Edmonton at Toronto
Cross-over time. Edmonton has already booted Eric Tillman as general manager which is a little weird and also shows upper management doesn't really expect the Eskimos to go very far.
Edmonton sucked down the stretch, but managed to get in to the playoffs anyways, while the Argos at least managed to win their last two games including against a desperate Hamilton team. The Argos have Ricky Ray as their quarterback while the Eskimos go with the superannuated Kerry Joseph. Most interesting is that the Eskimos J.C. Sherritt, who had broken the regular season CFL record for tackles in the regular season (formerly held by Ticat Calvin Tiggle) won't be playing. I didn't really like the Esks chances and now I really don't.
Toronto is favoured by four points, which I think is a little charitable.
Team Suck 29 Eskimos 17
Saskatchewan at Calgary
The big story is the Stamps starting Drew Tate over Kevin "Rodney Dangerfield" Glenn, which seems like a bit of hubris. Also goes against the Brian Mulrooney doctrine of dancing with the one that brought you. Or was the Mulrooney doctrine accepting suitcases of money from people named Karl-Heinz. I digress.
The Stamps do have running back Jon Cornish and his record of rushing yards ever by a Canadian, which certainly helped Glenn. Also receiver and blocker downfield Nik Lewis which doesn't hurt.
Probably a lot depends on how Rider quarterback Darian Durant plays. He's been up and down this year so who knows who shows up.
No doubt the Riders will have a lot of fans at McMahon, which blunts the home field advantage, but I still like the Stamps, despite the Tate hubris. I assume Tate will be on a short leash and there will be a lot of Cornish running. Stamps favoured by six, but I think it will be closer.
Stamps 33, Riders 29
Showing posts with label playoffs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label playoffs. Show all posts
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Monday, November 16, 2009
Yesterday's Game
While the final result was certainly disappointing, at the very least the Cats did not get blown out and kept it interesting right until the end. Casey Printers played a better game than I thought he was capable of right now and pretty much won the game for BC with his scrambling ability.
There were several things I was disappointed with, in regards to the Cats play yesterday. First was not being able to take advantage of the seven (or somewhere around there) illegal procedure calls the Lion offense received. Missing their starting center, plus a loud crowd was likely the cause, however if you hear a team gets seven illegal procedure calls one would think in all probability they would lose. However the Lions were able to convert on second and long repeatedly, almost as if the procedure calls did not matter. Second was the special teams play. Hamilton seemed to get nothing on their run backs, while the Lions had a few decent run backs. Disappointing. Third was the little use of Cobb throughout the game. Admittedly Hamilton got behind, but still strange to go away from what had worked the previous three games.
Good to see a big crowd, although we were all hoping for a sellout. A better opponent (draw wise) like Toronto or Saskatchewan probably would have filled the joint. Hopefully the Cats sold a lot of merchandise and made some money off concessions and parking.
There were several things I was disappointed with, in regards to the Cats play yesterday. First was not being able to take advantage of the seven (or somewhere around there) illegal procedure calls the Lion offense received. Missing their starting center, plus a loud crowd was likely the cause, however if you hear a team gets seven illegal procedure calls one would think in all probability they would lose. However the Lions were able to convert on second and long repeatedly, almost as if the procedure calls did not matter. Second was the special teams play. Hamilton seemed to get nothing on their run backs, while the Lions had a few decent run backs. Disappointing. Third was the little use of Cobb throughout the game. Admittedly Hamilton got behind, but still strange to go away from what had worked the previous three games.
Good to see a big crowd, although we were all hoping for a sellout. A better opponent (draw wise) like Toronto or Saskatchewan probably would have filled the joint. Hopefully the Cats sold a lot of merchandise and made some money off concessions and parking.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Ticat Depth Chart, Playoff Edition v1
For the Cats on offense, the line stays the same. Gauthier at left tackle, import Dan Goodspeed at right tackle, Dyakowski and Hudson as the guards and Hage as the centre.
