I only caught slightly over half of the game at the stadium due to arriving at Pearson at 6:30 pm, although I did hear most of the rest on CKOC 1150's broadcast. Not a big fan of that broadcast although I do like Coach Sal. Obviously the home winning streak ended, which is sad, but not the end of the world.
I think compared to the Ticats's five game win streak prior to this game, the Cats didn't get out to a big lead early. That made things more difficult; teams that get way behind, even it was just bad luck don't play that well. The Cats were constantly in catch up mode themselves, but to be fair they never let the game really get away from them and only lost by three points.
Should the Cats go with Grigsby over Holley as their main running back? Holley hasn't done much (although the Cats don't run a lot) and but he is a better blocker in pass protection to warrant starting over Grigsby.
The Cats missed Andy Fantuz in this one. Due to the ratio, Coates takes his spot, and apologies to Coates, he isn't Fantuz. He didn't catch a pass and I only saw one pass thrown in his direction (although that resulted in a Montreal penalty). Montreal was blitzing a lot and had six sacks; Fantuz likely would have made a better quick target for Collaros to get rid of the ball quickly and avoid the rush. The Cats themselves didn't get a lot of pressure this game with only one sack, although they managed to knock Cato out of the game. Underwood had a good game with three catches for 93 yards.
Sears Jr. led the Ticats with 7 tackles, which I'm not sure is necessarily a good thing but I'm glad he's healthy again.
Strangely after the Cats knocked out Cato, Tanner Marsh seemed to play better than Cato did. That's unusual for a backup and I never thought Marsh was that great when he was playing before the ascension of Jonathon Crompton to the Montreal starting quarterback position.
In terms of victory, to me there were a few second and longs the Cats had Montreal in where if they could have prevented Montreal from getting the first down, things could have been very different (especially the final FG drive of Montreal where the Cats had the Alouettes relatively deep in their own end).
On to the Argos next week on Labour Day in the annual classic. Toronto lost the Edmonton yesterday on the road so the Cats are tied at 6 and 3 with Toronto. A win on Labour Day would have the Cats winning the season series tie-breaker and winning the vaunted Harold Ballard Cup.
Showing posts with label montreal alouettes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label montreal alouettes. Show all posts
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Montreal Alouettes Depth Chart, Thursday July 16th, 2015
Still no Luke Tasker, CJ Gable or Eric Norwood back this week. No Courtney Stephen or Johnny Sears Jr. either.
The offensive line has changed up a bit with import Figueroa in at right tackle, with import Olson as the other tackle. Dyakowski and Bomben are the guards with Filer as the centre, all Canadians. So three Canadians on the oline.
Collaros is obviously the quarterback with Matthews as the backup. Imports Tolliver and Underwood are the starting receivers. Imports Sinkfield and Grant are the slotbacks with non-import Fantuz as the other slot. Non-import Prime is the fullback. I'm assuming that Fantuz is the only true Canadian starter besides the offensive linemen, so that's four Canadian starters on offense.
Medlock is the kicker and the bearded one, O'Neill is the punter. Banks is the kickoff and punt returner.
Defensive ends are imports Tracy and Hickman, with import Henry as a tackle and non-import Laurent as the other defensive tackle.
Linebackers are all imports, are Lawrence, Reed and Harris.
The corners are Gainey and non-import Daly, which strikes me as a little weird. Imports Stewart and Davis are the defensive half-backs, with Butler as the non-import safety. So that's three Canadian defensive starters.
The offensive line has changed up a bit with import Figueroa in at right tackle, with import Olson as the other tackle. Dyakowski and Bomben are the guards with Filer as the centre, all Canadians. So three Canadians on the oline.
Collaros is obviously the quarterback with Matthews as the backup. Imports Tolliver and Underwood are the starting receivers. Imports Sinkfield and Grant are the slotbacks with non-import Fantuz as the other slot. Non-import Prime is the fullback. I'm assuming that Fantuz is the only true Canadian starter besides the offensive linemen, so that's four Canadian starters on offense.
Medlock is the kicker and the bearded one, O'Neill is the punter. Banks is the kickoff and punt returner.
Defensive ends are imports Tracy and Hickman, with import Henry as a tackle and non-import Laurent as the other defensive tackle.
Linebackers are all imports, are Lawrence, Reed and Harris.
The corners are Gainey and non-import Daly, which strikes me as a little weird. Imports Stewart and Davis are the defensive half-backs, with Butler as the non-import safety. So that's three Canadian defensive starters.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Should LeFevour Start Over Crompton In Week One For Montreal?
