Justin Dunk
Ticats.ca
Your Team, Your Rules
This week Ticat fans had the chance to vote on a number of aspects of the game-day experience for Friday night’s game against Winnipeg. Fans could vote on touchdown songs, music throughout the game, what jersey and pant combination they wanted to see the Ticats wear, and most interesting of all, the first run and pass play of the game.
“I’ll tell you what, as a coach you go through all kinds of different feelings and emotions about these type of things,” head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said. “But at the end of the day this is the most interactive pro sports league in North America. Fans have the most access and are respected and cared about, so why not be on the cutting edge of it.”
Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice told the Winnipeg fans, earlier this week, to call in and vote for a interception return for a touchdown.
“He’s a smart man,” Bellefeuille joked at his pre-game press conference.
Make no mistake though, Bellefeuille is fully behind the idea of the fans picking his first couple of plays this game.
“Why not be in the group that does something different, the group that ingratiates their fans more,” he said. “I think that’s a positive thing, I think it’s good for football and it’s good for our fan base.”
Bellefeuille feels the chosen plays have a good chance for success on Friday night.
“Most plays work,” he said, “if they’re executed properly.”
Fear The Beard
A trio of Ticats have been sporting more than the usual five o’clock shadow ever since Hamilton’s 55-36 win over Calgary in Moncton two weeks ago.
Marcus Thipgen, who went off that day as a receiver, and linebackers Renauld Williams and Kyle Jones haven’t shaved since a couple days before the resounding victory over the Stampeders — the trio of beard growers are hoping to allow their beards a lot of time to grow and mature.
“It’s me and a couple linebackers, we just wanted to grow it out until we win the Grey Cup,” Thigpen said. “We haven’t lost since we had it growing.”
“It’s one of those superstition-type things, it’s just something we came up with and it’s working out for us so far.”
Points At A Premium
As the East Division standings tighten up, games with division foes take on even more importance heading down the back end of the schedule.
“It’s another divisional game. You always hear that mantra that they’re four point games, well they become that in the last third of the season,” Bellefeuille said, about facing the East-leading Bombers on Friday night.
With the season series between the two teams already in Winnipeg’s favour, Bellefeuille understands exactly what this game means to Hamilton’s chances at an East division title.
“When you take the series into consideration we have to finish two points ahead of them in the standings,” he said. “If you don’t have the series against them you definitely want to at least be tied with them to have a chance down the stretch.”
Change Of Pace
The last time these two teams met, star Winnipeg runner Fred Reid was in the lineup, rushing for 54 yards in a 30-27 Bomber win. After suffering a torn ACL on September 24 against Toronto, Reid’s season is done and a new back has taken over the primary ball carrying duties in the Bomber backfield.
Chris Garret, who was with Winnipeg during training camp earlier this season, is the man tabbed with the duty to replace one of the league’s top running backs.
“Fred Reid is one of the elite backs in this league for a reason. I guess they went and found one to try and patch it up,” defensive end Stevie Baggs said.
Garrett did more than patch up the Bomber run game. In his first start last week he rushed for 76 yards on just 11 carries and showed his explosion on a 32-yard scoring run versus the Alouettes.
“This young man looks good. He’s patient, I saw one run he made where he was just patient enough to stay in the hole, the hole was actually closed up, but he was so patient he stayed in there and he actually scored on the play,” Baggs said of watching Garret’s touchdown rush on film.
Garret averaged 6.9 yards per rush against Montreal, a better per attempt average than Reid was able to accomplish in any single game this year. Hamilton’s defence must not overlook this shifty back, even though he has started only one game this year.
Further Investigation
Ticats Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille on the Bombers defence:
“I have so much respect for that defence. First of all they rush the passer well, but I think more importantly they play at an intensity level that week in week out, other teams have a hard time matching. The third thing is they play very good sound defence. They very rarely make an error, an assignment error, a gap error or a blown coverage, you just don’t see it on tape. It rarely ever happens.”
