practice, and it’s tricky knowing how it will all play out at the all-important Grey Cup. The Stampeders’ coach is also worried about the weather, which can change quickly and has a huge effect on calling the game.

Current Grey Cup weather predictions are showing a snowy day with 1-3 centimeters of the white stuff expected, but fans won’t have to face the kind of extreme cold that can happen in Canada in November. The game-time temperature will be a relatively balmy -5C, a far cry from the record-setting cold in 1991 for the 79th Grey Cup in Winnipeg. That year, it was also a contest between the Argos and the Stamps, and the Argonauts won 36-21.

The Argonauts are ready to put that freezing game on repeat and make it all happen again, even though this time around, they are the underdog to the determined and heavily favored Stampeders.

According to Metro News, the Argos are confident they can upset the Stamps at the Grey Cup 2017. They managed an upset 35-22 win over Calgary in the 2012 Grey Cup, and twice in August this year they handed Calgary a defeat. The game plan today is to “put quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell off his game.” Toronto rush end Victor Butler said the way to get around Mitchell is to “find ways to disrupt him,” and the Argos are ready to do just that.

If the Stampeders pull off a win this year, that victory would make Mitchell the only Calgary quarterback to have two CFL wins under his belt.

The 105th Grey Cup kicks off Sunday, November 26 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

[Featured Image by Rich Lam/Getty Images]

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