Believe it or not, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats could have a record of 7-7 with some luck and the absence of poor officiating.
Their current record is 2-12. Both wins were fair with respect to officiating. There were 7 games that they definitely deserved to lose.
That leaves 5 games that could have gone either way. In each of those 5 games, there were very questionable calls near the end of the game that had a direct impact on the outcome of the game. Most recently, yesterday’s game against Montreal and last week’s game against Winnipeg.
The other 3 games were early season games against B.C., Montreal and Edmonton. If you watched the games, you probably remember the poor calls that resulted in Hamilton losing.
I’m not trying to make excuses and I realize that all teams have had bad calls go against them. But, truthfully, I don’t believe that any team has been as affected as Hamilton. Also, Hamilton does not have a good enough team to beat both the team and the officials.
Now you can call me a whiner or any other name you like, but all I am trying to say is that the Tiger-Cats are not as bad as everyone thinks.
Unfortunately good teams find ways to win despite the calls. As much as the refs can screw up a game you can always still make plays to win the game. Not counting the refs blowing the call on the last play of the game and thus giving the other team a win. But if you still have a chance to make a play the good teams will find a way to do it.
I agree that the Ti-Cats are not a 2-12 team, that they should, at worst, be a 6-8 team. However, their biggest problem is penalties. IF they would become more disciplined, they could win more games. But they are a young team, hopefully next year they will play better.
I agree the Cats could have a better record.
But faulting the refs for the record they do have isn't going to cut it.
It is not the referees fault that the Cats have taken penalties all year with reckless abandon, and that has been their single biggest problem.
You claim that suspect calls have cost them as many as 5 games, and yet, having seen all their games, I can't actually think of even one game where bad officiating has cost them a game.
Including the most recent ones.
As an example, the controversial play, the interception/non-call PI.
Had that been ruled an interception on the field, it was likely returned for a TD.
Looks to me, that by whistling the play dead, the refs gave the Cats a break...
Maybe Casey Printers should have thrown a decent pass that gave his receiver a chance to catch the ball...
You can't win a "we are so much better than our record, if only the refs didn't keep screwing us" debate....
I agree that Hamilton is much better than their record and that officials have cost them games.
I don't know if I would agree that there were 5 of these games, but for sure the last 2 weeks against Montreal and Winnipeg were lost directly from poor reffing.
I also remember a game in Edmonton where Hamilton almost won, but one of their receivers was interfered with and no penalty was called. It was with less than a minute left in the game and if the call was made Hamilton would have likely won with a last minute field goal.
So that would give them 3 more wins. Their record should be 5-9. Not great, but it sure sounds better than 2-12 and they would still be in playoff contention.
I do agree that Hamilton should be given more credit than they deserve.
Some of there loses were very close and they almost beat Winnipeg with a second string quarterback.
See, this is what I mean.
Blaming the refs for missing PI in the Edmonton game and conveniently overlooking the fact the receiver dropped the pass on the play immediately before that when he was wide open, and even with PI he still should have caught the ball the next play.
I think maybe dropping two passes in a row might be a more reasonable explanation of why the Cats lost that game, than blaming the refs for missing what was, at worst, a marginal non-call…
And in the Winnipeg game, maybe if the QB hits that wideopen receiver with the pass late in the game they win…?
I’m not even sure which play/plays are controversial regarding the refs in that one, so refresh my memory…
That is the most ridiculous statement I have read in a long time. (yes I read your whole post)
With that same logic I could say the Argos COULD be undefeated. The Lions COULD be winless.
The arguement that a team is better than their record dictates, does not hold up in the court of sporting. In fact a team is as good as their record.
At this point in the season Hamilton is as good as a 2-12 team, that is it.
A team of undisciplined rookies who always get burned in the secondary. Receivers who always drop their passes. Oline that lets everybody through and sends snaps two feet above the QB’s head. A coach that did not use guys like Holmes and Gordon efficiently. IMO.
I truly believe that Hamilton is not a good team. Opposed to what you may think, their record is much evidence of that.
They are the 2nd most penalized team. The more flags you see, the more you will begin to disagree with. As for the non-calls, it is football there shouldn’t have to be a penalty every play. Hamilton gets two challenges & the same rotating ref crew as the rest of us. You only think they are getting screwed because of your bias (not that there is anything wrong with bias in sports among fans, it is what makes a team your team).
PENALTIES FROM MOST PENALIZED TO LEAST PENALIZED(according to CFL.ca with which claims to update every week):
CGY: 164 penalties for 1463 yards HAM: 159 for 1435
MTL: 152 for 1379
TOR: 151 for 1154
EDM: 136 for 1167
WPG: 133 for 1000
BC: 111 for 1023
SSK: 104 for 943
I'm not a ticat fan (I am an Argo fan, but I still agree with the title of this thread.
Hamilton is much better than their 2-12 record. They probably deserve to be something like 5-9 or 6-8 which would put them right in the middle of the pack.
I'm not saying that they are the best team in the CFL, I'm just saying they are really no worse than a lot of other teams, like Edmonton, Calgary or even Montreal.
The Tiger-cats have been the victim of a lot of bad luck this season, both by officiating and just plain bounces not going their way.
And yes, poor officiating goes both ways in the long run it usually evens out, but that surely hasn't been the case for poor Hamilton.
The OP proceeds to tell us that the cats should have won 5 games more, and the only reason they didn't is because of bad officiating, then says he isn't making excuses.
The Ti-Cats are as bad as thier 2-12 record suggests. Granted they might be a little better now since Printers came into the picture, but they are a 2-12 team, period.
Hard to believe that Hamilton is a better team than what 2-12 record indicates. Penalties are overrated. Difference between Hamilton and Saskatchewan is 4 penalties costing 35 yards per game. Furthermore, Hamilton is the most HEALTHY team this season, and still couldn't beat teams crippled by injuries. The best test is time, and years prove that Hamilton is the worst team.
I don't have a problem looking at how a team is playing, checking the talent level and trying to decide if they do in fact have enough talent that maybe they could have won more games, or will win more in the future.
And I think the Cats are moving in the right direction, it just hasn't yet translated into victory very often this year.
But they have a good nucleus right now and should be contenders next year.
But saying you could have won more games except for a few breaks, or even worse (far worse) blaming it on the officiating...?
Not gonna fly.
Good teams make their own breaks and find ways to overcome those things.
As the Cats get better, suddenly those breaks will magically appear in their favour.
But they must get better first.....
Nice pic Evil. Read my post under playoff on Lions area. Yes Hamilton is 2-12. But they should scare every team playing them. My Riders. Your Lions. And Winnipeg I think. Hamilton may win 1 or 2 and change a race east or west. I'm happy to have Corey Holmes but I wish we still had the player, Jason Armstead, the pissant traded for him. He may come back and bite us in the butt this week or next.