The Ticats have released their depth chart for the rematch against the Argos in Toronto tonight. Probably most noteworthy is that Canadian guard Bomben is back in after being injured. O'Neill had started in place last week and the line was quite good overall.
Rico Murray is out. Also so is running back Nic Grigsby with Canadian Woodson taking one of the running back spots with Holley starting.
Hamilton has already won the Harold Ballard Cup against the Argos, and thus the season series and the tiebreaker for the playoffs. A win for Hamilton would really solidify their chances of taking home field advantage in the East.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Thursday, September 10, 2015
View From West Stands of Tim Horton's Field
Snapped this photo from the West stands during the Labour Day Classic. 
2015 CFL Power Rankings Week 11
1. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Crushed Toronto despite a lot of injuries. The true hero was Zach Collaros who continually burned Toronto's zone defence. The Hamilton defence was decent, even missing Norwood.
2. Calgary Stampeders
The team with the best record, but definitely not the best offense. Benefiting from games against the loser Riders and Bombers
3. Edmonton Eskimos
Mike Reilly is sort of back. The Eskimos need to get their offense on track to be really good.
4. Toronto Argonauts
Not a very good outing against Hamilton. Still better than a lot of teams in the CFL and Ricky Ray now seems to be somewhat healthy giving the Argos a lot of depth at quarterback, which is something pretty much unheard of in the CFL of 2015.
5. Ottawa REDBLACKS
Didn't play, didn't lose. That's good enough to stick at the fifth position.
6. BC Lions
Beat Montreal with backup Beck after Lulay was injured with a knee ligament sprain. The Lions were not particularly good with Lulay anyways. Perhaps more distressing was that Andrew Harris rushed 21 times for 65 yards, with the longest run being 8 yards. That's not going to beat the good teams in the CFL.
7. Montreal Alouettes
Lost to the Lions, which is basically the team that they are most alike in the power rankings. After playing reasonably well to beat Hamilton, Tanner Marsh went 16 for 30, passing for 103 yards and count them, five interceptions. Ouch.
8. Saskatchewan Roughriders
Off the Schneid! And no longer at the bottom of the Tigercatatonia Power Rankings. The no longer winless Riders are still a crap team. But now at least they are a crap team with one win.
9. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
I'm assuming that with Winnipeg acquiring quarterback Matt Nichols that they will be somewhat better eventually once they learn the playbook. Although after the beating they took by the Riders, the Bombers aren't exactly looking good.
Crushed Toronto despite a lot of injuries. The true hero was Zach Collaros who continually burned Toronto's zone defence. The Hamilton defence was decent, even missing Norwood.
2. Calgary Stampeders
The team with the best record, but definitely not the best offense. Benefiting from games against the loser Riders and Bombers
3. Edmonton Eskimos
Mike Reilly is sort of back. The Eskimos need to get their offense on track to be really good.
4. Toronto Argonauts
Not a very good outing against Hamilton. Still better than a lot of teams in the CFL and Ricky Ray now seems to be somewhat healthy giving the Argos a lot of depth at quarterback, which is something pretty much unheard of in the CFL of 2015.
5. Ottawa REDBLACKS
Didn't play, didn't lose. That's good enough to stick at the fifth position.
6. BC Lions
Beat Montreal with backup Beck after Lulay was injured with a knee ligament sprain. The Lions were not particularly good with Lulay anyways. Perhaps more distressing was that Andrew Harris rushed 21 times for 65 yards, with the longest run being 8 yards. That's not going to beat the good teams in the CFL.
7. Montreal Alouettes
Lost to the Lions, which is basically the team that they are most alike in the power rankings. After playing reasonably well to beat Hamilton, Tanner Marsh went 16 for 30, passing for 103 yards and count them, five interceptions. Ouch.
8. Saskatchewan Roughriders
Off the Schneid! And no longer at the bottom of the Tigercatatonia Power Rankings. The no longer winless Riders are still a crap team. But now at least they are a crap team with one win.
9. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
I'm assuming that with Winnipeg acquiring quarterback Matt Nichols that they will be somewhat better eventually once they learn the playbook. Although after the beating they took by the Riders, the Bombers aren't exactly looking good.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
2015 Labour Classic Tiger-Cat Depth Chart is Out
The Cats just released their depth chart for the game against the Argos.
For the offensive line, as per usual, American tackles with Olson and Lewis. Bomben is out at guard with the veteran O'Neill in. Dyakowski and Filer are still at guard and centre. As per usual the three interior positions are Canadian.
Bakari Grant is still out. Coates is in as the lone starting Canadian receiver at wideout. Tolliver is the other wide receiver, with Sinkfield, Underwood and Tasker as the slots.
