Bert Faibish
CFL.ca
Like a younger brother finally getting noticed, Hamilton’s secondary decided it was time to step out from behind the shadow of the front seven and deliver their finest performance of the season on Monday.
Occasionally maligned and sometimes forgotten, Hamilton’s back five were faced with an unenviable task; cover Toronto’s receivers with little help from a front seven that had its hands full containing the league’s leading rusher.
To say they answered the bell would be an understatement.
The leader of that group, a young Dylan Barker, set the tone early by annihilating Toronto receiver Chad Lucas on the third play from scrimmage, separating him from the ball and giving possession back to the offence at midfield.
It was just the first of many impact plays by Ticat defenders.
“We probably had our best performance as a unit, I thought we tackled well and caught the ball when we had opportunities,” said Defensive Coordinator Greg Marshall.
Being able to play together after mixing and matching some pieces in the offseason, the secondary is beginning to show the cohesion that the linebackers and defensive line have enjoyed through continuity of personnel.
Newcomers Jason Shivers and Jerome Dennis were brought in during the offseason and have entrenched themselves as starters at the defensive halfback position, quickly becoming the enforcers of Hamilton’s secondary.
“As a unit we’ve got (Geoff Tisdale) and Jykine ball-hawking on the outside and (Shivers) and I bringing the physicality from the half back position. We’re a diverse group” said Dennis.
In the land of fields that are 65 yards wide, gives receivers fifteen yard head starts and has end zones that go on virtually forever, the opportunistic DB is king.
If a defensive back is given a shot at an interception, he’d better be able to take advantage of it.
All season the Ticats defence has given up yardage but held strong when backed up against their own end zone, when it counts most.
We’re really coming together now, it’s more a case of just reacting during games rather than thinking about our responsibilities,” said Barker.
“We’re just beginning, I think we have the potential to get much better as a group,” he said.
Which is bad news for offences that already have to contend with a unit that leads the league in sacks, is second in points allowed, features two All-Star linebackers from ’09 and a rejuvenated Otis Floyd who could end the season with career-highs in tackles and sacks.
