Thread for the Team that Cannot Be Named

[AngeloV]

For the record, Hamilton is 2-9 against the other 5 playoff bound teams this year yet some people consider them a contender. They may luck out by getting BC in the east semi, as BC finished the year 2-7 on the road.

[jerrym]

Red Hat Inc., the company Ticat owner Bob Young founded, was bought out today by IBM for $34 billion. Well done Bob.

I guess Bob isn't worrying too much about whether the Ticats gain or lose a couple of million.

[jerrym]

With Banks, Williams, Saunders and Tolliver out of the lineup, getting Terrell Sinkfield, Justin Buren and Marquay McDaniel who all have three games experience at most with Masoli more playing in the final 'nothing game' of the regular season important in preparation for the playoffs.

[jerrym]

National OL Peter Dyakowski, who spent 10 of his 11 years in the CFL with Hamilton, who had drafted him 11th overall in 2006, has announced his retirement. Born in Vancouver, he played for LSU. He was signed by New Orleans as a free agent but was released and signed by Hamilton where he played in 148 games before being released in February 2017. The Argos immediately signed him but then traded him to Saskatchewan for WR Armanti Edwards, a damn good deal for the Argos. Following playing all 18 games for the Riders in 2017, he was released in April 2018.

[jerrym]

Dane Evans will start for the Ticats against the Als this week.

After being cut by the Philadelphia Eagles before the 2017 season, Evans returned to his alma mater Tulsa as an assistant coach, before the Ticats signed him to the practice roster on October 23.
His last start came nearly 23 months ago, when he threw for five touchdowns in Tulsa’s 55-10 victory over Central Michigan in the Miami Beach Bowl.

“It’s really cool, man, to finally get a chance, ” Evans said. “I’ve been preparing all season every week with Jeremiah. Now I can just go out and play and not really worry about anything: have fun like you were a little kid.”
In earlier mop-ups for Masoli, Evans went 3-for-3 in Montreal, and 1-for-2 against B.C.

http://3downnation.com/2018/11/02/da...nny-alouettes/

[ArgoRavi]

I think that the Ticats are making a mistake in not going with Masoli against Montreal with all of the new receivers he is still trying to become accustomed with.

[Argo]

National OL Peter Dyakowski, who spent 10 of his 11 years in the CFL with Hamilton, who had drafted him 11th overall in 2006, has announced his retirement. Born in Vancouver, he played for LSU. He was signed by New Orleans as a free agent but was released and signed by Hamilton where he played in 148 games before being released in February 2017. The Argos immediately signed him but then traded him to Saskatchewan for WR Armanti Edwards, a damn good deal for the Argos. Following playing all 18 games for the Riders in 2017, he was released in April 2018.

I'm sure PD will do just fine, if his high IQ has any say in the matter.

[Antwon]

I think Dane Evans shows lots of promise....still work in process but could be good down the road.
Too bad the Argos didn't play Prukop to see what he has.

[jerrym]

Something to warm OV's heart from Hamilton's game on Saturday:

the Ticats went National-heavy on offence, especially in the first half, employing only two American receivers, Marquay McDaniel and an impressive Bralon Addison, who was making just his fourth appearance of the season. They employed two or three Canadian receivers (Mike Jones, Justin Buren and Felix Faubert-Lussier), depending upon down and distance, and would usually have either one or two Canadian running backs, sometimes adding Sean Thomas Erlington to the backfield with starting tailback Mercer Timmis. ...

Thomas Erlington rushed for 41 yards on six carries, while Jones caught five passes for 114 yards and a touchdown, his fourth 100-plus-yardage game of the season.

https://www.thespec.com/sports-story...ish-below-500/

[jerrym]

As the Tiger Cats head into the playoffs they got some good news finally on the injury front as DB Delvin Breaux, and starting OTs Ryker Mathews and Kelvin Palmer will be able to play.

[jerrym]

Hamilton is expecting a different look from the Lions because Travis Lulay will be the QB instead of Jonathon Jennings who played against them twice in the regular season.

“With Lulay there, he’s going to be going through the same reads (as Jennings),” safety Mike Daly said after practice on Tuesday. “He’s a little quicker to pull the trigger but Jonathon added that running aspect so it’s like you give, take. What’s better than the other? I’m not too sure.” ...

Jennings, who is known for his ability to use his legs to get out of the pocket, ran 36 times for 226 yards this season. Lulay, on the other hand, had called his own number just 10 times for 72 yards. Through the air, Lulay completed 187 of his 311 pass attempts for 2,494 yards while Jennings connected on 161 of 239 for 1,628 yards.
Head coach June Jones knows that the Tabbies will have their hands full with Lulay in the game this time around.

“I think Lulay, just watching him on film, and history from watching him last year too, he’s a very accurate passer,” said Jones. “He’ll stand in and throw the ball. When you have that combination of accuracy and willingness to stand in and take a hit, you can play.”
Hamilton will also be facing a different running back, Tyrell Sutton. In the first two meetings between these two teams it was Jeremiah Johnson in the backfield, who amassed just 31 rushing yards in both games combined.

https://www.cfl.ca/2018/11/08/tabbie...lions-offence/

[jerrym]

Bralon Addison, who was on the Argos PR until his release on August 22nd, has had two 100+ yards games in a row, picking up 103 yards on seven receptions in the last game of the regular season and 124 yards on five catches on the weekend. He's also done punt and kick returns for the Tiger Cats in four games earlier this year. Looks like the Argos let a good, versatile one get away.

[jerrym]

While people continue to talk about how good the Ticat passing game is, their running game, which ranks third in the league in yardage, is usually overlooked, including its two National RBs.

The run takes precedent, especially as it has during the regular season on first down for Hamilton. When the Ticats are able to run on first down their second down passing attack becomes increasingly potent, especially as the game wears on. ...