Grigsby is listed ahead of Holly at running back, with non-import Prime as the fullback. Collaros is the quarterback with Matthews backing up and likely in for sneaks.
Medlock punts and kicks this week as punter Hugh O'Neill is out injured (likely beard related), with Banks as the returner.
That's four Canadian starters on offense.
On defence, Norwood is out injured at defensive end and Sears Jr is out in the secondary. Import Tracy comes in for him, with Hickman as the other end. Non-import Laurent and Hall are the defensive tackles. Lawrence, Reed and Harris are the starting linebackers.
Gainey and non-import Stephen are the starting corners. Rico Murray and Davis are the starting defensive halfbacks. Non-import Butler starts at safety. So that's three starting Canadian defenders.
Norwood, Grant, Bomben and Sears Jr. being out injured definitely hurts, although not fatally. The question is O'Neill a big downgrade at guard for Bomben and whether Tracy can get pressure on the quarterback in place of Norwood. Laurent, Henry and Hickman are still three solid players on the defensive line.
Also interesting will be the performance at Grigsby at running back. Expect more passes to him, although I doubt a lot of runs. Can Grigsby pass block adequately is another question.
For the offensive line, as per usual, American tackles with Olson and Lewis. Bomben is out at guard with the veteran O'Neill in. Dyakowski and Filer are still at guard and centre. As per usual the three interior positions are Canadian.
Bakari Grant is still out. Coates is in as the lone starting Canadian receiver at wideout. Tolliver is the other wide receiver, with Sinkfield, Underwood and Tasker as the slots.
Grigsby is listed ahead of Holly at running back, with non-import Prime as the fullback. Collaros is the quarterback with Matthews backing up and likely in for sneaks.
Medlock punts and kicks this week as punter Hugh O'Neill is out injured (likely beard related), with Banks as the returner.
That's four Canadian starters on offense.
On defence, Norwood is out injured at defensive end and Sears Jr is out in the secondary. Import Tracy comes in for him, with Hickman as the other end. Non-import Laurent and Hall are the defensive tackles. Lawrence, Reed and Harris are the starting linebackers.
Gainey and non-import Stephen are the starting corners. Rico Murray and Davis are the starting defensive halfbacks. Non-import Butler starts at safety. So that's three starting Canadian defenders.
Norwood, Grant, Bomben and Sears Jr. being out injured definitely hurts, although not fatally. The question is O'Neill a big downgrade at guard for Bomben and whether Tracy can get pressure on the quarterback in place of Norwood. Laurent, Henry and Hickman are still three solid players on the defensive line.
Also interesting will be the performance at Grigsby at running back. Expect more passes to him, although I doubt a lot of runs. Can Grigsby pass block adequately is another question.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
2015 CFL Predictions Week 11
Looks like I missed the Thursday game, as I thought there would be a Friday game.
Winnipeg at Saskatchewan
Ass versus ass. The bottom of the CFL barrel. The Riders have cleaned house, but obviously they still suck. Winnipeg isn't good either. Will the Bombers send their prairie rivals to 0 and 10? Since they are starting Brian Brohm at quarterback, which isn't very good, I'm not sure. Even though the Riders are at home, they've shown incredible ability to lose close games. So Brohm and the Bombers.
Blue Bombers 20 Riders 18
Toronto at Hamilton
Hamilton has a lot of injuries. Losing Norwood and Sears to the six game injury list definitely hurts the defence. The Cats are still missing Fantuz. Others may well be injured, but the Cats haven't released their lineup cards yet so I'm not sure of the composition of their offensive line. Both teams are coming off of losses. I think the Cats still have a bit of an edge due to Tim Horton's Field (although that didn't help last week).
Tiger-Cats 26 Argonauts 22
Edmonton at Calgary
The Eskimos traded Nichols to Winnipeg and will go with Franklin at quarterback. On the road and against a now experienced Bo Levi Mitchell, the Stamps have to be favoured, even with the superior Eskimo defence.
Stampeders 33 Eskimos 27
Winnipeg at Saskatchewan
Ass versus ass. The bottom of the CFL barrel. The Riders have cleaned house, but obviously they still suck. Winnipeg isn't good either. Will the Bombers send their prairie rivals to 0 and 10? Since they are starting Brian Brohm at quarterback, which isn't very good, I'm not sure. Even though the Riders are at home, they've shown incredible ability to lose close games. So Brohm and the Bombers.
Blue Bombers 20 Riders 18
Toronto at Hamilton
Hamilton has a lot of injuries. Losing Norwood and Sears to the six game injury list definitely hurts the defence. The Cats are still missing Fantuz. Others may well be injured, but the Cats haven't released their lineup cards yet so I'm not sure of the composition of their offensive line. Both teams are coming off of losses. I think the Cats still have a bit of an edge due to Tim Horton's Field (although that didn't help last week).