After watching some of the Alouettes Argos pre-season game at Laval, former Ticat backup Dan LeFevour is outplaying Jonathon Crompton. Tigercatatonia always thought Crompton was overrated, and always liked LeFevour (partially for the fever jokes, partially due to his running abilities). I'm not sure Montreal has the guts to start LeFevour in week one, but if Crompton isn't doing well, he may well be on a short leash.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Tiger-Cats Draft Less Interesting; Cats Trade Picks Including First Rounder for Alouette Offensive Lineman Ryan Bomben
Farhan Lalji has reported on Twitter that the Cats have traded their first and third round draft picks this year for Montreal offensive lineman Ryan Bomben (drafted in the fourth round out of Guelph).
Bomben appears to be mostly a backup, although he actually made some catches in 2011 and 2012.
Given that at times last year the Cats started three Americans on the offensive line, I'm not surprised the Cats wanted a lineman, I just figured they would draft one. After playing in the league for four years Bomben is closer to playing right now if they need him.
However the Ticat draft has become considerably less interesting.
Bomben appears to be mostly a backup, although he actually made some catches in 2011 and 2012.
Given that at times last year the Cats started three Americans on the offensive line, I'm not surprised the Cats wanted a lineman, I just figured they would draft one. After playing in the league for four years Bomben is closer to playing right now if they need him.
However the Ticat draft has become considerably less interesting.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Dan LeFevour Signs With Als and Nic Grigsby Re-Signs with the Ticats
I had really expected Ticat free agent quarterback Dan LeFevour to sign with Ottawa. They have cap room and Henry Burris isn't getting any younger. But www.cfl.ca is reporting that he has signed with Montreal.
That isn't totally surprising. With the emergence of Zach Collaros as the Cats starting quarterback, LeFevour wasn't going to get a chance in camp to compete as a starter. Certainly he would have been valuable to the Cats as a backup, especially for sneaks, which he excelled at, especially compared to Masoli and to mix things up. And of course if Collaros gets injured, LeFevour is a credible backup in the CFL. The Cats do have a horde of backup quarterbacks that Kent Austin must think are up to the job. They're obviously cheaper
For Montreal, the move makes sense since starter Jonathon Crompton by no means has been statistically brilliant. LeFevour likely has a better chance to start over Crompton sometime in 2015 than Collaros. Hopefully LeFevour doesn't burn us next year too badly. Hopefully LeFevour has recovered from his season ending knee surgery from last year.
In other Ticat news, running back Nic Grigsby re-signed with the Cats. Grigsby who came late last season after playing in Winnipeg played well in relief of injured starter C.J. Gable. Grigsby played pretty well for the Cats and has decent ability receiving out of the backfield, which is a key requirement in today's CFL. I'm a little surprised the Cats could sign both to be honest, although running back salaries aren't usually that high considering how fungible they are.
Potentially the Cats could play them together occasionally in the backfield, provided a couple of Canadian receivers are in. That opens some interesting possibilities in terms of plays and defending teams having to scheme against both. Or the Cats could have one line up in an import receiver slot spot.
A good signing for the Cats, as they now have excellent depth in the backfield and an injury to one of them won't be a big deal.
That isn't totally surprising. With the emergence of Zach Collaros as the Cats starting quarterback, LeFevour wasn't going to get a chance in camp to compete as a starter. Certainly he would have been valuable to the Cats as a backup, especially for sneaks, which he excelled at, especially compared to Masoli and to mix things up. And of course if Collaros gets injured, LeFevour is a credible backup in the CFL. The Cats do have a horde of backup quarterbacks that Kent Austin must think are up to the job. They're obviously cheaper
For Montreal, the move makes sense since starter Jonathon Crompton by no means has been statistically brilliant. LeFevour likely has a better chance to start over Crompton sometime in 2015 than Collaros. Hopefully LeFevour doesn't burn us next year too badly. Hopefully LeFevour has recovered from his season ending knee surgery from last year.
In other Ticat news, running back Nic Grigsby re-signed with the Cats. Grigsby who came late last season after playing in Winnipeg played well in relief of injured starter C.J. Gable. Grigsby played pretty well for the Cats and has decent ability receiving out of the backfield, which is a key requirement in today's CFL. I'm a little surprised the Cats could sign both to be honest, although running back salaries aren't usually that high considering how fungible they are.
