I was in the US for the game and was only able to follow the CFL.ca game tracker for the first half, so I'm basically looking at the stats for the game for this analysis.
First off, Burris stats were good, which is a positive in the is he too old sense. Going 24 for 37 for 361 yards with 3 TDs and no picks is a good line. He also ran seven times for 36 yards which is also good. Good to see that Fantuz had ten receptions for 155 yards and a TD. Fantuz seems to be on a mission this year which helps the Cats. A surprise in rookie Greg Ellingson, from the august institution known as Florida International University, with 6 catches for 120 yards. Gable picked up two TDs which is also good. Onrea Jones, Bakari Grant and Samuel Giguere only had a catch each.
So for the receiving game, the Cats looked good, with Ellingson emerging as a significant target in the absence of Chris Williams.
The Cat running game was merely meh, but with all the passing attempts was fine, with 103 yards on 16 attempts for a respectable 6.4 yard per attempt average with a mixed group of players.
The defence was poor overall, with Ricky Ray having slightly better numbers for Toronto than Burris, with 24 completions from 34 attempts for 368 yards and 4 TDs and no picks. So not good news for the Hamilton secondary. Veteran defensive back James Patrick, formerly of Saskatchewan had 8 tackles, which isn't always a good sign. No sacks for the Cats either so not a great show by the Cats front four. DE Greg Peach apparently left injured at some point, which isn't good, however he has over his career been injury prone so not much of a surprise.
The Argos gained 121 yards on the ground with 13 attempts for a stellar 9.3 yards per attempt average with 10 of those attempts coming from running back Chad Kackert.
Lindsey Lamar at least returned a kickoff for a TD, which is a positive for the special teams unit and again good to see without Chris Williams.
So the Cats start out 2013 like the 2012 season overall. Excellent offense with a bad defence that ends up losing a lot of close games. Not a great way to start the season, however the Argos were at home, are the defending Grey Cup champs and have a seasoned quarterback in mid-season form. Fortunately for the Cats that last one is a rarity in the CFL.
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