The key to that ground attack has primarily been Alex Green, a ruling back familiar with Hamilton’s scheme thanks to his time in Hawaii during college.

Green runs with a patience and an understanding of the blocking scheme unlike any other Ticats back which likely explains why he has been given precedent over the likes of John White, who appeared to show a greater burst in the second half of the season, and Mercer Timmis, who carried Hamilton to a win in Edmonton way back in Week 2. Green catches the ball out of the backfield on swing screens and bubble routes as well as any back in the Canadian Football League while also understanding where to hit the Ticats basic, but extremely effective, run schemes play in and play out. ...

While Green has carried the load off and on the injured list this season, the true key to Hamilton’s offensive resurgence in 2018 might be best credited from an offensive skill position perspective to a national running back turned slotback. Sean Thomas-Erlington was drafted by Hamilton in the eight round of the 2017 CFL selection. Eighth Round. 66th overall. Ridiculous. The guys does no wrong. From pass blocking to route running, ball carrying to special teams assignments, he must be one of the Ticats highest grading players on coaches film.

In the regular season, Thomas-Erlington – affectionally referred to as ‘Erls’ by Hamilton Head Coach June Jones – followed up Timmis’ Week 2 performance with an 11-carry, 92-yard rushing performance in Week 3 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Similar to Timmis, since then Thomas Erlington has slid to the background for Hamilton primarily handling kickoff returns and punt coverage responsibilities but in Week 21 he made play after play during a meaningless game in the standings but a massive opportunity for depth players to show their worth. ...

As a result Sean was given a role in Sunday’s Eastern Semi-Final, which included a started score zone play as a running back, bouncing out to the boundary as a slotback and running a fade route to catch a touchdown. The 66th overall pick earning the right to be a primary target on a score zone possession in a playoff game. Pretty damn good for someone passed over 65 times.

[jerrym]

Below is a good article on Brandon Revenberg, the East representative for CFL Most Outstanding OL.

https://www.cfl.ca/2018/11/14/fergus...agues-best-ol/

[AngeloV]

Below is a good article on Brandon Revenberg, the East representative for CFL Most Outstanding OL.

https://www.cfl.ca/2018/11/14/fergus...agues-best-ol/

So tough to really say how good the Cats O-Line was. Personally, I don't think it was great. They were the only team the Argos seemed to get regular pressure on this year, but Masoli was a magician and as a result, avoided sacks.

[ArgoRavi]

So tough to really say how good the Cats O-Line was. Personally, I don't think it was great. They were the only team the Argos seemed to get regular pressure on this year, but Masoli was a magician and as a result, avoided sacks.

Masoli often threw INTs instead of taking sacks too.

[jerrym]

The sudden emergence of Bralon Addison has been a major aid to the Ticat offence following the injuries to several Tiger Cat WRs.

Addison had already demonstrated in his cameo role against the Montreal Alouettes in the lame-duck season ender that he has game. He caught the head coach’s eye and 103 yards’ worth of footballs from backup quarterback Dane Evans. So, he started the eastern semifinal against B.C., made a Banks-like grab on the second play from scrimmage to set an immediate and impactful positive tone and ended up with 124 yards. ...

Addison is not Banks, nor is he Jalen Saunders. But June Jones was musing after Wednesday’s practice that he can deliver some of the same things from the slot that those two now-sidelined stars did. And he added that because he’s running more and is more familiar with route expectations, Addison’s game is getting faster.
Both Jones and Jeremiah Masoli describe Addison as intelligent and “quarterback friendly, ” attributing part of the latter to his years under centre at Hightower High School in Missouri City, Texas. He and Masoli seem to have developed that kind of mutual radar which usually takes more lengthy interaction than they’ve had in practice and the three games Addison had played for the Ticats, with only one pass thrown his way. Addison has spent most of his two months here on the practice roster.

“I think having played quarterback helps me, ” Addison said of Jones’ offence requiring the passer and receiver to make the same reads on almost every route. “And previously being in systems, at Oregon and in Toronto, kind of similar to this, kind of helped me. I also had friends who played for coach Jones in college, so talking to them helped, too.”
Addison arrived at the University of Oregon in 2012, two years after Masoli had departed for Ole Miss. “I watched him as a teenager, getting ready to go Oregon, ” Addison said. “Once I got there they still showed a lot of his clips on film, teaching guys how to do certain things.”

Masoli said that Addison, Saunders and Banks, “all bring something different to the table. The similarities are that they’re just dogs: competitors, they want to win every route.”

http://3downnation.com/2018/11/15/mi...k-time-ticats/

[jerrym]

The Tiger Cats will be facing a lot of changes next year with 34 free agents, as well as the contracts of Eric Tillman, Shawn Burke, and Drew Allemang all expiring. In addition, the Argos and/or BC Lions may go after assistant HC Orlando Steinauer. It is also not inconceivable that Steinauer could replace Jones who has a .500 record since arriving.

[AngeloV]

Masoli often threw INTs instead of taking sacks too.

Don't know about often. Occasionally for sure. I'm of the opinion that Masoli was the only reason Hamilton got as far as they did. He is a great CFL QB. Yes, Speedy Banks has put together a phenomenal year and a half as a receiver, but I think a lot of that has to do with Masoli. A lot of Banks big plays come off scramble drill. Good on Banks for knowing what to do, but that's 90% Masoli.

[Will]

So tough to really say how good the Cats O-Line was. Personally, I don't think it was great. They were the only team the Argos seemed to get regular pressure on this year, but Masoli was a magician and as a result, avoided sacks.

They struggled earlier in the season, but did appear to improve as season went on, but yes Masoli did accomplish much with his feet.