OTTAWA — Every CFL fan should be happy to see Demerio Houston returning to the field. Except maybe Ottawa REDBLACKS fans in Week 8.
The veteran defensive back returns to the lineup for the Calgary Stampeders as they travel to the Nation’s capital to face the REDBLACKS. Houston’s job will be to stop an Ottawa offence that has already shown it can be explosive, if still a little inconsistent.
The home team also features its own defensive ace in linebacker Adarius Pickett, who was the runner-up for Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2023 and is having yet another award-deserving season in Ottawa.
Finally, Jake Maier and the Stampeders passing offence had a near perfect game in Week 7. Can do they do it again in Week 8 against a fierce REDBLACKS pass rush?
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Houston is back and that makes the Stampeders secondary that much harder to beat. The defensive back provides lockdown coverage like few other players in the league can, and will make life difficult for Brown and the REDBLACKS.
The pivot has the advantage of having faced Houston in practice the last couple of seasons when both were members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The intriguing part of this matchup is Houston’s return from injury. The cornerback hasn’t played since Week 4 and will have to match up with the likes of Justin Hardy, Dominique Rhymes, Jaelon Acklin and Kalil Pimpleton, a tough challenge for his first game back in the lineup.
Pickett is one of the best linebackers in the CFL and will always warrant attention by offensive coordinators and our three-matchups-to-watch column alike. The versatile defender is the only player in the league with a PFF grade above 80 in both run defence and coverage, doing everything as a swiss-army knife in the middle of Bob Dyce’s defence. His task this week is stopping the Stampeders from establishing the run. Calgary is second in rushing yards per game (101.5) and is tied for second with Ottawa in yards per attempt (5.0).
The REDBLACKS meanwhile are middle of the pack stopping the run as a unit (fifth, 91.5 yards per game allowed) and will rely on Pickett to make sure the Red and White have to throw the ball to win the game. Speaking of which…
Calgary’s passing offence vs. Ottawa’s pass rush
This could easily be Jake Maier vs. Lorenzo Mauldin IV, but that matchup only happens if the pass rusher is able to get past Calgary’s offensive line. The Stamps have allowed only eight sacks so far, second best mark in the league, while Ottawa registered 11 quarterback takedowns over the first seven weeks of the season. Mauldin and Michael Wakefield have accounted for more than half of the REDBLACKS sacks with three each and will be in charge of beating a line led by D’Antne Demery. The O-lineman is the fourth best pass-blocker in the CFL so far according to PFF with a pass-blocking grade of 81.0 and a pass-blocking efficiency of 99.0 per cent.
If they succeed in giving Maier time, expect the veteran pivot to have another performance like he did in Week 7, when he threw for 307 yards and three majors without a single turnover, making the best of a receiving group that features talented names like Reggie Begelton, Jalen Philpot and Clark Barnes.