This comment is so overdone and cliche! As tired as you are of hearing fans complain about officiating and bad breaks I’m tired of hearing that good teams make their own breaks.
There is no question that Hamilton is better than 2-12. And as for those 5 games that could have been wins for Hamilton you can’t expect them to take all 5. But 2 or 3 is not unreasonable.
For sure the last 2 games and that one in Edmonton probably should have been victories. That would make them 5-9 which certainly is not good, but also not a laughing stock. Heck, with a record of 5-9, the Ticats would actually have a shot at making the playoffs!
I’m a Stampeders fan, but I will at least admit to Ticat fans that their team is much better than their 2-12 record would indicate and that noone should take them for granted.
As a Bombers fan, I know 1st hand that nobody should expect to just show up and beat Hamilton. We got smoked by them in the summer and almost lost to them a couple of weeks ago. They are significantly better than their 2-12 record.
Thing about cliches, is they usually become such because there is some validity to them.
There is absolutely no validity to the Ti-cats blaming any of their losses this year on the refs.
Sure they could have won a couple more games this year.
But the fact they did not is all on the Ti-cats, not on the refs.
I can likely point out just as many bad calls this year that have gone against the Riders as have gone against the Cats.
Yet the Riders are 9-5, the Cats are 2-12.
If bad calls by the refs are the difference, explain that to me?
I will agree, that a weaker team like the Cats can be more greatly and negatively impacted by a bad call–but that is still all on them, not the refs.
That just means they aren’t good enough, and then the point of this thread evaporates, does it not?
Either they are better than their record, or the record speaks for itself.
But trying to bring the refs into this is still a non-starter.
I think they are better than 2-12. Their last few games they have played very well and could just have easily have won the last two games. They hold a lot of promise for next year with Printers and Lumsden.
Their biggest improvement is going to have to come in the penalty department. Thryllin's post shows that Hamilton has the 2nd worst penalty record in the league.
Last weeks game vs Montreal was frustrating to watch because of some of the stupid penalties they took. Illegal formation being one of them. This is a coaching issue first and foremost to instill the discipline needed to avoid those calls
So you don’t think a team can be better at the end of the year than at the beginning?
The Riders went 2-14 in back to back years, but you believe the team was equally bad both years?
Every year there are teams that win games that probably they should have lost and teams who lose games that they probably should have won.
This is often the difference in standings at the end of the year
A lot of that is luck, some of it is breaks. As an Argos fan, I hope Hamilton becomes more competetive next year so that the Toronto-Hamilton rivalry can be revived. It is no fun watching games when you already know what the result will be.
Things are looking up for the Cats. Hopefully next year their strong effort will be rewarded with some victories.
No, they aren't that bad. But they aren't that good either.
Just too many mistakes. The team lacks discipline and cohesiveness. This possibly could be due to a lack of football talent in certain areas, rather than bad coaching. The team just can't build momentum from great defensive efforts with the recievers running the wrong routes and the QB's wobbly passing.
The Cats have shown signs of being a team on the upswing and are putting things together, but they seem to always shoot themselves in the foot.
If I were the Cats mgt, I wouldn't fire all the coaches and start over. I would keep most of the players and coaches intact, but make a few crucial player upgrades, and force them grow as a team next year under the leadership of Printers, Lumsden and Moreno.
To lose a game you should have won means nothing. Hamilton should have been in the playoffs. So what does that mean?
They should be better than last place. So what does that mean?
They should have had success with Jason Maas. So what does that mean?
I will tell you what it means . . . nothing.
But I will try that same logic with the Power company. When they ask me, "Why didn't you pay the power bill?" I will say, "I should have." The will look at me and say, "Now what?"