Potentially the Cats could play them together occasionally in the backfield, provided a couple of Canadian receivers are in. That opens some interesting possibilities in terms of plays and defending teams having to scheme against both. Or the Cats could have one line up in an import receiver slot spot.
A good signing for the Cats, as they now have excellent depth in the backfield and an injury to one of them won't be a big deal.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Photo of Percival Molson Stadium in Winter
Spent some time in Alouette land last week and wandered by Percival Molson Stadium at McGill on my way to Schwartz's for some smoke meat. 
Saturday, November 22, 2014
2014 Eastern Final Ticats Lineup Analysis - Andy Fantuz and Peter Dyakowski in the Lineup
First it should be mentioned that Andy Fantuz AND Peter Dyakowski are on the lineup card. Obviously Fantuz and his hamstring have been a question mark for the past several weeks. Whether he will actually play is another question. Dyakowski's return is interesting after being injured in last year's Grey Cup. The Cats have been staring an American guard for a lot of the season, which they unlikely would not have if Dyakowski wasn't injured. Dyakowski isn't starting mind you.
The Ticats go as usual with two import tackles, Olson at left and Figueroa at right. Import Simmons again starts at right guard, with O'Neill as the left guard and Filer as the centre. So yet again the Cats go with the unusual three import offensive line as they pretty much mostly have this season.
Import Tasker and Giguere are the wideouts. The starting slots are import Grant and Fantuz. Sinkfield is listed as the third slot and Banks backs up Tasker. Non-imports Coates, who played some while Fantuz' was injured is listed as Gigure's backups. The not often used non-import Prime is the fullback with Grigsby listed as the starting running back with Madu backing him up. Collaros starts at pivot with McGee as the backup.
With Fantuz and Giguere in that's four offensive starters on offense and if they're in with Prime, that's five.
Banks and Sinkfield return punts and kicks.
The defensive ends are Norwood and Hickman, with non-import Laurent starting at tackle and Hall the other tackle. All three backups on the line are imports, including end Gascon-Nadon.
Lawrence, Reed and Harris are the three starting linebackers. No Bowman backing up this game.
The corners are Breaux and the non-import Stephen. The halfbacks are Stewart and the protean Rico Murray (rather than at linebacker). The non-import Butler starts at safety, which is three non-import defensive starters, which as I've hammered home all year is an anomaly in the CFL.
Medlock punts and kicks.
No Greg Ellingson. I'm not sure if he's still really injured or just has been supplanted by Tasker. Maybe I should go to practice one day.
The Ticats go as usual with two import tackles, Olson at left and Figueroa at right. Import Simmons again starts at right guard, with O'Neill as the left guard and Filer as the centre. So yet again the Cats go with the unusual three import offensive line as they pretty much mostly have this season.
Import Tasker and Giguere are the wideouts. The starting slots are import Grant and Fantuz. Sinkfield is listed as the third slot and Banks backs up Tasker. Non-imports Coates, who played some while Fantuz' was injured is listed as Gigure's backups. The not often used non-import Prime is the fullback with Grigsby listed as the starting running back with Madu backing him up. Collaros starts at pivot with McGee as the backup.
With Fantuz and Giguere in that's four offensive starters on offense and if they're in with Prime, that's five.
Banks and Sinkfield return punts and kicks.
The defensive ends are Norwood and Hickman, with non-import Laurent starting at tackle and Hall the other tackle. All three backups on the line are imports, including end Gascon-Nadon.
Lawrence, Reed and Harris are the three starting linebackers. No Bowman backing up this game.
The corners are Breaux and the non-import Stephen. The halfbacks are Stewart and the protean Rico Murray (rather than at linebacker). The non-import Butler starts at safety, which is three non-import defensive starters, which as I've hammered home all year is an anomaly in the CFL.
Medlock punts and kicks.
No Greg Ellingson. I'm not sure if he's still really injured or just has been supplanted by Tasker. Maybe I should go to practice one day.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
2014 CFL East and West Semi-Final Predictions
So it's playoff time in the CFL. I've waited until just before game time to make my predictions, not because I wanted the most info, but because I'm lazy.
BC at Montreal
The Lions cross-over from the West with a 9 and 9 record, the same as the Alouettes (and the Ticats). The Alouettes could have avoided this game by losing by less than seven in Hamilton last week, but they've been hot, going 7 and 2 in the second half. The Lions were 4 and 5 in the last half of the season and all those victories were over the Bombers and the REDBLACKS. So there's that.
