Head To Head: Tiger-Cats at Argonauts

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (6-6) at Toronto Argonauts (3-9)
Game 13 | Saturday, October 1 @ 7:00 p.m., EST
Rogers Centre – Toronto, 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 second of three regular season meetings between the Tiger-Cats and Argonauts. The match-up will be the 210th meeting between the two teams since 1950. Hamilton holds the edge in the all-time series, 121-86-2. The Ticats have also won five straight and seven of their last 10 games against the Argos. The last time the two teams met was at Ivor Wynne on August 13, where the Tiger-Cats won an exciting contest 37-32.

The Tiger-Cats are coming into Saturday’s game fresh off of their East Coast road trip, beating up on the Calgary Stampeders 55-36 at the second annual Touchdown Atlantic game last Sunday. The Cats offence, which struggled in their previous two games, erupted against the Stamps, led by a pair of two touchdown performances from Marcus Thigpen and Terry Grant. The Tiger-Cats will need to win this game to distance themselves from the Argos in the standings and are now focused on locking up a home playoff game.

The Argos are also coming into Saturday’s game on an emotional high after an exciting last-second 25-24 victory against the East Division leading Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week at the Rogers Centre. Led by their defence, which racked up four sacks, two interceptions and forced three fumbles, the Argonauts scraped out their third win of the season, effectively making Saturday’s contest with the Cats a must win if they still want to stay in contention for a playoff spot.   

This will be the fifth meeting between head coaches Marcel Bellefeuille and Jim Barker. Bellefeuille has a career record of 25-31 as a CFL head coach in the regular season and holds a 6-2 record against the Argonauts. Barker has a career record of 26-40 as a CFL head coach in the regular season and holds a 3-6 record against the Ticats.

2011 STATISTICAL RANKINGS

Total Offence Per Game	339.4 (6th)	318.9 (8th)
Rushing Offence Per Game	88.7 (8th)	115.2 (1st)
Passing Offence Per Game	264.2 (5th)	220.6 (8th)
Total Defence Per Game	394.6 (7th)	400.5 (8th)
Rushing Defence Per Game	111.6 (7th)	123.0 (8th)
Passing Defence Per Game	300.4 (8th)	292.2 (7th)
Points Per Game	29.2 (2nd)	20.9 (8th)
Opponents Points Per Game	28.7 (5th)	28.7 (5th)

2011 INDIVIDUAL STATISTIC LEADERS

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Marcus Thigpen #8 / WR/RB/KR / Hamilton
If you tuned in for the Touchdown Atlantic game last Sunday, you’re already quite familiar with Marcus Thigpen and what he’s capable of on the football field. If you didn’t catch the Ticats 55-36 victory against Calgary in Moncton, here’s a quick summary of what the sophomore Ticat accomplished. Thigpen, in his first career start at receiver, exploded for 139 yards on six receptions with two touchdowns, adding a third touchdown in the third quarter on a remarkable, 118-yard missed field goal return. Looking to shake things up and capitalize on Thiggy’s playmaking ability, Coach Bellefeuille and offensive coordinator Khari Jones have tweaked their game plan to involve the speedster, a decision that will surely benefit Kevin Glenn and the Ticats offence moving forward. On Saturday’s game, monitor the effect that Thigpen will have on Toronto’s defensive play calling, both directly and indirectly. 

Bo Smith #14 / DB / Hamilton
In the same way the Tiger-Cats shuffled their lineup on the offensive side of the ball for the Touchdown Atlantic game, defensive coordinator Corey Chamblin also altered the make-up of his defence last Sunday in Moncton. Chamblin moved four year veteran defensive back Bo Smith from boundary half back to boundary corner, swapping spots with rookie Marcel Young, in an attempt to take advantage of both players’ skill sets. The switch paid divedends as Smith intercepted his third pass of the season and recovered a fumble in the win. Smith, who spent a portion of last season at New York Jets training camp, is one of the Ticats best cover corners and open field tacklers and will be called upon to shut down the receiver that lines up across from him.

Steven Jyles #9 / QB / Toronto
Jyles, a six-year CFL veteran, will make his fourth start at quarterback in an Argos uniform on Saturday night. Jyles, who arrived in Toronto via a trade with Winnipeg this off-season, spent the first nine games of the 2011 campaign on the injured list. With Cleo Lemon out of the picture in Toronto, the keys to the offence are now in Jyles’ hand. The Lousiana native inherited the worst passing offence in the CFL (220.6 yards per game) and has done little to improve on those numbers in his three starts, most recently coming off of a 11/20, 88 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT performance at home last week. Don’t let the passing numbers fool you though. Jyles is an explosive player and arguably one of the better scrambling quarterbacks in the league who isn’t afraid to run if his receivers are covered downfield.

Andre Durie #32 / RB/SB / Toronto
Durie, who is listed as a running back / slot receiver on the Argos roster, has been used primarly as a pass catcher so far in 2011 and is well on his way to having a career season. The five-year veteran and native of Mississauga, who draws a lot of comparison to CFL legend Pinball Clemons, has been the difference maker for th
e Argos this year and has quickly become a favourite target of new quarterback Steven Jyles. When Hamilton and Toronto squared off earlier in the season, Durie caught four balls for 76 yards and a touchdown, using his speed to separate from defenders and making plays. Similar to the Ticats Marcus Thigpen, the Argos will look to get the ball into Durie’s hands with the hope that he can make potential tacklers miss and break off some big gains.   

KEY MATCH-UP

Avon Cobourne vs. Ejiro Kuale
A Ticats-Argos rivalry game doesn’t need any extra hype, but that’s exactly what Ejiro Kuale provided when he guaranteed an Argos victory this Saturday. Kuale made the bold prediction last week after the Argos last-second victory over the first place Blue Bombers, a statement that he has stood by since. The 6’2″, 229 lbs self-proclaimed emotional leader of the Argos defence is a beast on the field, possessing a combination of size and speed that has earned him a starting spot in the Argos linebacking corps. But, if you’re going to guarantee a win against an opponent, you have to make sure you deliver on your promise — as the saying goes, if you talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. And to walk the walk means stopping Avon Cobourne, the CFL’s third leading rusher and leading touchdown machine on the ground this season. Mr. Cobourne, who is no stranger to pre-game trash talk himself, will no doubt have Kuale’s prediction in the back of his mind as he prepares to face Toronto’s eighth ranked run defence on Saturday night. Although it is impossible to guarantee one team’s victory over another in professional sports, one thing is certain; whoever prevails in this key-match up won’t hesitate to let the other guy know it.