{"id":252337,"date":"2025-10-31T13:07:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T13:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/252337\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T13:07:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T13:07:17","slug":"adams-focused-on-preparation-as-he-faces-former-lions-team-in-western-sf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/252337\/","title":{"rendered":"Adams focused on preparation as he faces former Lions team in Western SF"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calgary Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams, Jr., has a pretty simple formula for his ideal state of mind for Saturday\u2019s West semifinal at BC Place versus the Lions. <\/p>\n

\u201cCalm, relaxed, and prepared,\u201d he said with a smile this week after a practice.<\/p>\n

Adams is 0-2 against the Lions after the club traded him to the Stamps last November. That includes a 52-23 blowout at McMahon Stadium in September where he threw two early interceptions. He downplayed going against Nathan Rourke and a cast of former teammates in the biggest game of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got us twice\u2026and they want to put on a good performance for their fans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a playoff game. Whether it\u2019s BC or anyone else, it means a lot\u2026I spent some time there, but it\u2019s all good. We know we\u2019ve got to get this win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams also commended Rourke, a Most Outstanding Player candidate who led the most-efficient offence in league history this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cNate\u2019s balling,\u201d Adams said. \u201cHe\u2019s having a hell of a year, especially the backend of the season. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just excited for the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams, an Oregon and Eastern Washington product, seized the one chance he was given in southern Alberta with a Stamps organization in transition. <\/p>\n

The 32-year-old native of Pasadena, California, led Calgary to an 11-7 mark \u2013 a six-win improvement over 2024 \u2013 in his first season at the helm. Teammates have rallied around his upbeat personality, intense work ethic, and leadership style. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe puts people out of their comfort zones and allows them to speak as well,\u201d veteran Reggie Begelton told TSN<\/a> at the start of the season. \u201cHe calls them out to see what you\u2019re going to do\u2026after warmups, it\u2019s not just the same guys speaking before practice. He\u2019ll call somebody out and say, \u2018Hey, what are you going to say?\u2019 It makes everybody one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams played with receiver Dominique Rhymes in BC, and Rhymes led Calgary receivers with 886 yards and six touchdowns this season. He said that Adam\u2019s non-linear journey through the league prepared him for the challenge of leading the Stamps.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the complexity of the league,\u201d he said. \u201cThe thing about Vernon [is] he shrugs it off. He keeps playing. He keeps making big plays\u2026we\u2019re excited to have him as our quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

At his introductory news conference months ago, both Adams and head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson said that they\u2019d had eyes on each other for several seasons and wanted to eventually work together. <\/p>\n

On the heels of an impressive bounce back campaign for the franchise, they\u2019ll try to lead Calgary on Saturday to its first playoff win since they took home the 2018 Grey Cup. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of the guys for what we\u2019ve accomplished, and to me that\u2019s the success,\u201d Dickenson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you\u2019re really not in it for the regular season victories. You\u2019re trying to make noise in the playoffs. I do believe in the process though. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that it\u2019s just if you win the Grey Cup, that means you\u2019re successful. These guys have put a lot of time and work into it. They\u2019ve gotten a lot better and have already accomplished something that not a lot of people thought they would. It\u2019s already a success, but what level of success?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams, already accomplished in his own right, is fuelled in part by what he doesn\u2019t have\u2026yet. <\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t been to a Grey Cup yet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt matters a lot, man. I think we all play to become champions. It really does matter, but I can only control what I can control and be the best version of me and being in the \u2018Make Plays\u2019 mode.<\/p>\n

\u201c Don\u2019t do too much. Try to own the ball and move the ball as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Calgary Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams, Jr., has a pretty simple formula for his ideal state of mind for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[712,49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-252337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-canadian-football-league","12":"tag-canadianfootballleague","13":"tag-cfl","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}