Kiss the 2023 Witches vol.IV - Unexpected

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
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From my opening post in the PBP thread:

"I espect to see some improvement in the Offence with Milanovic having anoher week with the players. I’m not expecting any miracles, but you either improve or you regress.

I expect the receivers to actually put in some effort and block for their team mates, run all routes as if you expect the ball, run-block, run the scramble drill, and actually extend their arrms to catch a football. Of course, dropping a pass that hiss you in both hands SHOULD get you benched for a series.

I would hope for more team discipline, but at this point, thay are who they are.

Powell needs better pass protection; whehter that means more TE sets, multiple RB options, liberal use of the running game with all three RB/HB, quick slant plays, things that can setup better chances for a deeper completion. Face it, with the Tackles currently employed, it would be extremely difficult for ANY QB to play.

Hopefully Liegghio and Vedvik have worked together enough to get their timing and holding in sync. They are playing in a dome, so there should be no wind issues - meaning that there is NO excuse for ilegal kickoffs or punts.

I am also looking for SOME improvement in the D-Line with Wynn having another week of practice. I really don’t hold-out any hope for overall Defensive improvements with both Washington and the personnel dressed."

Every. Single. Point. was answered. In spades.

Butler was a complete beast, but he wouldn’t have achieved what he did without some truely excellent run-blocking - especially by the interior line. I couldn’t find the Time of Posession, but it must have been heavily tilted in our favour.

I certainly didn’t expect the Defence to play this well. The way VAJ has been playing, I truly thought he would carve us to pieces. They made a huge stop on 3rd down, had a fumble recovery, and a VERY well-timed INT by Thurman in the 4th.

Liegghio and Vedvik seem to have ironed-out the wrinkles in the kicking game, with (I think) all kicking attempts being successful. ST coverage was stellar, and SHOULD have been awarded another fumble recovery in the 1st, but the Officials royally screwed-up the call. Which brings me to this…

I have NEVER, in my 52-years of life, seen a TD return on an onside kick attempt. I watched the replays, and Anthony Frederico deserves the kudos for that play by getting out of the way of the football on that kick so that White could recover it. That showed some incredible football IQ.

The entire team was much more disciplined this game. 4 penalties for 25 yards is perfectly acceptable - 2 Time-count (10), Accidental DPI (10) and I can’t remember the 4th one. No Misconducts for once.

This was a complete team win. Frankly, I have been waiting for this all season. IF they can keep it up, they have a chance on Labour Day.

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Good win, team. Please do it again next week.

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This running game was the one I thought we would have to protect Bo and not have him throw 40 passes a game.

With the exception of the 2 Edmonton games we haven’t been able to get the run going at all.

Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come as BC was ranked 2nd in most defensive rushing categories before we dominated them tonight.

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Great win by us…Lions shot themselves in the foot repeatedly…like we have done all year.
Milanovich appears to have a balanced attack …something posters have been trying to teach Condell for almost 10 years…incredible what a great running game can do.

By the way…I do recall a TD return on an onside kick …Grey Cup years ago on icy surface between Esk-Als. May have been the last cup won by Maciacia as HC of Esks.

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It wasn’t made a priority until last week. Expect much more under Milanovich.

Great TEAM win! All three phases excelled.

No self inflicted wounds. Forced turnovers.

Learn from this TiCats.

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Pleasantly shocked by the strength of this win.

Started with a few body blows and kept BC on the ropes all game.

Butler was a beast. He predicted two touchdowns for himself pre-game. Ran through the D like a hot knife through butter. Great job O-line.

Powell looked composed and started to make more reads. Never got greedy but still took a couple of deep shots. No fumbles or interceptions. Made the BC Defense look very sub-par. Take the occasional sack and move on.

Outstanding play calling by Milanovich. Utilized his weapons well. Pretty much everyone on O saw the ball.

Turnovers were the result of tenacious play.

Learn from this one and let’s see where we are going forward.

Way to go Cats! Outstanding win against a very tough team.

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I’m still in shock.
Defensive and offensive game plans ,and execution, were near perfect.
The Oline was great. 2 of the 4 sacks were on Powell and the running lanes were huge.
Not many penalties.
This defense has HUGE potential to he great.
Even Leggio was perfect ( although a couple of his kicks were still stressful to watch).
Powell was solid and smart.
Something to build on for sure.

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There was one offside committed by the Defense (5 yards) - A HUGE improvement from many past games. Some of their previous games they had fewer penalties but they were so badly timed that they would stall drives or make them difficult to continue, or keep an opponent’s drive alive when they had made a stop to get them off the field.

I am pleasantly surprised by this result but really happy that the team that I anticipated seeing this season, finally showed up on the field. Now they just have to show up at THF on Labour Day and sink the boatmen!

All phases finally came together and executed a good game plan, limited penalties and had NO turnovers. Butler was a beast and Powell continued to look poised and made some nice plays. And for a change, receivers weren’t dropping the ball and they actually found the end zone.
I was hoping that the Lions wouldn’t slaughter us - it was almost the other way around!

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Until tonight.

Butler got 14 carries in both Edmonton games. One with Condell and one with Milanovich.

My point was running on Edmonton didn’t shock anyone.

23 carries tonight is unheard of for most CFL backs and a unicorn for Ticats running backs. Let’s hope we can continue it because if we’re throwing being down with Powell, it’s not good.

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I hope this game is looked back on as the turning point in thf 2023 season, thanks to balanced playcalling from Milanovich.

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How did Adelke recover that fumble?
I think he never gives up even if every other team mate seems closer to the ball.
He popped the ball loose and then had to scramble back. So many witches to kiss now!

My Labour Day tickets just went up in value.

Oskee wee wee

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Unexpected !! I love it . . .
I tried to warn the Gamblers in the crowd. They were saying that + 10½ was not high enough . . .
a gift from the bookies !!

When you least expect it . . . expect it !!

I sincerely hope that the Hamilton fans who bet against their own team did not take too much of a hit.
Sincerely . . .

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Shocked completely, happy they were able to dominate the line of scrimmage. Where has this team been all season? Ill have more confidence when and if they can do this consistently

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I agree with all of your points there Smog.

Why this win feels great is because the Cats didn’t just win this game ugly. They actually controlled the run of play, the clock and the Lions in general. At no time did the Lions look threatening except at the very end in garbage time.

It just feels like a very complete and dominating game by the Cats.

It’s been a long time since we’ve felt like that but we need more of it. :grinning:

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I remember Sask doing this against us in 1981. First time I had ever seen that.

The key to tonight’s win? I didn’t watch the game. Actually had dinner plans out with family so now I can go back and watch this glorious effort. Well done Cats.

Also going to miss the Labour Day game as well due to travel, might only be able to catch the first half on TV. So that can’t do anything but improve our chances. In fact maybe I’ll avoid that one entirely too.

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Powell did enough to make the throwing game part of the offensive plan. The ball was well spread out.

Keep feeding Butler the ball like tonight and keep the throwing game viable. No fumbles and no interceptions go a very long way.

Powell is improving.

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Every receiver on the team had a reception, and I think I heard that they all had receptions over 10 yards too.

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When the O line improves…the QB & RB both improve…question is can the Oline continue to show up?

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Won(dominated) in all 3 phases
Offence
Defence
Special teams
Full team win

Oh, Outcoached them too!

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Congrats on the win. I needed it for the pool