Last nights performance was not a standout for the Tiger-Cats and certainly not a game everyone will remember but still a win
and 5-0 perfect record now at Tim Horton’s Field.
The Defence played well, especially the front line of Norwood, Laurant and Hall and blitz of Lawrence, Reed and Butler and the DB’s keeping the Ottawa receivers in check.
The Offence is still not there yet, it’s clicking but still has it’s miscues of few dropped passes and lack of scoring in the red zone something this team needs to work on and fix before they get better.
The next game in Toronto against the Argo’s will be a good test for this team, can the rebound and win and take control of their position in the playoffs or will they leave the door open to another come back or lose altogether, let’s hope not and the Tiger-Cats can win next week and keep the momentum going.
Chris Shultz' analysis of the Ti-Cat offence at the end of the game is pretty accurate. He said that their 6 types of attack. 1. run between the tackles
2. run to the edges
3. hitches and screens
4. short passes
5. crossing passes
6. deep threat
Last night's game certainly wasn't a confidence builder, but a win is a win.
The Ti-Cats defense played another strong game, but still had a few little slip ups, although any time the opposing offense does not score a touchdown, your defense is doing something right.
The offense appears to still be a work in progress, and if anything it has been exposed a bit both last night and in the fourth quarter of last weeks game. The lack of a running game, and an occassionally suspect group of pass protectors makes this offense a little soft when they get to the red zone or late in the game when they need to make things happen. Ottawa blitzed time and time again on Friday night, and far too many times the offense did not make them pay. Toronto put pressure on them late in the game and all Hamilton's offense did was go backwards. Another concern is the lack of a deep arial attack. Collaros seldom hooks up on deep throws, even when players are wide open. The loss of LeFevour has also impacted the short yardarge game. Collaros sits up too high on these plays, and it often seems like a gamble on third and short.
Hopefully things can be improved a little more before the end of the year. The offense is great at the short possession passing game. If they can add a little more depth to their game it could really pay off. It would also help if we could get Wojt or Dyakowski off the IR, and if Madu can return to action and not get hurt again.
As much as I am a little concerned about the offense, it has been proven time and time again that defense wins championships. If the offense is able to find a way to protect the quarterback and sustain drives on a regular basis, this team can play with any team in the CFL. The defense is really playing well and will at least give this team a shot.
This team should be playing so much better, it's high time to get it together boys, both Toronto and Montreal are not playing great guns on offence as well it's the defences that are coming up big for all three teams but if Hamilton want to win and convincingly they need to start scoring in the Red Zone, just kicking field goals will always keep the opponent in the game, we have to Win and start winning big to prove we are ready for the playoffs or it's going to be tough to win anything.
Lets pack the Roger's Centre in Toronto next Friday night with Ti-Cat Fans, Loud & Proud and get our team scoring a few TD's, time for some revenge on Toronto!!
The Cats’ offence is centered around the short pass. Also, the lack of protection at times makes long strikes even more problematic. Last night, the offence won the battle of ball control, and Collaros played a heady game, throwing a couple away and knowing when to take a sack. The drive at the end of the first half was particularly well done as he successfully beat the blitz a few times. Considering the sacks, drops, penalties, and loss of Fantuz, I would have to give Zach a pretty solid grade on the night.
I'd give him a solid grade as well and considering the new backs getting used to the system. Defence played well and that is very important. A win is a win, that is correct, and if you can't win some ugly ones as some see this one as ugly, then generally you aren't going to have a chance to win in the playoffs. They never talk about Phil Esposito's shove-it-in goals, just how many he got.
Yeah it was a win...but embarrassing. We should have been blitzing and sacking Burris a dozen times if not for the practice. Ottawa was in Collaros's face all night...it's too bad we didn't have that kind of aggression.Things should get better with Nick Grigsby in the back....but really...16 points against Ottawa...that's not going to cut it against the big boys...what happened to learning to win big????