Import Drisan James is at one wide receiver spot, with Bauman at the other. Import McDaniel is one of the slots, with local boy Dave Stala the other. Bruce is listed in his usual weird position.
Glenn starts, Cobb at running back and John Williams at fullback for the rare times when the Cats go with a four receiver set.
On defence, Long and Hickman are the ends, with McIntyre and Adams as the tackles.
Knowlton, Floyd and Johnson are the linebackers.
Bradley and Smith are the starting corners. Thompson and Tisdale are the starting defensive backs and non-import Barker is in again at safety. Setta is back in this week. Ebell is in as a kick returner and maybe spotting Cobb at running back the odd time.
Some changes for BC since the last time Hamilton played them. On the offensive line, the lines go with two import tackles, Heerspink and Jimenez. The guards are Sorenson and Haji-Rasouli with Valli in as the starting center for the injured Angus Reid.
At receiver, there is the import Gric-Mullen and former mediocre Cat O'Neill Wilson. The import Geroy Simon is one of the slots. The import Arcenaux is the W slotback (whatever the hell that is) and Jackson is the Y slotback.
Printers starts at quarterback, with Lulay, Jackson, Pierce and Champion listed as the backups. The import Mallett is the running back, with Lumbala the fullback.
On defence, the Lions go unusually with two Canadian ends in Brent Johnson and Ricky Foley. Williams and Hunt are the tackles.
McKenzie is the WIL linebacker and former Cat Armour the MAC linebacker. Marsh and Glover are the corners. Toney and Phillips are the halfbacks. Miles is the safety with Banks the nickel back. McCallum is booting the ball.
Import Drisan James is at one wide receiver spot, with Bauman at the other. Import McDaniel is one of the slots, with local boy Dave Stala the other. Bruce is listed in his usual weird position.
Glenn starts, Cobb at running back and John Williams at fullback for the rare times when the Cats go with a four receiver set.
On defence, Long and Hickman are the ends, with McIntyre and Adams as the tackles.
Knowlton, Floyd and Johnson are the linebackers.
Bradley and Smith are the starting corners. Thompson and Tisdale are the starting defensive backs and non-import Barker is in again at safety. Setta is back in this week. Ebell is in as a kick returner and maybe spotting Cobb at running back the odd time.
Some changes for BC since the last time Hamilton played them. On the offensive line, the lines go with two import tackles, Heerspink and Jimenez. The guards are Sorenson and Haji-Rasouli with Valli in as the starting center for the injured Angus Reid.
At receiver, there is the import Gric-Mullen and former mediocre Cat O'Neill Wilson. The import Geroy Simon is one of the slots. The import Arcenaux is the W slotback (whatever the hell that is) and Jackson is the Y slotback.
Printers starts at quarterback, with Lulay, Jackson, Pierce and Champion listed as the backups. The import Mallett is the running back, with Lumbala the fullback.
On defence, the Lions go unusually with two Canadian ends in Brent Johnson and Ricky Foley. Williams and Hunt are the tackles.
McKenzie is the WIL linebacker and former Cat Armour the MAC linebacker. Marsh and Glover are the corners. Toney and Phillips are the halfbacks. Miles is the safety with Banks the nickel back. McCallum is booting the ball.
Hamilton Playoff Attendance
Seeing as the Cats are selling a goodly number of tickets for the playoff game tomorrow, I tried to find the attendance for the last home playoff game in 2001. Apparently my Google skills are not good enough, as I haven't found it yet. Looking on the wikipedia page for CFL attendance, I did find the highest playoff attendance in Hamilton, 33,392, on November 14th, 1971. Sadly Toronto won 23 to 8 that day, but fortunately went on to lose the Grey Cup.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Victory
That was satisfying, especially the two trips by the secondary to the Lund powerboat. Hamilton's 39 to 17 win puts the Cats at 0.500 for the regular season, secures a home playoff spot for the first time since 2001 and gives the Cats a three game winning streak going in to next week's game at Ivor Wynne against BC where they are 6 and 3 this season.
