Well, well, well! Congrats to the Ticats, and despite our disappointing loss last Friday, the Als still find themselves alone in 1st place.
Hope this week's practises go well and that AC will be at least available to come in for a few series. The keys for this game, I believe, are the following:
Defence: Keep after Glenn all game long. He tends to be a pocket passer and when rushed (or sacked!), he won't be effective. Better D-schemes on 2nd-and-longs; these have been a particularly glaring weakness for the Als' D this season.
Offence: Get Cobourne happy. He, or Whitaker, must carry the ball, and the O-line must bring their A game to make holes. With an inexperienced QB, this is key. For passes - screens, roll-outs, and medium routes (at least long enough to keep the sticks moving). The O coaches must prepare for blitzes as the Ticats D will no doubt have their ears pinned back going after a rookie QB.
It looks like it's gooing to be an interesting finish in the East this season with a much-improved Ticat team. The Argos, while they didn't look good in the last two games, are also an improved team. To me, the key to Als' success this season is having a healthy AC and better play selection on O. If we can control the clock with a good mixture of pass/run, the opposing Ds will be worn out. Some of our D lapses will then appear moot. Go Als go!!
Respectfully, to me it's very simple. No AC no W. Your defence needs alot of work all around. McPherson won't be enough against a pumped up defence on a rejuvinated Hamilton team at home. Go Cats
Cats playing at home for a second consecutive week following by week. This is a game Ticats should win if they are legit regardless of who is at QB for the Als.
However, until Leak threw two INTs and fumbled, the game was close and could have gone either way. To be sure, winning is always more difficult with a rookie QB at the helm, but some stellar careers have been launched when the no.1 QB went down. As to the the Al's D, they have run hot and cold all season. In the final analysis, however, they're still on top and did what they had to do to amass 6 wins. Will the Als have a healthy AC this season and can they fix things up on D? That remains to be seen.
I was glad to see a packed Ivor Wynn stadium today in Steeltown and hope it remains that way until the end of the season. Should be a good game on Saturday; I'm looking forward to it already.
P.S. What's the latest on the new stadium situation?
Si Calvillo n'est pas remis à 100%, il ne faut pas le faire jouer, quitte à descendre au classement. On doit avoir Calvillo cette année pour faire les séries.
Et dans la même mesure, si McPherson n'est pas remis à 100%, autant ne pas le faire jouer.
Il faudra compter sur Leak et Santos pour jouer contre les Tiger Cats s'ils sont ceux qui sont le plus en santé.
Je suis songeur quant au jeu de course de Cobourne. Il ne me semble pas aussi hargneux que dans les 2 dernières années et en ce sens, il crée moins d'opportunité au sol. J'ai trouvé que Whitaker avait la flamme dans sa partie contre Winnipeg, et que Cobourne se cherche une raison de l'avoir.
En fait, c'est à partir de maintenant qu'on va voir ce que l'équipe vaut en tant qu'équipe. On va voir ce que les entraîneurs vont faire pour mettre autant l'attaque que la défensive au diapason du reste de la ligue.
Si on regarde les Tiger Cats de près, on peut remarquer que c'est une équipe qui prend son temps pour souder tous ses éléments. Ça a été le cas l'an dernier, et c'est aussi vrai cette année. Ils viennent d'en gagner 4 de suite, dont deux contre Toronto. Ils sont donc dans une tendance à l'amélioration, contrairement aux Alouettes qui se cherchent toujours malgré leur fiche.
Ils auront la chance de trôner au premier rang de la division Est la semaine prochaine, et je crois qu'ils y parviendront. Ils ont un des meilleurs trios de secondeurs, ce qui va rendre la partie difficile au style d'attaque que les Alouettes pratiquent.
Et Kevin Glenn peut très bien cisailler la tertiaire poreuse des Alouettes.
Patience, les morceaux seront en place pour la fin de la saison.
I still say Als win this one by a touchdown.
Who has Hamilton beat this year? Winnipeg twice, Argo's twice, both bottom feeders as far as I'm concerned.
Not sure who Hamilton beat in their other game. B.C?
Hamilton also could have easily lost that last game to Toronto is Cleo Lemon used his head in the first half.
Anyway Cats haven't beat the Als in about 5 seasons or something, and listening to the local radio stations here in the Hamilton area, you'd think a Cats win was already in the books.
I see Cox and Parker coming up as monsters this weekend.