There's rumours that quarterback Travis Lulay could play and he isn't on the injured list, but I don't expect him to be a factor. More troubling for BC of late has been running back Andrew Harris being on the six game injured list.
The game is outside in Montreal which I think benefits the Alouettes although running back Brandon Whitaker is injured. The Als are only favoured by three points which is pretty much the average spread for a home team in the CFL, indicating the teams are evenly matched.
BC has in the past won a cross-over game (with Casey Printers at quarterback over Hamilton), but I think Montreal wins this in a close one due to their better defence.
Alouettes 22 Lions 17
Saskatchewan at Edmonton
If quarterback Mike Reilly wasn't injured, the Eskimos would have to be favoured over the Riders without Darian Durant. Instead we have a battle of backup quarterbacks in Edmonton.
Edmonton has been the better team, especially of late when the Riders have been terrible after Durant went down with an elbow injury. The Riders have gone so far as to resurrect Kerry Joseph's career (at least they didn't call Michael Bishop) and he starts this game over Tino Sunseri who himself has mostly been crap.
The Eskimos go with backup Matt Nichols who has mostly been mediocre and certainly isn't Reilly.
Both teams have decent running games, Saskatchewan relying on it heavily even with Durant healthy early in the year. Mid-November in Edmonton probably isn't going to be great weather wise, and with backups aplenty don't expect the air game to do much.
Last I checked the Eskimos were favoured by seven at home. I still think they will win, but this game is more interesting with Reilly hurt. There will likely be a lot of Rider fans in the stands, but it won't make much difference.
Eskimos 19 Riders 15
BC at Montreal
The Lions cross-over from the West with a 9 and 9 record, the same as the Alouettes (and the Ticats). The Alouettes could have avoided this game by losing by less than seven in Hamilton last week, but they've been hot, going 7 and 2 in the second half. The Lions were 4 and 5 in the last half of the season and all those victories were over the Bombers and the REDBLACKS. So there's that.
There's rumours that quarterback Travis Lulay could play and he isn't on the injured list, but I don't expect him to be a factor. More troubling for BC of late has been running back Andrew Harris being on the six game injured list.
The game is outside in Montreal which I think benefits the Alouettes although running back Brandon Whitaker is injured. The Als are only favoured by three points which is pretty much the average spread for a home team in the CFL, indicating the teams are evenly matched.
BC has in the past won a cross-over game (with Casey Printers at quarterback over Hamilton), but I think Montreal wins this in a close one due to their better defence.
Alouettes 22 Lions 17
Saskatchewan at Edmonton
If quarterback Mike Reilly wasn't injured, the Eskimos would have to be favoured over the Riders without Darian Durant. Instead we have a battle of backup quarterbacks in Edmonton.
Edmonton has been the better team, especially of late when the Riders have been terrible after Durant went down with an elbow injury. The Riders have gone so far as to resurrect Kerry Joseph's career (at least they didn't call Michael Bishop) and he starts this game over Tino Sunseri who himself has mostly been crap.
The Eskimos go with backup Matt Nichols who has mostly been mediocre and certainly isn't Reilly.
Both teams have decent running games, Saskatchewan relying on it heavily even with Durant healthy early in the year. Mid-November in Edmonton probably isn't going to be great weather wise, and with backups aplenty don't expect the air game to do much.
Last I checked the Eskimos were favoured by seven at home. I still think they will win, but this game is more interesting with Reilly hurt. There will likely be a lot of Rider fans in the stands, but it won't make much difference.
Eskimos 19 Riders 15
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Montreal Alouettes Release Troy Smith
Well that took forever. The Alouettes have finally released former NFL and Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith after basically sucking all year and being supplanted by Crompton as the Als quarterback.
Smith had a 52.6% completion percentage in 2013 and then an even lower Michael Bishop like number of 47.7% this year. I'm a little surprised that Smith was kept around for so long, considering he was probably getting a reasonable salary.
Smith seemed like one of those dubious CFL experiments where someone washed up in the NFL gets heralded upon arriving in the CFL. Like Chad Johnson. Who I also wonder about.
Smith had a 52.6% completion percentage in 2013 and then an even lower Michael Bishop like number of 47.7% this year. I'm a little surprised that Smith was kept around for so long, considering he was probably getting a reasonable salary.
