Head To Head: Tiger-Cats vs Roughriders

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (0-2) vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders  (0-2)
Game 3 | Saturday, July 16 @ 4:00 p.m., EST
Ivor Wynne Stadium – Hamilton, Ontario

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TV BROADCAST:  TSN featuring Rod Black (play-by-play) and Duane Forde (analyst)
RADIO BROADCAST:  AM 900 CHML featuring Rick Zamperin (play-by-play) and John Salavantis (analyst)

THE MATCH-UP

Saturday’s game will be the first of two regular season meetings between the Tiger-Cats and Roughriders in the 2011 campaign. The match-up will be the 79th meeting between the two teams since 1950. Saskatchewan holds a two game edge in the all-time series, 38-36-4. The Roughriders have recently had success against the Ticats, winning 10 of their last 11 games against Hamilton, including the two times they squared off last season. In the last 11 games against Saskatchewan at Ivor Wynne Stadium however, the Tiger-Cats have a 5-6 record.

Both teams are coming into Saturday’s contest without a win in the 2011 season. The Tiger-Cats dropped their home opener to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Canada Day 24-16 and lost in Edmonton against the Eskimos last week 28-10. The Roughriders also lost their home opener in week one, losing 42-28 to the Eskimos. Last week, Saskatchewan came up short in their Grey Cup rematch against Montreal dropping a 39-25 contest to the Alouettes.

This will be the first meeting between head coach Marcel Bellefeuille and rookie head coach Greg Marshall. With over a decade of coaching experience in the CFL, Marshall was awarded the Roughriders head coach position in the off-season. Marshall spent last season in Hamilton as the Tiger-Cats assistant coach and defensive coordinator.

2011 STATISTICAL RANKINGS

Total Offence Per Game	279.0 (7th)	372.5 (4th)
Rushing Offence Per Game	70.5 (7th)	73.0 (6th)
Passing Offence Per Game	223.0 (7th)	306.0 (4th)
Total Defence Per Game	385.0 (6th)	443.0 (8th)
Rushing Defence Per Game	138.0 (8th)	87.5 (5th)
Passing Defence Per Game	269.5 (4th)	356.5 (8th)
Points Per Game	13.0 (8th)	25.5 (5th)
Opponents Points Per Game	26.0 (5th)	40.5 (8th)

2011 INDIVIDUAL STATISTIC LEADERS

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Renauld Williams #9 / MLB / Hamilton
Williams will be going against his former team on Saturday for the first time after signing with Hamilton in the off-season. Williams played for the Roughriders from 2007-2009, where he racked up 98 tackles and six sacks in 31 games. Two weeks into the 2011 season, Williams leads the CFL with 15 tackles and has shown he’s a domineering force in the middle of the Tiger-Cats linebacking trio. Although he will be going up against old friends on Saturday, fans can bet the second he straps on his pads, Rey Williams will come to play.

Stevie Baggs #55 / DE / Hamilton
Baggs will also be going against his old team on Saturday night. Playing with Saskatchewan in 2009, Baggs led the league with 12 sacks and was named a West Division All-Star, on top of receiving Defensive Player of the Week honours three times. Currently riding a two-game sack-streak, Baggs has been harassing opposing quarterbacks so far this season, taking down Buck Pierce in week one and forcing a Ricky Ray fumble last week. Baggs and the rest of the Ticats defense will look to add to their six sacks on Saturday, against a Saskatchewan offensive line that has allowed three sacks so far this season.

Dave Stala #88 / WR / Hamilton
Stala, who scored the Tiger-Cats lone touchdown last week in Edmonton, with an athletic, shoe-string grab, has historically enjoyed success against the Saskatchewan Roughriders over the course of his 9 year career. In his last three games against the Green Riders, Stala has posted 312 yards on 23 catches with a TD, including a 8-128 yard performance against Saskatchewan last season at Ivor Wynne. Stala, who is a red zone threat out of the slot, will look at add to his career numbers against the Roughriders this week.

Weston Dressler #7 / WR / Saskatchewan
Ticats fans will always remember Dressler after the remarkable catch he made right before halftime last season at Ivor Wynne. With eight seconds left on the clock, Darian Durant launched a deep ball off of his back foot that appeared to be sailing over Dressler’s head. The 5’7” Dressler dove for the pass, somehow corralling it while somersaulting on the turf, regained his feet and fell into the end zone for the 43 yard touchdown — arguably the catch of the 2010 CFL season. Dressler finished the game in Hamilton with seven catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. With Andy Fantuz lost to the NFL and Rob Bagg out with an ACL injury, Dressler comes into Saturday’s game as the Roughriders #1 receiving threat.

Barrin Simpson #2 / MLB / Saskatchewan
Simpson, the self-proclaimed ‘Minister of Defense’ comes into Saturday’s game second in the league in tackles behind Hamilton’s Renauld Williams. The energetic and vocal, veteran leader of Saskatchewan’s defense comes into Hamilton as dangerous as ever, with two sacks through his first two games. Kevin Glenn and the Tiger-Cats offensive line will be aware of the six-time CFL All-Star, as he has made a living busting up inside runs and getting to the opposing teams’ quarterbacks.

Wes Cates #20 / RB / Saskatchewan
Cates led the CFL in rushing touchdowns last year with 15 scores, three of which came against the Ticats. Cates was effective both running and receiving the ball last season against Hamilton, posting a combined 215 yards of total offence against the Ticats defense, including two, big downfield grabs. The 6’0, 215 lbs, Cates is the number one option in the Roughriders offence when the
y get close to the goal line so look for the Tiger-Cats to try to shut him down and force Darian Durant to find other targets.

KEY MATCH-UP

Tiger-Cats Defensive Line vs. Eskimos Offensive Line
One of the keys to Ricky Ray’s success against the Roughriders last week was the protection he received from his offensive line. Only giving up one sack on the evening, the Eskimos front five provided Edmonton’s pass catchers with time to develop their routes, which in turn allowed Ray to find his open targets downfield. The result was a number of big gains for Edmonton’s offence. The performance of the offensive line was encouraging for Eskimo fans, as Coach Reed was forced to start a rookie left tackle and shuffle other personnel around on the line due to injuries, a scenario that usually doesn’t bode well for any position group.  On the other side of the coin, Hamilton’s front seven had a stand out game on Canada Day against the Bombers, sacking quarterback Buck Pierce five times. Employing a variety of blitz packages, the line benefited from a strong showing by rookie tackle Eddie Steele and second year tackle Albert Smith, who both got to Pierce last week. Something’s got to give in a game that will be won or lost in the trenches of Commonwealth Stadium.