HAMILTON – The underdogs made a statement as they hosted the West Division leaders on their home turf.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.cfl.ca/2023/09/16/ticats-collect-statement-win-at-home-against-bombers
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.cfl.ca/2023/09/16/ticats-collect-statement-win-at-home-against-bombers
Zach was pretty friendly with his old team after the game. Hmmm. 3 “interceptions”??? Or 3 favours. Hmmmm. Just kidding, I hope. Ti-Cats played better, unfortunately.
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I’m surprised HAM went on 3rd and inches instead of going for a FG, with 30s left. FG would have made it two scores. Not that going for it at home is a bad choice, but I think a FG is the better option here.
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Yes Collaros seems done like toast. 3 interceptions , only 60% completion and 2 TDs not what performance O’Shea is used to. Maybe it’s time to replace Collaros before the playoffs if Winnipeg are going to have any chance.
LMAO
As long as we have Collaros we have as much chance as any other team
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I guess he forgot about the five TD passes on five drives and 300 yards of passing in the first half last week. If the philosophy is one bad game and you’re out then what is Maier still doing playing?
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IN CFL third and inches usually is easy to get by virtue of the 1 yard defence has to give on line of scrimmage . Kicking a field goal as shown by Montreal last night has it’s risks. Hamilton also got a lousy spot on the ball which made it closer as well.
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Only two teammates left from Zacks’ days as a Cat: Simoni Lawrence who gave him a concussion and was fined ( doubt they are deep friends) and Laurent. All the other players are new. 
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I was impressed by Powell’s performance - for a rookie he is doing very well. Good to see Zach throw a few interceptions too. This was a full team effort - Oskee-wee-wee!
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Well at least everyone in Hamilton was happy with Zach’s performance.
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The Bombers are struggling with consistency (game to game) in all three phases. Not picking on Zac but he was almost perfect last game and then threw yet another terrible int tonight. They also desperately need Grant or someone to return punts and kickoffs. The defence was caught a number of times off guard. I think that the end of this season (win or lose) it is time to make a few changes.
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Trouble in Paradise. Didn’t see that coming. Bombers now have lost to 3 teams playing their 3rd string QB’s due to injuries. The gang that routinely shut down teams in the 4th Qtr have now scored 7 pts in the last half vs Ham, zero points in the BC loss, got shut out 19-0 in Qtr 4 vs Ottawa & couldn’t close the deal in OT vs the Riders.
What’s wrong with the Bombers? Some of their old guys are, well, old. Jeffcoat is on pace for a 12 game season again. Same total EVERY year he’s played. Doesn’t that seem odd? Bighill is no longer Bighill & Bryant no longer Bryant. Good, but noticeably slowed down.
Jefferson was a favourite for D MOP after 8 games - 14 DT’s, 8 sacks. No sacks since - 6 DT’s the past 6 games & off the stats sheet again today. Could it be Bomber All-Time Great, Doug Brown, is right? This quote from Mr. Brown in May (3Downnation).
As Willie J enters his golden years, he needs to be put on a pitch count. To be most effective, he can’t be playing 60 snaps a game.”
Trouble is, unlike BC who fielded 6 DE’s, 10 on DL overall tonight to keep much younger bodies fresh, Winnipeg routinely fields 3 DE’s, a bare minimum for a rotation. Argos, too, can put a lot of bodies who can play on DL. The Bomber’s have 3 32 year olds starting & simply don’t have the depth to match up in that area.
The Bombers have some byes coming up. We’ll see how things work out going forward.
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Zach is still the reigning MOP but he doesn’t win games on his own. Unfortunately for Zach, there are 2 things coming up pretty quickly.
(1) He is on the 1st year of a 3 year contract & not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 of the OL, that has been relatively unchanged for his time with the Bombers, are over 30. Starting with next year where I don’t see Bryant coming back for one, that OL is going to look very different in his last 2 years there.
(2) The Argos have Kelly for 3 years & an OL who’s 5 starters average age is 27, not 33. And lead the CFL with fewest sacks allowed by a wide margin. Their DL starters average age is 26, not 31, & lead the league in sacks. Lions, similarly, are in the prime age groups position wise down the line. The main competition, in the trenches is much younger than the Boomers, er, Bombers.
He won’t have nearly the support he is accustomed to & will be hard pressed to perform at the same level. He is no spring chicken himself.
