Touchdown Atlantic 2005 (Hamilton vs. Toronto)
I just finished watching Touchdown Atlantic 2005 on ESPN Classics. Yes, I know it is sad to watch a pre-season game from 8 years ago but I found it interesting nonetheless. The game was played in Halifax in June and you could actually see the players' breath. Some other observations:
- Chad Rempel was catching passes for the Ticats in his first pro game and played well for them. I always thought he had the potential to be a solid receiver but it never quite happened at that position for him for whatever the reasons. He instead has established himself as a top notch long-snapper for the last few seasons in Toronto.
- Byron Parker and Bryan Crawford were both playing their first CFL games. Both played well in this game with Parker making a game-saving tackle in the final minute. These two have ended up with some bad luck though as they both arrived the season after the Argos won a Grey Cup and both left the team just before their next Grey Cup victory.
- If only Hakim Hill's head was screwed on right. This running back had enormous talent but squandered it in alcohol.
- Hamilton's Julian Radlein was the leading rusher in the game with 61 yards on 7 carries and a TD.
- Neither Pinball Clemons nor Greg Marshall were wearing headsets and I don't recall either of them doing so much, if at all, during their head coaching careers. Is there any head coach in the CFL that doesn't wear a headset today? It really looked odd seeing the absence of headsets in this game.
- This game marked the first time in CFL history that instant replay was used to review plays. It was only done on a test basis on this occasion and would not be fully implemented until the following season. Head referee Glen Johnson told Pinball at one point that whether the QB crossed the line of scrimmage before throwing the ball was not reviewable because it was a "judgment call" which left Pinball perplexed - and rightfully so - as the QB has either crossed the line of scrimmage or not; there is no judgment call there.
- The quarterbacks in this game were Damon Allen, Scott Covington and Charlie Peterson for the Argos and Danny McManus, Marcus Brady and Ben Sankey for the Ticats. The Argos were waiting for Michael Bishop to return from the Arena League's skills competition of all things to assume his backup role with Covington and Peterson battling for the #3 position which Peterson would end up winning. Toronto's offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin compared Peterson to himself. I always liked Sankey and he ended playing the best of all of the QBs in leading the Ticats back from a 10 point 4th quarter deficit but he was released soon after this and his career was pretty much over. He always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. There were lots of interceptions in this game with McManus throwing three alone in the first quarter.
- Chris Cuthbert was working his first game for TSN after being surprisingly let go by CBC after the '04 season. At one point in the fourth quarter, he announced that CFL games would be broadcast in high definition for the first time in 2005 and was telling Glen Suitor how great HD is.
- The game ended in a 16-16 tie with the Ticats scoring two offensive TDs (one unconverted) and the Argos only managing a defensive TD by Jordan Younger on an INT return in the first quarter. Noel Prefontaine kicked two field goals and Chris Hardy chipped in with another one for Toronto.
- There was no overtime in this game as OT is not played in the pre-season and the Halifax fans booed when this announcement was made at the end of the game.
- The Argos would go onto an 11-7 season with a first place finish before losing to Montreal in the East Final at SkyDome while the Ticats would have a disastrous 5-13 season (they started 0-8) after going 9-8-1 the year before.
