Justin Dunk
Ticats.ca
Keeping Tabs on Terrence
In Hamilton’s first meeting with Winnipeg, way back in week one, Bomber receiver Terrence Edwards came up with the team’s biggest offensive play – a 49-yard touchdown catch that stopped a 10-0 scoring run by the Ticats – which stemmed the momentum Hamilton had built early in the ball game.
“A lot of things happened on that play,” defensive back Jason Shivers said. “On that single play I needed to have better technique and keep my eyes on his hips, and not go for the jam. I tried to jam him, which put me off balance and allowed him to get on top of me and he ended up scoring.”
Edwards has found the end zone on a regular basis, he has five majors, second only to Dave Stala’s league-leading total of seven, so far this season.
“You have to focus on him anywhere on the field, that’s their go-to guy,” Shivers said. “Especially when their offence is not clicking they go to him to get things going.”
Number two feels like his defensive backfield is much more prepared for the second encounter with the veteran receiver.
“I think we’re doing the right things right now, especially coming off the bye week. So that we can be better prepared for those type of routes,” Shivers said. “That was early in the season and we were still adjusting, now I feel like we’re ready to go.”
Limiting Edwards, who led Winnipeg in receiving (3 catches 68 yards, 1 TD) during their week one victory, will certainly be a point of emphasis for the Ticats secondary.
Ticats Talkin’ Tackle
Linebacker Jamall Johnson made no bones about it. “We have to tackle better,” the seven-year CFL veteran said looking forward to the teams’ first game post-bye week.
“We need to tackle better,” Johnson, driving home the point, said. “We’ve missed a few tackles in the last few games and it hurt us.”
Johnson leads the Tiger-Cats with 38 stops through seven games, but he believes he can perform at a higher level.
“I got a lot of things that I need to correct, individually, so we can play better as a cohesive unit,” he said.
If the team tackle leader is of the mind to improve his tackling efficiency, the rest of the group will look to follow his words.
“We’ve been in a position to make plays and we haven’t made them. Those are two tangible things that we can reach and make happen. We’re working on those little things and as long as we carry it into the field we will be ok.”
Tackling will be essential in stopping a slippery Fred Reid and quarterback Buck Pierce who has the ability to shed a tackle and make defences pay with his feet.
Out-swagging Swaggerville
The Ticats defence will look to show they can play and match what is statistically the best-ranked defence in the CFL. One of the Tiger-cats defenders can see a battle of aggressive defences on the horizon.
“You have two defences that like to get after it, I think our defence has to try to out-play their defence, that’s the bottom line,” Shivers said. “We need to keep their offence off the field so our offence can stay on the field.”
Shivers believes his unit belongs in the conversation when talking about the leagues best defences.
“We’re just as good or better. Swaggerville is what they dubbed themselves, but we just come out and do what we do,” number two said. “We bring pressure, play man, play zone, we give offences trouble.”
Newest Ticat Reunited With Old Mates
After beginning his eighth CFL season, all with Saskatchewan, defensive lineman Luc Mullinder finds himself with his third team of 2011. The newest Cat on the block was traded from the Riders to the Alouettes in exchange for receiver Dallas Baker on August 8. Although, before he could fully unpack his bags in Montreal, the 6-4 288-pound lineman was released two weeks later on August 22, and the Ticats pounced on the experienced Michigan State product.
“He’s a veteran Canadian player who has been very successful. He started 18 games last year in Saskatchewan including playoffs and Grey Cup,” head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said.
The decision to sign with Hamilton reunited Mullinder with a couple of his ex-Rider teammates, Stevie Baggs and Renauld Williams.
“Yeah Stevie and Rey, Rey,” he said excitedly.
“I came in here and I was hesitant and I saw Rey and he had a big smile on his face, we gave each other a hug. You make friends in this game that you’ll keep for a while after football is done, and a couple of these guys are exactly those type of people to me.”
Although good friends, it wasn’t just Baggs and Williams that excites Mullinder about joining the Black and Gold.
“I came in and saw the team as a whole, they’re a real cohesive unit here. You can tell they all get along,” he said. “You have to get in where you fit in. It’s nice to be around that type of atmosphere.”
As for Mullinder, who will wear number 90 with the Cats, and his role on the defence, he can provide coordinator Corey Chamblin with different options.
“We’d like to at some point get to a rotation where we can rotate our three inside guys and three edge guys,” Bellefeuille said. “It might not be an equal rotation, but something that can keep our guys fresher so that when we want to rush four we have more energy.”
His ability to play any spot along the defensive front is an asset the Ticats are happy to have added to the roster and Mullinder himself can already see where he can fit in and be successful within the defensive scheme.
“I’d like to believe that I am an athletic guy and seeing the way we’re going to call the defensive game plan, I feel like there is a lot of spots that I can fit in and really contribute on the inside and the outside,” he said. “I’m excited to be here and get back to winning.”
Further Investigation
Ticats linebacker Jamall Johnson on the Bombers offence:
“They’re a little bit more balanced compared to the first time we played them. Obviously they’ve been in some good situations with their defence playing well. But they still have their core guys that were there when we first played them; Terrence Edwards, Fred Reid, Terrence Jeffers-Harris, all those guys are big threats. And Buck can take off and run at any time. We know what these guys can do and we just have to go out and make plays when it’s there for us.”
Ticats offensive coordinator Khari Jones on the Bombers defence:
“They’re just a good defence, they don’t do a whole lot scheme-wise. They’re just good at what they do. They run their defences and they say you have to beat us. With their front four and the pressure that they put on the quarterback they make it tough. Everybody is playing well, it will be a task to beat them, but we know what they’re about. So now it’s just about executing out there.”
