Bert Faibish
Ticats.ca
HAMILTON — With all of the marquee names of the defensive side of the ball in Hamilton, that unit was expected to be a dominant force in the CFL this season.
Entering the one-third mark of the season this weekend, with the exception of one game, the ‘D’ has shown flashes but is yet to put together 60 minutes of dominant football.
Especially over the last few games, the defence has been put into difficult situations and held strong in the score zone, holding opponents like Montreal and Saskatchewan to field goal attempts for the most part.
“We’ve done a good job of battling, especially over the last few weeks in some tough situations,” said defensive coordinator Greg Marshall.
As well as they’ve played in certain situations, the players feel like a complete performance isn’t far away.
“We’re starting to communicate more out there and our camaraderie is there, on and off the field, so I feel like we’re really starting to gel,” said linebacker Jamall Johnson.
As well as the unit has played inside their own 20, Johnson feels like they don’t have to be in those situations.
“If we can limit the big plays then hopefully we won’t have to fight to keep them out of the end zone,” he said.
Coach Marshall may not like the frequency that the other team’s offence finds themselves inside the 20-yard line, but he does like how his team handles it.
“One thing I do like is our attitude, we don’t give up when people get down there, we keep fighting and make people earn it,” he said.
One area that the defence can improve on is the turnover department.
There have been some missed opportunities for big plays that they have failed to capitalize on, which would have impacted the field-position game immensely.
“We’d like to be able to create some more turnovers and create a short field for our offence,” said Marshall.
