Coming off their improbable last-second win over Toronto in the Eastern Semi-final game, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and their fans are riding high. Not many gave them any chance of beating the Argonauts, led by future hall of famer Ricky Ray, fearsome kicker Swayze Waters, and Most Outstanding rookie of the year nominee Vidal Hazelton. Hamilton was in tough.
But they prevailed, through some lucky penalties, some tough defending, some excellent kicking (including field goals from 55 and 47 yards – the latter sealing the Tiger-Cats win), and even some decent play at quarterback from fourth (!) stringer Jeremiah Masoli. Unlikely though it seemed before and, indeed, throughout most of the game, Hamilton did what they needed to take the victory.
And now the real problems begin.
Injuries, Injuries, Injuries
Injuries have been Hamilton’s curse this year, and in the semi-final game another wave of banged-up players landed, falling mainly on the defence. Most Outstanding Defender nominee Simoni Lawrence was the most worrisome casualty, missing part of the game with a lower body injury. The team may not appreciate his candour, but Lawrence told Steve Milton of the Hamilton Spectator that while he won’t practice this week, he will play next Sunday against Ottawa.
Almost as bad as Lawrence’s injury is Eric Norwood, who left the game in the third quarter; Norwood can be a terror on the defensive line, and his play is often key to disrupting opponents’ passing rhythm. And receiver Tiquan Underwood went down as well, although the Cats have enough depth at that position to cover for his absence.
Winning Without Collaros
The key question remains at the quarterback position. The team has been in an offensive funk since Zach Collaros blew his knee out; replacements Jeff Mathews, Jacory Harris, and Jeremiah Masoli have not been up to the task of replacing him. (Little wonder – Collaros was having a superb season in the twelve games he started.)
Masoli made only his second start in the Semi-final, and the start wasn’t impressive, completing 5 for 11 in the first half, picking up only 26 yards. And he was yanked in favour of Harris after he threw an interception, and benched for a couple of series.
But once head coach Kent Austin let Masoli back on the field, he was a monster. The turning point of the game was a perfectly-executed touchdown pass to Grant, who eluded his coverage and picked up the pass to run untouched to the end zone. After his return under centre, Masoli was a perfect 7-for-7 on 115 yards. He even put in the Ticats’ second touchdown, punching the ball in from the one on a third-and-goal situation.
The first half Masoli was rushing and overpowering his throws, slicing the ball through receivers’ hands when he was able to put the pass anywhere near them. But towards the end of the game, he was more relaxed and more sure of himself – not at all the unproven backup he looked like in the opening half. If this calm, sure veteran is the Masoli who shows up next time, Ottawa will have some serious trouble.
Their Remaining Strengths
With all the problems the Ticats now confront, they do have a number of strengths to draw on. Even with the injuries to their defensive squad, their secondary remains in good shape and had some impressive knockdowns and smart coverage against Toronto.
The offence, too, showed promise in many different ways. Running back C.J. Gable ran for 71 yards in the second half of the game, and the miscommunications and bobbles they saw the previous week with Ottawa were gone. And quarterbacking aside, they have plenty of sure-handed, veteran receivers, with Andy Fantuz, Luke Tasker, and perennially underestimated Bakari Grant leading the team.
Special teams, though, are the difference-maker. Brandon Banks hasn’t run a kick back for a touchdown since early on in the season, but he gains good yards on his returns, which led to consistently favorable field position for the Ticats this week.
And Justin Medlock, amazingly enough, keeps improving this season. Not only is he near-perfect in field goals from short or long yards, he has also upped his punting game decisively. At the beginning of the 2015 campaign, he was a mediocre, up-the-middle punter; in the last third of the season, he’s been placing punts in the corners and getting some serious hang time.
Can they Beat the Redblacks?
After their two disastrous late-season outings against Ottawa, no one is giving the Tiger-cats any chance of taking down the Redblacks. They’ve got four thousand-yard receivers, a seemingly unstoppable Henry Burris, and home field advantage. What chance does Hamilton have?
They’ll need a lot of things to go their way, that’s for sure. But if Hamilton starts the Masoli we saw in the fourth quarter, if their injury-riddled defence solves the Ottawa front line, if their special teams keep up their high standard of play, then these Cats have another life in them.
It’s almost never easy to predict a CFL playoff game result. But don’t write off the Ticats too quickly. They could be way more than anyone bargained for in the coming week – and a third straight visit to the Grey Cup is still a very real possibility.
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