Smith seemed like one of those dubious CFL experiments where someone washed up in the NFL gets heralded upon arriving in the CFL. Like Chad Johnson. Who I also wonder about.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Alouettes Troy Smith Honks in BC
I didn't see the game in Vancouver last night and didn't even know anything about it until I saw this tweet from @fenderguy69:
Was Troy Smith's outing last night the worst "good conditions" QB performance ever? 29% CompAvg. 2.6 Yards/Attempt. 13.1 QB Rating.
I went and looked up the stats in BC's 41 to 5 victory over Montreal, and sure enough Smith had five completions off 17 attempts (that 29% completion average) for 43 yards. And an interception. And he ran once for a yard.
Wow. I think it is time for Montreal to shutdown the Smith NFL retread experiment. No catches for Chad Johnson, but one for eight yards for Dave Stala.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Ticats First Pre-Season Game Depth Chart
Another Ticat season starts with today's pre-season game against Montreal. As per usual, I'll go over the starting lineup. Since it is the first pre-season game, it probably isn't that important.
The offensive line has some differences and and some stuff the same as last year. Again the tackles are imports, with Figueroa as the left tackle and Simmons as right tackle, both having played last year. In the middle, Filer is listed at centre with Myddelton at left guard and O'Neil back at right guard (he played centre sometimes too). Obviously no Dyakowski due to injury. I'm wondering if he comes back at all this year.
Collaros is listed as the starting quarterback and LeFevour as the backup. Considering Collaros is still young and has never played for the Ticats, he probably plays more this game than say Burris would have last year.
Starting wide receivers are Koch and Banks. Was never a particular fan of Koch when he didn't play for the Ticats, but maybe he'll prove me wrong. Grant, Tasker and Fantuz are listed as slotbacks with Fantuz the only non-import. All three will be in without a fullback (which is a lot) I assume. Prime is the listed starting fullback. Medlock is back with the Cats and is listed as the starting kicker and punter. Certainly with Medlock, the Cats have opportunities for longer field goals they didn't have last year. Gable is the starting running back.
On the defensive line, Norwood and Boudreaux are both imports, however in the interior the Cats are indeed going with two non-imports as starters (for this game at least) with the returning Bulcke and the recently signed Laurent. That's quite unusual for the CFL, however with two starting you can get away with one decent Canadian backup who can spell off both.
For linebackers, on the outside it is the re-signed Lawrence and Morley, both imports and the returning non-import Plesisus gets the start in the middle. I'm a bit skeptical that that will happen for regular season games, but who knows.
In the secondary, Breaux and Davis both imports start at corner. Stewart and McCollough are the starting half-backs and the newly signed Butler, a non-import starts at safety. That's four defensive Canadian starters, which is a lot by Canadian standards. The Ticats don't lack for Canadian talent on both sides of the ball this year, although that's before injuries. Their Canadian depth seems to be enough that even if they loss a Canadian starter, starting seven won't be a problem.
The offensive line has some differences and and some stuff the same as last year. Again the tackles are imports, with Figueroa as the left tackle and Simmons as right tackle, both having played last year. In the middle, Filer is listed at centre with Myddelton at left guard and O'Neil back at right guard (he played centre sometimes too). Obviously no Dyakowski due to injury. I'm wondering if he comes back at all this year.
Collaros is listed as the starting quarterback and LeFevour as the backup. Considering Collaros is still young and has never played for the Ticats, he probably plays more this game than say Burris would have last year.
Starting wide receivers are Koch and Banks. Was never a particular fan of Koch when he didn't play for the Ticats, but maybe he'll prove me wrong. Grant, Tasker and Fantuz are listed as slotbacks with Fantuz the only non-import. All three will be in without a fullback (which is a lot) I assume. Prime is the listed starting fullback. Medlock is back with the Cats and is listed as the starting kicker and punter. Certainly with Medlock, the Cats have opportunities for longer field goals they didn't have last year. Gable is the starting running back.
On the defensive line, Norwood and Boudreaux are both imports, however in the interior the Cats are indeed going with two non-imports as starters (for this game at least) with the returning Bulcke and the recently signed Laurent. That's quite unusual for the CFL, however with two starting you can get away with one decent Canadian backup who can spell off both.
For linebackers, on the outside it is the re-signed Lawrence and Morley, both imports and the returning non-import Plesisus gets the start in the middle. I'm a bit skeptical that that will happen for regular season games, but who knows.