No disrepect to the Cats fans, I think their team is obviously getting better, but not ready to take us down yet.
One must note that McPherson did QB two games last year and showed very well. He has tons of power and is a running threat- he, at one point last season he was making third and one carries successfully for 1st downs - at one point he was averaging 8-10 yards per third down per QB keep. I'm hoping that he will return to the effectivness of last year. This is a important game for him, if successful there will be fan pressure to give him some action even when AC returns.
The question mark I have with McPherson is if he can run or will be allowed to run because of his knee injury. He has to be able to run to be effective.
If he justs sits in the pocket Im afraid hes in for a long afternoon. A.C. can mostly get away with not being mobile because of his quick release and experience.
We saw last week the difference between Leak who chose or was not permitted to be mobile, and Santos who made plays with his feet.
Ne nous attendons pas à gagner avec un quart qui en est à son premier départ cette année, contre une équipe qui aligne les victoires depuis quelques semaines.
Mais on peut s'attendre à une meilleure prestation globale de la part de l'équipe en comparaison à ce que nous avons vu la semaine dernière.
Trois points, principalement : plus de jeu au sol, une meilleure couverture en profondeur, particulièrement en deuxième et long, et plus de protection de la part de la ligne à l'attaque.
Si McPherson est confiné à ne pas courir, on va voir Santos en fin de match. Adrian doit avoir la possibilité de se créer de l'espace et de se donner du temps.
I’m not officially chalking up the win just yet, i don’t want to under estimate that Als Defence. They’ve had some pretty big games this year and that includes one against Hamilton.
However, i do expect Hamilton to win. If we can’t win at home against a team that is without their starting quarterback, then we don’t deserve to be in 1st place.
For Jordan, there's nothing "official" to chalk up for either side and I never make predictions.
The Als have been shaken by the injury bug, and an injury at the most important position, especially when it's AC, is bound to cause the team some adjustment problems. However, we saw some good things last season with Adrian McPherson at the helm. In the last game, Leak was not helped much by his veteran teammates - dropped passes...etc. If McPherson and the Als are on their game, we're in for a treat. Kevin Glenn et al are also capable of delivering the merchandise. What teams will show up in Hamilton on Saturday? That remains to be seen.
To be sure, it's a very good thing for the league to see a much-improved Ticat team and a sellout crowd at Ivor Wynn on Labour Day.
It seems to me the whole thing hinges (no pun intended) on Adrian's knee.
I suspect (hope) the Alouettes have been playing possum with McPherson...that he's close to 100%.
If so, the combination of his running talent and his passing abilities will open some eyes this weekend.
I'm with several of you guys in hoping the veterans (Watkins, Richardson...this means YOU) step up for the young QB.
In the Leak start last week....and in a couple McPherson starts last year....both Watkins and Richardson had some flat-out game-changing drops.
As his career ramps into full-gear, McPherson will come to be known as much for his arm/deep threat as his running game. Saturday's as good a time as any to build THAT reputation.
McPherson seems to like to go to Cahoon (what's more important than reliability for a young QB?) and has some chemistry with Hawkins and SJ Green. If the Als are going to pull this one off...I see those three having BIG BIG games.
And incredibly there is no bad blood between these two teams. It’s like Montreal is just expected to win and nobody gets offended when they do. The Argos have guys who spit on us but when the Als and Ticats get together it’s like Spirit of Philadelphia! That needs to change if we are ever to compete with the Alouettes. Cats have to stop conceding that Montreal is better and then go off on their merry way. It’s like it’s acceptable to lose to Montreal. No harm done. They should expect to win and be angry if they don’t. They should take personal offense at losing to Montreal if it’s ever going to turn around. As to your second part, Hamilton has not beaten BC this year. They have beaten Winnipeg 3 of 4 and Argos twice. Go Cats Go.
Not quite. We lost to Hamilton in 2008 when Quinton Porter lit us up for 4 passing TDs.
I’d be wary about this cockiness, considering how our Als have performed this year. Calvillo or no Calvillo, getting blown out by BC at home isn’t exactly a sign that all is well with our club. Hamilton have won three times against Winnipeg, twice against Toronto, the same Toronto team that soundly beat us a few weeks ago. And if you’re going to argue that Hamilton was lucky to beat Toronto, a surprisingly good team this season, you have to admit that we were equally lucky to escape with wins over two of the league’s bottom-feeders, BC and Edmonton.