Enjoy him while you can. Everything is cyclical.
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Excellent all round effort by Hamilton. Really impressed by Taylor Powell. He’s come a long way in the past month and is now playing better than Bo Levi or Shiltz were at the start of the season. If the Cats can play at this level in the playoffs they’ll be a real threat to Montreal and Toronto.
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Powell is definitely improving each game. I think the mentorship from Milanovich is starting to show.
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340+ yards passing is usually good enough for a win. Of his 3 interceptions, 2 were questionable/poor throws and one was a gift when the bomber receiver slipped. Whatever the reason, age or discipline, the Bomber D and specialty teams need to own this one. The D consistently held Hamilton to short gains on 1st down but continuously gave up big yardage on 2nd down. How many sacks did the D register, As has already been noted by others, the Bombers kick/punt returns are ineffective and the kick/punt defence consistently gives up big yardage. Even our trusty kicker missed a convert, missed a long field goal, What could /should have been 4 Bomber points instead ended up as 2 points for Hamilton, a 6 point swing in the score.
Hamilton played well and deserved the win. Too many bombers started their bye week a few days early!
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During the previous 2 seasons where the Bombers regularly cruised to wins, you claimed it was a negative because they weren’t being exposed to adversity. Well this year they;re getting it.
The inconsistency is driving most Bomber fans crazy, but we all have said for over a year that we expected a drop in play, and we all knew its a long season.
The thing about this team though is how they respond when they need to. 2 of the most dominant efforts this year were “prove it” games (rematch vs BC & Sask) where they were almost unstopable. I feel good about my teams chances in a game where everything is on the line.
I do agree with you in the lack of DE rotation playing a factor on the wear & tear of the Jeffs. Jeffcoat is a force out there (even when playing hurt) and he’s missed when not in. But this is the price to pay when keeping 7 OL and 2 kickers.
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There seems to be a lot of upset and negativity around a team that has performed well one game and then get cleaned the next. Welcome to the CFL!!! As a Hamilton fan, I too have lived through the same upset off and on for years.
The thing I love most about this time of year in the CFL is knowing that teams that have lost all year can play a real role in the final standings and sometimes get into the play-offs and wreak havoc. This is what is happening now with Hamilton and Edmonton - this should make for a great finish to the 2023 season.
In the “Predictions” article for this past week, all but one writer picked the Bombers to win. I wrote then, if the Cats beat the Bombers(which they did), then watch out - this team has yet to be really heard from - but they will be. Argos can have first place - it will be sweet to beat them in the Eastern Final in T.O. !!
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I have never mentioned adversity in regards to any team that I can recall. Win your games & there’s no adversity. An overused term that means nothing. Every time you win after a loss does that mean you respond to adversity? Sorry, you lost me on that one.
There are 3 good teams in the CFL & likely one of them will take home the CUP. This week all 3 had lots to play for.
Argos down by a score with under 2 minutes to go. Score 10 & win to lock up division title.
Lions score twice in final 2 minutes to beat REDBLACKS & keep pace with Bombers.
Boomers, still in a fight for 1st place. Zach throws for a squillion yds in 1st half & still down by 6 points. Must have got all tired out. Less than 50 yds passing in 2nd half, never closed the gap. Maybe someone should tell them they are still in a battle for 1st place.
After the REDBLACK game all the talk from players & fans was - lesson learned. You tell me - has it? Ahead in the schedule is Toronto @ home, who really has nothing to play for but pride & then in BC. Do you really think the defending champs look at that as a statement game? That would have been last November, no? Can I see the Bombers win both games & go, say 14-4? Sure. It is just as likely they could lose both games & go 12-6. Neither would be a shock. Hell, they may lose to the Elks if they play like they have in their other losses.
As far as the Rider game goes, hardly a shocker. Their QB has been a starter for about 2 CFL minutes. They held serve in the series - I’d consider that a win for them. Another lost opportunity for the Bombers. BC? Let’s not overanalyze it Blue. From your point it sounds like the Bombers weren’t trying in game 1 & game 2 proves something. The Bombers scored 2 FG’s & were held scoreless in that “other” game you lot don’t like to talk about. One good pasting on either side. You don’t get style points for playing well once - 2 points apiece. End of…
This is just a bunch of babbling, even you don’t know what you’re trying to say anymore 
Bottom line, there is nothing to worry about - thank you very much. 
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