In the secondary, Breaux and Davis both imports start at corner. Stewart and McCollough are the starting half-backs and the newly signed Butler, a non-import starts at safety. That's four defensive Canadian starters, which is a lot by Canadian standards. The Ticats don't lack for Canadian talent on both sides of the ball this year, although that's before injuries. Their Canadian depth seems to be enough that even if they loss a Canadian starter, starting seven won't be a problem.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Montreal Alouettes Sign Chad Johnson to a Two Year Deal
I'm still not sure whether signing these old NFL star receivers is a good idea for the league or not. I suppose that the Alouettes can get rid of him whenever they want (and I assume Johnson isn't broke enough that he couldn't quit whenever he felt like it), so the team should be allowed to do anything that makes the team better. I'm just not sure that the team is better today. At the least, he'll have a high percentage of getting injured at some point due to his age and break from playing competitive football.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Thoughts on Montreal Giving a Look at Chad Johnson
Word is that the Alouettes will work out former NFL receiver Chad Johnson. Johnson is 36 and last played for the Patriots during the 2011 season, where he had 15 receptions for 276 yards. So 2014 would be three years from his last mediocre season.
I'm on the fence as to whether this is worth it for CFL teams. Usually not much comes out of it, although Andre Rison did win a Grey Cup with the Argos in 2004. Sure it drums up some publicity, especially in the US, but how good does the league look picking up washed up NFL stars? I've long thought that the CFL could get more revenue than it currently does from the US, but I'm not sure stunts like this help.
I'm on the fence as to whether this is worth it for CFL teams. Usually not much comes out of it, although Andre Rison did win a Grey Cup with the Argos in 2004. Sure it drums up some publicity, especially in the US, but how good does the league look picking up washed up NFL stars? I've long thought that the CFL could get more revenue than it currently does from the US, but I'm not sure stunts like this help.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Montreal Alouettes Sign Tom Higgins as New Head Coach
The Alouettes hired Tom Higgins to replace GM Jim Popp, who booted his coach midway through the 2013 season (I can't even remember his name, he had something to do with Boise State) and took over the head coaching role.
Meh, I'm not that excited about the pick, but Higgins is competent and Popp will give him a good roster to work with in 2014, although a lot depends on how Troy Smith works out as a quarterback. In some ways that's more important than whoever is head coach.
Meh, I'm not that excited about the pick, but Higgins is competent and Popp will give him a good roster to work with in 2014, although a lot depends on how Troy Smith works out as a quarterback. In some ways that's more important than whoever is head coach.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Ticats Win East Semi-Final in Overtime Against the Alouettes, Quick Analysis
Another game against the Alouettes that had a satisfying ending, this one 16 to 13 in overtime.
I was at the game and the wind was incredibly strong and was by far the main factor in the game. Punting into the win was close to useless and the fact the Cats were against it in the fourth quarter had a sense of doom associated with it.
The Montreal defence was mostly awesome and the Montreal offense was mostly smelly including quarterback Troy Smith who again had a completion percentage below 50% (albeit in punishing conditions).
The Cats offense was mostly bad, but turned it on at the end into the wind, with the Gable TD and then in the Cats first overtime possession. The Cats continued with their use of LeFevour, including for the final two plays of the game when he went up the gut. Using multiple quarterbacks in the game blows commentators minds, but who's in the East final?
Looking ahead to Toronto, the Argo defence isn't nearly as aggressive against the pass, the game is indoors and Ricky Ray is way, way better than Troy Smith. Chad Kackert is supposedly injured, but I'm not sure he's that much better than his backup.
I'll go over the stats tomorrow. Tonight I'm just going to enjoy the victory. I'm not even sure when the last Ticat home victory was.
I was at the game and the wind was incredibly strong and was by far the main factor in the game. Punting into the win was close to useless and the fact the Cats were against it in the fourth quarter had a sense of doom associated with it.
The Montreal defence was mostly awesome and the Montreal offense was mostly smelly including quarterback Troy Smith who again had a completion percentage below 50% (albeit in punishing conditions).
The Cats offense was mostly bad, but turned it on at the end into the wind, with the Gable TD and then in the Cats first overtime possession. The Cats continued with their use of LeFevour, including for the final two plays of the game when he went up the gut. Using multiple quarterbacks in the game blows commentators minds, but who's in the East final?
Looking ahead to Toronto, the Argo defence isn't nearly as aggressive against the pass, the game is indoors and Ricky Ray is way, way better than Troy Smith. Chad Kackert is supposedly injured, but I'm not sure he's that much better than his backup.
I'll go over the stats tomorrow. Tonight I'm just going to enjoy the victory. I'm not even sure when the last Ticat home victory was.
