After 3 Games....What stands out for you so far?

Excuses built in for a bad start to the season. Opening in Calgary the toughest road barn in the league followed by a trip to Edmonton 6 days later.
Now 2-1 we have to travel to Sask for a road game off another 6 day work week.
Schedule has been so condensed it must be tough to get the proper work in at practice.
But so far so good. And looking ahead Sask is facing us on a 5 day week. CRAZY but I guess the CFL wants a Thursday, Friday, Saturday schedule on the airwaves.
Only the most optimistic of fans had us at 2-1 after 3 weeks.

Seems like all facets of the game are working well and I have always liked Masoli so I must say the play from our National RBs is what has stood out to me so far. This i did not see coming but I don't see how the coaching staff goes back to Green next week even if he is healthy. Our Nationals have been too good to swap out.

  1. Masoli
  2. The D
  3. Ciraco
  4. Timmis
  5. Howsare

I think what stands out to me so far is wins. This team seems better prepared to play than any of the previous ten years of cats teams I’ve seen out of the gate. Offense has exceeded my expectations. Defense was a bit shaky week one but has come around.

I would like to see some progress on the special teams return game, not awful however I’d like to see it improve.

Only thing bugging me is our kicker choosing to lign up all the way to the right hash to kick an extra point. Why? So not necessary. Only took 3 games to miss one. It won’t be the last if he keeps kicking from there (the former kicker in me venting I guess)

Green is on the 6-game injured list with a broken hand so he won’t be back anytime soon. June Jones speculated that John White might be ready for the game in Saskatchewan. No rush to get any International running back into the line-up, not with the way Timmis and Thomas-Erlington have been playing so far.

He was 36-36 on PATs last season.

Was skeptical of Jones on the whole. Thought his schemes would have a very limited lifespan before being figured out.
Wrong.

And as a part of that I was skeptical of Glanville…wrong too

I have never doubted Jones, but I did have some doubt with Glanville. Wrong.

I've only been skeptical of Bob Young and Scott Mitchell.

First off, I am a Redblacks fan (and before that, Rough Riders). That being said, the Tabbys are my No.2. That is why it is difficult to watch them compete because I like them both. My late mother was a die-hard Tabbys fan and whenever I have met with Hamilton fans, in the stands or on the street, I have found them to be passionate, knowledgeable and friendly. You guys have a lot going for you which makes it easy for me to cheer for your team. Last night, you could say that my cheering on the Tabbys was slitting my own throat because they are now ahead of the Redblacks in the East Division. They deserve to be there....for now!

Now to the question, what stands out. For one thing, the Ti-Cats seem to be firing on all 8 cylinders and are getting better and better. I have watched with interest as they went from the basement this time last year, to being a contender by the end of last season. This season, they are starting off as contenders. Masoli seems to be getting into a good groove. He is confident and seems to have good communication with his team. He is showing exceptional leadership qualities and I love the way he keeps his cool. In a word, the Ti-Cats look confident and competent.

And on that note and given his amazing performance, can we now say: enough with the Manziel chatter? I was getting a tad fed up with the hype around Manziel which has been going on since....was it last season....when June Jone suggested that Manziel would be the second coming of Christ. All along, I felt sorry for Jeremiah Masoli, who had this sword of Damocles hanging over his head since before the start of the season. I guess I would not be a good football club owner or coach because I place a high value on loyalty. So I would probably lose my shirt.

Masoli has done great things for the Tabbys. He continues to do great things for the Tabbys. He has been the reliable, steadfast workhorse. The engine that keeps the machine going. He has demonstrated over the past few games, that he is the man and I think that all of this hoopla about Manziel was the height of ingratitude.

Henry Burris nailed it last week:

"What else does this guy [Masoli] need to do...... can we take our eyes off of the sidelines [Manziel] and focus on the great things that Jeremiah Masoli is doing on the field....?"

I could not have said it better myself.

Nothing against Manziel, by the way. Having a man of his calibre as a back-up QB is probably a good thing for Hamilton.

Apologies all 'round for the long monologue.

