Vernon Adams Jr. has yet to throw a touchdown pass for the Calgary Stampeders three games into the season.
The Stampeders (2-1) host the undefeated Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-0) on Thursday.
Calgary’s quarterback has orchestrated six touchdown drives and rushed for an eight-yard touchdown over his first three starts as a Stampeder.
He’s thrown for 800 yards and says he’s cool with his lack of touchdown throws as long as Calgary wins.
“We got two wins out of it so I wasn’t complaining,” Adams said Wednesday. “You got a loss now and you’re really looking at it.
“As long as we’re winning I’m OK with that, but I’m sure they’ll start rolling in here soon.”
Stampeders head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson, a former CFL quarterback himself, was also willing to overlook a delay in air touchdowns as long as Adams distributes the ball well enough to get the victory.
“We definitely understand the teams aren’t necessarily all out blitzing down there. They’re playing zones, and so we’ve got to be able to run the ball,” Dickenson said.
“We’ve got to able to take what’s there, but he’s still had the great rushing touchdown and probably a couple down to the one-yard line. As a quarterback though, I’m not caught up on stats, but I’d like a few touchdown passes and I know he would as well.”
Thursday’s game has been dubbed the “Stampede Bowl” with a custom trophy for the game winner in homage to the Calgary Stampede, which starts Friday and has been a city fixture for over a century.
“We’re in the winning business, but we’re also in the entertainment business, and our guys, we want to go and put on a show,” Dickenson said.
Calgary players donned cowboy hats Wednesday at McMahon Stadium and posed for pictures.
“I never really wore one before,” said Adams, who became a Stampeder in a trade with the B.C. Lions last November.
The Blue Bombers arrive with their quarterback Zach Collaros on his game.
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The 36-year-old threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another in Winnipeg’s 36-23 win over the Edmonton Elks in Week 4. Collaros amassed 334 passing yards without an interception.
Winnipeg running back Brady Oliveira, the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2024, returns to the lineup after sitting out two games with a shoulder injury.
Calgary, meanwhile, is the more rested team after a bye week and a rain-soaked 20-12 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks on June 20 at McMahon.
The Blue Bombers are Calgary’s first divisional opponent this season and the two sides clash three times in the next six weeks.
Winnipeg has appeared in five straight Grey Cups and won the first two.
“They’re the cream of the crop,” Calgary receiver Jalen Philpot said. “They’ve been in five Grey Cups for a reason.
“They’ve kind of owned the West for the last five years so for us, it’s just a big challenge for us. We feel like we’ve got a really good team this year so we want to go out there and play the best team.”
An intriguing storyline will stay on the back burner as all-star linebacker Adam Bighill won’t face his former team Thursday.
The Stampeders signed the 36-year-old Bighill, a three-time winner of the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award, to the club’s practice roster last week.
Bighill won two of his three Grey Cup rings with Winnipeg, but the six-time CFL all-star was released by the Blue Bombers in January. He underwent season-ending knee surgery last September.
“He’s a long term plan for us. We need him for as many games as possible but also we really need him for games after Labour Day and so we’ll definitely try to be smart about it,” said Dickenson.
The Stampeders and Bombers clash again July 18 in Winnipeg and Aug. 9 back in Calgary.
“I’d be hard-pressed to think he’s not going to play his former team,” Dickenson said. “He’s going to be rushing me and it’s not going to be vice versa. I would be very surprised if he doesn’t play Winnipeg, if not twice, rather than once.”
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