Tiger-Cats 26 Argonauts 22
Edmonton at Calgary
The Eskimos traded Nichols to Winnipeg and will go with Franklin at quarterback. On the road and against a now experienced Bo Levi Mitchell, the Stamps have to be favoured, even with the superior Eskimo defence.
Stampeders 33 Eskimos 27
Hamilton Tiger-Cats Can Secure 2015 The Harold Ballard Cup With A Win Over The Argonauts on Labour Day
The Ticats lead the season series with the Argos 1-0 after a win at Tim Horton's Field earlier in the year. With three games against the Argos this year, the Cats can secure the Harold Ballard Cup award to the winner of the season series between the teams. The Cats won the 2014 Harold Ballard Cup and the 2014 Labour Day classic 13-12 in a nail bitter.
Harold Ballard of course was a former owner of both the Cats and the Argonauts. Probably more important for the Cats than winning the Harold Ballard Cup (although that would be awesome) would be that the Cats would lock up the tie breaker with the Argos in case they finished the season with the same number of points. With both teams sporting 6 and 3 records that could be important for who hosts the East final. Given the Cats record at Tim Horton's stadium, hosting the final would definitely help their Grey Cup chances.
I'm always a little surprised the Cats don't make a bigger deal about the Harold Ballard Cup (it isn't even on Wikipedia).
Harold Ballard of course was a former owner of both the Cats and the Argonauts. Probably more important for the Cats than winning the Harold Ballard Cup (although that would be awesome) would be that the Cats would lock up the tie breaker with the Argos in case they finished the season with the same number of points. With both teams sporting 6 and 3 records that could be important for who hosts the East final. Given the Cats record at Tim Horton's stadium, hosting the final would definitely help their Grey Cup chances.
I'm always a little surprised the Cats don't make a bigger deal about the Harold Ballard Cup (it isn't even on Wikipedia).
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
2015 CFL Power Rankings Week 10
1. Calgary Stampeders
I put Calgary up this high, mainly because they aren't totally ridden with injuries. Plus they dominated in the second half against the Bombers (which isn't really impressive, but it is something).
2. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Cats did lose at home last week versus Montreal, but more importantly they have a ridiculous number of injuries now, they likely won't be able to compensate for (Canadian offensive linemen and defensive end).
3. Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos seems better now with Franklin in as quarterback. Plus they have a great defense.
4. Toronto Argonauts
They lost to Edmonton, although it was on the road. Still a decent team and Harris has emerged as one of the better quarterbacks in the league this year. Probably most important for Toronto is that Scott Milanovich is arguably the best coach in the league.
5. Ottawa REDBLACKS
Ended up beating the Riders at home, although the first quarter was close. The REDBLACKS aren't really that great a team, but they do have an experienced quarterback and some decent receivers and that isn't too bad in 2015 and not bad at all for an expansion team on its second year.
6. Montreal Alouettes
Won in Hamilton with their backup quarterback Tanner Marsh with Jim Popp as coach. We will see how long this lasts.
7. BC Lions
Didn't play so at least they are rested. No Solomon Elimimian at middle linebacker. That's not good.
8. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Things aren't looking good without their Willy.
9. Saskatchewan Roughriders
Fired their coach, GM and Tino Sunseri. It is a start.
I put Calgary up this high, mainly because they aren't totally ridden with injuries. Plus they dominated in the second half against the Bombers (which isn't really impressive, but it is something).
2. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Cats did lose at home last week versus Montreal, but more importantly they have a ridiculous number of injuries now, they likely won't be able to compensate for (Canadian offensive linemen and defensive end).
3. Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos seems better now with Franklin in as quarterback. Plus they have a great defense.
4. Toronto Argonauts
They lost to Edmonton, although it was on the road. Still a decent team and Harris has emerged as one of the better quarterbacks in the league this year. Probably most important for Toronto is that Scott Milanovich is arguably the best coach in the league.
5. Ottawa REDBLACKS
Ended up beating the Riders at home, although the first quarter was close. The REDBLACKS aren't really that great a team, but they do have an experienced quarterback and some decent receivers and that isn't too bad in 2015 and not bad at all for an expansion team on its second year.
6. Montreal Alouettes
Won in Hamilton with their backup quarterback Tanner Marsh with Jim Popp as coach. We will see how long this lasts.
7. BC Lions
Didn't play so at least they are rested. No Solomon Elimimian at middle linebacker. That's not good.
8. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Things aren't looking good without their Willy.
9. Saskatchewan Roughriders
Fired their coach, GM and Tino Sunseri. It is a start.
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