Montreal fans have to stop expecting wins as a God-given right, at least this season. We’re playing a very tough Ti-Cat team on the road, minus our starting QB, with a backup who spent the first half of the season on the IR, an O-line that can’t pass-block, receivers who drop balls at the worst times, a porous defense, and a disaster of a special-teams unit that doesn’t even have a dedicated coordinator. In our last meeting, we didn’t score our first touchdown until the fourth quarter, and that was with Calvillo at the controls. Obviously, anything can happen, but it’s astonishing to me that you don’t see Hamilton as the favorite in this matchup.
Philosophy: The Ticats are built on old school CFL concepts of getting after the quarterback, man defense and overall athleticism winning the day. The Als are the product of their system, a system that as its roots many NFL concepts.
With two competitive teams and the best player in the league MIA you have to think that the Tigercats playing at home and who have not travelled in a month should win this game. But I expect a good game that could go either way.
It sure will be intriguing. . . looking forward to this one rather eagerly.
Just a tad concerned about QBing. . . McPherson hasn't played a down since last season; is he really and truly ready to go? Might it not make more sense to give Santos the start since he's been active all along, and if he struggles as did Leak last game, send McPherson in then for a change of pace?
Nos Alouettes forment une bonne équipe mal synchronisée. En plus, Brown est aussi blessé ce qui veut dire que Dix prendra son poste et Woldu celui de Dix. Par contre, Diamond Ferri sera de la partie.
En ce qui me concerne, je crois que les Alouettes auront une assez bonne année, mais pas pour se rendre jusqu’au bout. De la façon dont l’équipe joue, elle sera compétitive mais devra se battre à chaque semaine pour sa position au classement. Je considère qu’on est entrés en phase de reconstruction et j’ai confiance que Jim Popp et Marc Trestman vont nous donner une autre bonne équipe pour 2012.
Il faut se rendre compte que dans le football, on ne trône pas au sommet outrageusement année après année : il faut reconstruire un moment donné, et le départ inattendu de Chiu a précipité les choses. D’autres départs suivront cette année.
Il faut donc continuer d’encourager nos joueurs et surtout, CESSER DE LES HUER. Ces gars-là ne sont pas les divas surpayées des Canachiens, qui n’ont aucun coeur au ventre et se foutent complètement des amateurs. Ces gars-là s’impliquent dans notre communauté, ne gagnent pas des millions même s’ils ont peu à envier aux millionnaires du football, se comportent en parfaits citoyens et sont fiers de porter le nom de notre ville partout au pays. Ils ont du respect pour leurs supporteurs et méritent notre appui surtout dans ces temps difficiles.
Allez-y, les gars, donnez ce que vous avez et la victoire viendra! 57 + 3
Hamilton is VERY solid on defense…with one of the best linebacking groups in the CFL. Kevin Glenn is ON his game…looking VERY sharp. With Bruce III, “Sticky” Stala, are STACKED at receiver. The Alouettes haven’t exactly been rock solid against the pass this year…or last year (on occasion).
On the other hand…the Alouettes strength on defense has been against the run. The Ticats have done what they’ve done so far with little or no running game. Who knows though? Just got back from my second corn roast this week…maybe Cobb will make it three.
If the Alouettes had been: getting their backup QB’s some quality playing time…replacing an all-star center with someone of equal talent…throwing Chad Owens the bone he needed to stay in Montreal…realizing Keron Williams was going to be a BIG loss (despite him doing little or nothing in BC)…actually having the specialty teams coaching they need to stay on top of their game (Duval included)…shoring things up in a weakened secondary…remembering that there’s such an animal as the running game…
…I’d be more optimistic about the rest of the 2010 season.
As things stand, its a bit of a shame Adrian Mcpherson has to come in right now. It’s a like that Winnipeg game when the Alouettes got “Babe Ruthed” by Michael Bishop…let the kid down BIG time. MICHAEL BISHOP!!!
Only this time they haven’t clinched anything…and aren’t likely to.
Just what exactly do they put in that Grey Cup?
Sure gives a wallop of a hangover.
But regardless of the outcome…and regardless of the reason:
These guys do NOT deserve to be boooooed.
They are not overpaid ice-jockeys…or tobacco chew-backers.
They work HARD…and most don’t get paid much more than you or me.
And for this they deliberately put themselves into a train/car wreck once a week…for our amusement and entertainment.
So please:
No Boo-ing.