Montreal at Hamilton East Semi-Final
The morning of the big game, first home playoff game since 2003. Weather forecast is 6 C and rainy in Guelph. Last I heard yesterday there were not many tickets left, so a sellout seems likely. How many Alouettes fans is also a question.
After some injuries of late, the Cats are apparently returning to a lineup they had at mid-season.
Importantly for the offensive line, the Cats have returned to two imports as the tackles, Simmons and Figueroa, with Wojt moving from tackle back to guard along with Dyakowski at guard and Hage at centre. That means the Cats will need an additional Canadian starter on offence.
Ellingson is penciled in as one of the starting receivers along with Onrea Jones who had an excellent game last week when many of the other receivers were rested. Ellingson has missed the previous seven games, so what he'll be like will be interesting. From Ticats.ca, Ellingson apparently had a leg injury.
Grant, along with the non-imports Fantuz and Giguere are the slotbacks. Tasker who along with Ellingson has been injured is listed as a backup slotback, but barring one of the others above on the depth chart not playing, Tasker probably sits.
Gable is the running back and Delahunt the fullback, with Burris, LeFevour and Masoli as the backups. Congi kicks and Bartel punts. Banks is listed as the kickoff and punt returner.
On the defensive line, there's the preferred lineup with Bourdreaux and Norwood as the defensive ends and Davis and non-import Bulcke in the middle.
After taking last week off, Lawrence, Johnson and Murray are the starting linebackers. Corners are Breaux (back from injury) and Davis, McCollough and Hobbs as the defensive halfbacks and non-import Stephen as the safety.
For the Als, both offensive tackles, Bourke and Perrett are non-imports, but weirdly one of the guards Ola is an import, with Bomben the other and Brodeur the centre.
Carter, Bruce and non-import Graves are listed as the wide receivers, with Bowling and Green the slots. Lavoie is the fullback and Sutton the running back. Smith, Neiswander and Marsh are the quarterbacks. Goat of the last Ticat Alouette game, Whyte is the kicker and punter.
On the all import defensive line, Lavarias and Bowman are the ends and Cash and Hopkins are in the middle.
Cox, non-import Emry, and Herbert are the starting linebackers. However whether Herbert will actually play is unknown and apparently a game time decision. Gainey and former Ticat Tisdale are the cornerbacks, Parker and Brown are the halfbacks, although Parker likely won't play according to Alouette supreme overlord Jim Popp on Friday. Non-import Edem is the safety.
After some injuries of late, the Cats are apparently returning to a lineup they had at mid-season.
Importantly for the offensive line, the Cats have returned to two imports as the tackles, Simmons and Figueroa, with Wojt moving from tackle back to guard along with Dyakowski at guard and Hage at centre. That means the Cats will need an additional Canadian starter on offence.
Ellingson is penciled in as one of the starting receivers along with Onrea Jones who had an excellent game last week when many of the other receivers were rested. Ellingson has missed the previous seven games, so what he'll be like will be interesting. From Ticats.ca, Ellingson apparently had a leg injury.
Grant, along with the non-imports Fantuz and Giguere are the slotbacks. Tasker who along with Ellingson has been injured is listed as a backup slotback, but barring one of the others above on the depth chart not playing, Tasker probably sits.
Gable is the running back and Delahunt the fullback, with Burris, LeFevour and Masoli as the backups. Congi kicks and Bartel punts. Banks is listed as the kickoff and punt returner.
On the defensive line, there's the preferred lineup with Bourdreaux and Norwood as the defensive ends and Davis and non-import Bulcke in the middle.
After taking last week off, Lawrence, Johnson and Murray are the starting linebackers. Corners are Breaux (back from injury) and Davis, McCollough and Hobbs as the defensive halfbacks and non-import Stephen as the safety.
For the Als, both offensive tackles, Bourke and Perrett are non-imports, but weirdly one of the guards Ola is an import, with Bomben the other and Brodeur the centre.
Carter, Bruce and non-import Graves are listed as the wide receivers, with Bowling and Green the slots. Lavoie is the fullback and Sutton the running back. Smith, Neiswander and Marsh are the quarterbacks. Goat of the last Ticat Alouette game, Whyte is the kicker and punter.
On the all import defensive line, Lavarias and Bowman are the ends and Cash and Hopkins are in the middle.
