THE CANADIAN PRESS
After three weeks of training camp and two exhibition games, Otis Floyd is ready to start playing football for real.
The veteran linebacker, in his 10th CFL season, can’t wait to make his Hamilton debut when the Tiger-Cats kick off the ’09 campaign Wednesday (7 p.m., ET) against their arch rivals, the Toronto Argonauts.
“I’m ready to take the gloves off,” said the six-foot-two, 238-pound Floyd. “No more short whistles when we get to the quarterback.
“I’m ready to go all out and play my game. I’m not going to try to go out there and be Superman or anything like that. I’m going to go out there and play my game and that is flat out playing hard. If they want to get dirty, I can get dirty, too.”
Hamilton signed Floyd as a free agent shortly after he was released by the B.C. Lions in the off-season. The Ticats are the fourth different team Floyd has suited up for in the CFL (2000 with Edmonton, 2001-’03 with Calgary, 2004-’08 with B.C.).
The former Louisville star has been a productive player throughout his CFL career, having accumulated 392 tackles, 30 sacks and nine fumble recoveries. He’s also got two Grey Cup rings (2001 with Calgary, 2006 with B.C.) and Hamilton is banking on Floyd’s experience and nose for the football to lead a young defence by example.
“That’s the type of guy I am anyways,” Floyd said. “I’m not the type of guy off the field or in the locker-room who’s a rah-rah type.
“The only time you’re really going to hear me talking is on the field. That’s when I’m making plays and hitting people.”
And 33-year-old Detroit native isn’t shy about expressing himself during games, sometimes much to the chagrin of his teammates.
“It kind of shocked people our first pre-season game,” Floyd said. “I’m a talkative guy but when I got on that field and those young guys heard me talking, they were just looking at me like, ‘I can’t believe he said all those things?’
“That’s just my game. I’m just going to voice my opinion out there.”
Wednesday’s game will mark the first of Toronto coach Bart Andrus’s CFL career. Andrus’ coaching resume includes two World Bowl titles and a Super Bowl appearance, but he’s embarking on his first season in Canada.
And Andrus will wait until gametime to decide whether Jason Medlock or Eddie Johnson will handle kicking duties. Whoever starts will be Toronto’s first import kicker in a regular-season game since Dave Mann in 1958 although in 1998 Carlos Huerta handled kicking chores for the Argos in a playoff game.
Head coach Marcel Bellefeuille begins his first full season in Hamilton after taking over on an interim basis last year after Charlie Taaffe was fired. Bellefeuille takes over a team that hasn’t qualified for the CFL post-season since 2004 and has amassed a dreadful 15-57 overall record in that span.
But there’s a sense of optimism in Hamilton about the Ticats this season, thanks to a busy off-season by general manager Bob O’Billovich.
The club bolstered its offence by signing veteran quarterback Kevin Glenn after he was released by Winnipeg. O’Billovich also dipped into free agency to land offensive linemen Alexandre Gauthier as well as linebackers Floyd and Agustin Barrenechea.
The Ticats also secured stellar tackle Dan Goodspeed in a three-way deal involving Winnipeg and Saskatchewan and drafted highly touted offensive linemen Simeon Rottier and Zac Carlson.
And nowhere is the club’s optimism for success higher than at quarterback, with sophomore Quinton Porter and veteran Glenn, the East Division’s outstanding player in ’07. Bellefeuille wouldn’t divulge his starter Tuesday, but the expectation is the six-foot-five Porter will get the nod.
There’s no secret who Toronto’s starter will be as veteran Kerry Joseph, the CFL’s outstanding player in ’07, will get the nod.
The six-foot, 215-pound Joseph finished fourth among CFL passers last season with 4,174 yards but is also a threat to run. He rushed for 493 yards and seven touchdowns in ’08 but had 737 yards on the ground and 13 TDs in ’07 when he guided Saskatchewan to a Grey Cup title.
And in 2005, Joseph ran for 1,006 yards while with Ottawa.
“Man, that’s a big challenge,” Floyd said of trying to contain Joseph. “You have a guy who can run and also has a cannon for an arm and is built like a linebacker.
“We just have to get after him. We have to take the chances we get to get a lick on him as well as those chances we get to confuse him. We just have to try and contain Joseph and capitalize on any mistakes he might make.”
Opening with a home win over an arch rival would be a great way for any team to start a season, but Floyd said doing so would provide a huge boost to a franchise that’s coming off consecutive 3-15 campaigns.
“It’s very important,” he said. “That’s just the kickoff of your season right there, especially playing against Toronto.
“I know all about the big rivalries (in CFL) so even though I’ve never played in this East rivalry, I can understand where it’s coming from and I can just feel the passion about this game.”
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