What stands out for me is June Jones hands down, no doubts about it.

1 June Jones' calm, quiet demeanour is having such a positive effect.

2 Jeremiah Masoli's performance is really excellent, a great demonstration of leadership.

These are not a surprise to me.

What does surprise me, very pleasantly:

3 Our running game... kudos both to the Canadian backs and to the offensive line.

4 Our defence... Jerry Glanville has them working very efficiently.

What stands out? -

  1. Masoli has made me 100% a believer (I was probably at about 75-80% before)

  2. How quickly the D has come together and how quickly they have tightened up in games after allowing a big play or two

  3. Along with the D I'd have to include Glanville - didn't really know what to expect but JJ sure did! good hire.

  4. Certainly no less important but our national RBs (especially Thomas-Erlington who got to shine last night). I'd seen enough of Timmis even in very limited action to know he'd be good but I'm really glad to see him get great opportunities to show his ability on the field.

So much for all of the naysayers who figured that the Ticats weren't going to be any better because they did nothing to upgrade talent during the offseason. ::slight_smile: ::slight_smile:
They didn't NEED to bring in a whack of FAs - they already had all of the talent needed. Kudos to the coaching staff for bringing out the best in each and every player. The players are out there playing REALLY well and having FUN!

All of the above for me too .

Should be 3 and 0 .

Superior Coaching. The best coaching we have ever had. And they wanted to
get better. Players play above their level for the coaches.

I love the way they come out of the gate ready to play. Last three years it took at least the first quarter to get up to speed. So far, this year, they are go from the first whistle, both offence and defence. Keep it going guys, win or lose, you are playing fun, easy to watch, football.

Very nice post Robert. Masoli will continue to gain support week by week as he torches opposing defences and the wins start to pile up.

As for what stands out for me so far is that this could very well be the year of the Cats. All of the other 8 teams have shown that they are beatable and have some weaknesses and problems. Argos, Als, Riders and Bombers already playing their 2nd string QBs which has the potential of derailing their seasons.

It will be an enjoyable season for the Cats. :slight_smile:

I agree with a lot of posters points so redundant to repeat.

My favourite thing has been we use poor field position to our advantage. Long drives down the field, keeping the ball away from the opponents offence, and finish scoring.
By fourth quarter this is paying dividends. Opposing D is exhausted and our D is fresh - to counter any hopes of a opponent come back.
Creativity on O, in past years, when a RB had a good run, we would try the same play again; only to be stuffed on the second attempt.
New featured back every week, if that's not going to keep opposing defences guessing?
..and oh yeah actually having a run game and not only using RB as blockers.

The team is good enough to overcome key mistakes such as giving up a big play for TD, or the dropsies.
And finally not always playing from behind.
Thankful that we are relatively injury free, a lot of slow starts in past years were due to key injuries.
Its a long season, still early.
(Got to get some reps for JF, so he is ready and not a deer in the headlights like Jeff Matthews was in 2015)

What stands out for me is that the Tiger-Cats are moving away from most of their tendencies of recent seasons. These tendencies are hopefully a thing of the past:

  • starting the season in a huge hole in the W-L column
  • the tendency to be a pass-first or even a pass-only offence
  • unimaginative or predictable play-calling
  • the habit of taking their foot off the gas and letting opponents mount big comebacks
  • the unusual propensity for serious injuries, especially those incurred outside of games
  • high roster turnover from season to season
  • putting a lot of trust in rookies (esp. at DB) who turn out to be inadequate players
  • roster revolving door during the season - as far as I can tell we have only made changes due to injuries (which have been minor)
  • an O-line that can't block for the run (Anyone see CJ Gable this week? 165 yards on 23 carries - didn't see those kinds of stats when he was a Cat.)

I'm so conditioned to look for the above that it's almost been hard to believe what I'm seeing so far this year. But I sure hope to see more of it!

A poster over on the Riders fan page pointed out how deep the team is.

There are a couple positions where we've got expendable assets which is always good

We've also trimmed a bunch of money off cap so there's going to be room to trade or sign(NFL cuts) players as needed down the stretch