Cox, non-import Emry, and Herbert are the starting linebackers. However whether Herbert will actually play is unknown and apparently a game time decision. Gainey and former Ticat Tisdale are the cornerbacks, Parker and Brown are the halfbacks, although Parker likely won't play according to Alouette supreme overlord Jim Popp on Friday. Non-import Edem is the safety.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Montreal Alouettes Announce Concussed Anthony Calvillo Is Done for 2013 CFL Season
Sad to hear, although as a Ticat fan I would rather be facing Neiswander
than Calvillo. Is this it for Calvillo? I think there's a decent
possibility it is. Calvillo wasn't that great this year even before he
was injured and next year he'll be a year older and coming off a
concussion ended season. Perhaps more importantly for Montreal, he has a
very high salary and in a league with a low salary cap, that money has
to come from somewhere. Too bad it may end this way, but in professional
sports, the end is rarely pretty.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Quinton Porter Released By Alouettes
Former Hamilton backup quarterback Quinton Porter was released by the Montreal Alouettes in a bit of a surprise. Porter seemed to have a good shot of being Anthony Calvillo's primary backup but not anymore.
Does Porter have a chance anywhere else on the CFL or is he done? I could see somewhere like Winnipeg whose backups are inexperienced picking up Portter or a team with injury problems, like Edmonton with Matt Nichols out for the season.
Friday, July 20, 2012
CFL Predictions Week 4 Part B
Edmonton at BC
The Lions are only favoured by 8.5 at home, which seems a bit charitable. Sure The Eskimos waxed the Bombers like the Kardashian sisters at half price day at the beauty salon, but the Lions aren't the Bombers. Steven Jyles versus Travis Lulay? I'll take the Lions, unsurprisingly.
Lions 35, Eskimos 25
Montreal at Hamilton
Both teams are coming off victories at home, although the Alouettes were pretty much gifted a victory by Kevin Glenn. The Cats looked great in the first half, and pretty mediocre against the Argos in the second half. The Cats had awesome special teams, with reigning CFL Rookie of the Year Chris Williams making two special teams TDs. The Alouettes have some good weapons to surround Anthony Calvillo. The Cats are favoured by a mere two points at home. I'll go with the home team, considering the success CFL home teams have had this year.
Ticats 29 Alouettes 27
The Lions are only favoured by 8.5 at home, which seems a bit charitable. Sure The Eskimos waxed the Bombers like the Kardashian sisters at half price day at the beauty salon, but the Lions aren't the Bombers. Steven Jyles versus Travis Lulay? I'll take the Lions, unsurprisingly.
Lions 35, Eskimos 25
Montreal at Hamilton
Both teams are coming off victories at home, although the Alouettes were pretty much gifted a victory by Kevin Glenn. The Cats looked great in the first half, and pretty mediocre against the Argos in the second half. The Cats had awesome special teams, with reigning CFL Rookie of the Year Chris Williams making two special teams TDs. The Alouettes have some good weapons to surround Anthony Calvillo. The Cats are favoured by a mere two points at home. I'll go with the home team, considering the success CFL home teams have had this year.
Ticats 29 Alouettes 27
Thursday, July 12, 2012
CFL Week 3, Predictions, Part A
Calgary at Montreal
The Stamps are Tateless and the Alouettes are favoured by seven at home. I guess the oddsmakers aren't Kevin Glenn fans. Montreal appeared to be back on track last game, especially on offence. Calgary lost a close one to Toronto with Glenn at the controls for most of the game. Glenn can still be effective, but I never thought Calgary was that great a team going into the season.
Alouettes 30 Stampeders 24
Winnipeg at Edmonton
Edmonton is favoured by a mere 1.5 points at home, which isn't very good, especially considering their opponent has yet to win a game. Provided Pierce doesn't get hurt (which is entirely possible), I'll pick him and the Bombers over Jyles and the Eskimos.
Blue Bombers 20 Eskimos 16
The Stamps are Tateless and the Alouettes are favoured by seven at home. I guess the oddsmakers aren't Kevin Glenn fans. Montreal appeared to be back on track last game, especially on offence. Calgary lost a close one to Toronto with Glenn at the controls for most of the game. Glenn can still be effective, but I never thought Calgary was that great a team going into the season.
Alouettes 30 Stampeders 24
Winnipeg at Edmonton
Edmonton is favoured by a mere 1.5 points at home, which isn't very good, especially considering their opponent has yet to win a game. Provided Pierce doesn't get hurt (which is entirely possible), I'll pick him and the Bombers over Jyles and the Eskimos.
Blue Bombers 20 Eskimos 16
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