By Sean Millington,
CFL.ca
Well the monkey is finally off the back of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Check that — make that the 500 pound gorilla. A Mark Myers 44-yard field goal secured Hamilton’s first victory of the season over the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night.
In a game characterized by the usual complement of Ticat gaffes and bonehead plays, they lacked just enough to come out on top on the scoreboard. Despite having almost no time to make meaningful changes, credit must still go to Ron Lancaster. Both Kwame Cavil and game hero Myers made their debut in the Friday night game and while the 16 yards on three catches that Kwame brought to the table was not much, it was the subtle message his presence represented that was much more significant. Kwame and Mark’s presence on the field signaled change. It was a symbol that management was no longer going to sit idly by while the season was being squandered.
Greg Marshall could probably have saved his job by making these moves when he still had the opportunity to do so. Kwame had been on the roster all along and the Ticat organization had known of Mark from early in the off-season. When it became apparent that Boreham’s struggles were not of the one or two-game variety, a call should have been sent out to Mark.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve stated before that I don’t feel Marshall should have been fired and I still don’t, but perhaps making these kinds of moves would have given him more time.
It does make me wonder, however, what was going on behind closed doors of the Hamilton organization. If these moves were the brainchild of Ron Lancaster why didn’t he suggest them earlier? Perhaps he did and was rebuffed, I don’t know, but it is interesting that the apparent solution to what ailed the Ticats came from a source that was with them all along. Had Myers been brought into camp we might all be thinking a lot differently about the Hamilton Tiger Cats right now? At least two of Hamilton’s four losses could easily have been wins had they had someone even slightly resembling a consistent kicker.
It will be interesting to see where the team goes from here. Up next will be their third meeting with the Montreal Alouettes. The Alouettes, with their undefeated record, will provide a stern test for the Ticats and could destroy what surely must be very fragile confidence. The secret here is coaching.
This is where Ron Lancaster may have the edge on the departed Marshall — his ability to manage his team’s psyche. He needs to use the victory over Calgary to build his team’s confidence and get them ready to play Montreal, however, given that a loss to the Alouettes is a very real possibility (and objectively speaking, likely a reality), he has to be prepared to immediately get them thinking about the coming match with Winnipeg after the game. With the Bombers injury situation, the Ticats have a much better chance in that game to build some real self belief and get their season turned around.
The Ticats are close to being a competitive team. Perhaps Lancaster’s experience and no nonsense approach will turn out to be just what the doctor ordered to get them on track.
Sean Millington played 13 years in the CFL with the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts and has been a panelist on the CFL on CBC since 2003.
(The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily of the Canadian Football League)