The defence was especially good, with the Bombers only scoring three points in the last three quarters. Admittedly it was Michael Bishop, but the Cats did a decent job of bottling up running back Fred Reid. Why the Bombers didn't have Bishop try to run more and move the chains is beyond me. Bizarrely it seems that Bomber coach Mike Kelly will be back next year, which can only be good for the Ticats 2010 playoff chances.
Cobb frankly had a subpar day, rushing 21 times for 77 yards for a 3.7 yard average, however the Bomber run defence is probably the best in the league (apart from Montreal). Good to see the Cats kept running though, as it kept the Bomber defence honest.
Glenn was good, with 28 for 42 passing for 316 yards with a TD, but two picks. McDaniel was the hero of the receiving corps, with seven grabs for 91 yards, but also Stala, Bruce and James had good games, with even John Williams having one reception for 14 yards. Eight different receivers had at last one catch in the game, which shows good diversity on offense. By contrast, Winnipeg only had four different receivers catching a pass, but Bishop only completed eight passes.
Ito did decently with a 40 yard average on ten punts, plus three for three on field goals, even if one is of the phantom variety.
BC looks pretty beat up in the quarterback department and lost in rather lacklustre fashion to Edmonton on Friday so the Cats are looking good. The Cats have beaten BC twice this year and I'm guessing if they win this will be the first time the Cats have ever beat the Lions three times in one season. Should be a good game and hopefully a good crowd at Ivor Wynne
The defence was especially good, with the Bombers only scoring three points in the last three quarters. Admittedly it was Michael Bishop, but the Cats did a decent job of bottling up running back Fred Reid. Why the Bombers didn't have Bishop try to run more and move the chains is beyond me. Bizarrely it seems that Bomber coach Mike Kelly will be back next year, which can only be good for the Ticats 2010 playoff chances.
Cobb frankly had a subpar day, rushing 21 times for 77 yards for a 3.7 yard average, however the Bomber run defence is probably the best in the league (apart from Montreal). Good to see the Cats kept running though, as it kept the Bomber defence honest.
Glenn was good, with 28 for 42 passing for 316 yards with a TD, but two picks. McDaniel was the hero of the receiving corps, with seven grabs for 91 yards, but also Stala, Bruce and James had good games, with even John Williams having one reception for 14 yards. Eight different receivers had at last one catch in the game, which shows good diversity on offense. By contrast, Winnipeg only had four different receivers catching a pass, but Bishop only completed eight passes.
Ito did decently with a 40 yard average on ten punts, plus three for three on field goals, even if one is of the phantom variety.
BC looks pretty beat up in the quarterback department and lost in rather lacklustre fashion to Edmonton on Friday so the Cats are looking good. The Cats have beaten BC twice this year and I'm guessing if they win this will be the first time the Cats have ever beat the Lions three times in one season. Should be a good game and hopefully a good crowd at Ivor Wynne
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Playoffs Round One
Ok, first week of the playoffs. For the Edmonton versus Winnipeg game, I'm picking Winnipeg. I don't really like Winnipeg, and I'm not a particularly big fan of Kevin Glenn, however Winnipeg has been relatively hot down the stretch going six and two over their last eight. Edmonton, not so much. Plus it is in Winnipeg which should give something of an advantage there. Ricky Ray, I somewhat like, however he always seems to pass for a lot of yards without winning a huge number of games. A weak running game is part of that, and will probably hurt them at zero degrees celsius today.
BC versus Saskatchewan. I'll pick BC. I like BC's defence. Their offense, well, it is a bit more hit and miss, and with Buck Pierce constantly getting injured, you never really know. Saskatchewan, I like their defence, their heart and their coaching. Their quarterbacks and their many injured players? Again not so much.
BC versus Saskatchewan. I'll pick BC. I like BC's defence. Their offense, well, it is a bit more hit and miss, and with Buck Pierce constantly getting injured, you never really know. Saskatchewan, I like their defence, their heart and their coaching. Their quarterbacks and their many injured players? Again not so much.
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