Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
Burris: Ticats learning to enjoy themselves
Henry Burris’ admission that he had been singing in the huddle before leading his team’s decisive drive stands as one of the most memorable quotes from Saturday night’s victory.
On Tuesday, the Tiger-Cat quarterback indicated his hope that his squad could learn from that light-hearted moment for the benefit of future games.
“That’s when we played our best,” said Burris of his offence’s late relaxation. “Football is a game. The bottom line is that it’s a game. It’s played to be enjoyed, and you’ve got to come out here and play as if you’re a kid. When you start pressing, you start thinking of ways to do much more than was asked of you.” “
“That’s when things don’t happen as well for you as they should. Toronto got to the point where they weren’t having fun – we were moving the ball to the point where they weren’t having fun – that gave us an opportunity to make plays.”
“We’ve got to take that learning experience for us, and use it to our advantage and just have fun when we’re out here. We’ve got to remember for those adverse times in the future that regardless of the situation, as long as we’re having fun we can hopefully turn that around much quicker.”
Burris: Still much work to be done
While he and his teammates are undoubtedly relieved to have entered the win column after Saturday’s contest, Burris cautioned on Tuesday that the Tiger-Cats have much work to do as they work to dig out of their early-season deficit.
“You can see that guys are very excited about getting the first win. But the thing is that the hunger is still there and the guys want to keep getting better. We’re still 1-2, we don’t have a winning record and we’re not in first place, but we’ve got a chance to join that team that’s in first place in Montreal.
“We’ve got a great opportunity coming up this week. Guys around this team just want to work on getting better because we know that regardless of the victory there are still things that we can do a lot better. We want to reach that potential and do it as soon as possible.”
Cortez: Williams has cemented his spot
The Black and Gold had notably tested several options at the kick and punt return positions throughout training camp.
But with the remarkable performance of Chris Williams as perhaps the most explosive returner in a formidable CFL group, there is no question in George Cortez’ mind as to who will be fielding kicks for the Tiger-Cats for the foreseeable future.
“We were trying to look at a lot of guys in training camp, because we had certain things in mind,” said the Tiger-Cat Head Coach on Tuesday. “If certain guys could play a certain position maybe they would be the guy. But Chris Williams was always part of the plan. As the roster took shape, he certainly became Plan ‘A’.”
Cortez: Peach adds experience
Tuesday saw the return to training of veteran defensive end Greg Peach, who had been sidelined since training camp due to injury. The seasoned import spent three seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos, and Cortez stated that the lineman’s experience would be a valuable addition to the Black and Gold’s roster.
“Well obviously Greg has been in the league since ’09,” said the Ticat coach. “So he’s an experienced player who’s played high-level, successful football. Besides being a good player, he also brings that level of experience to the game.”
Cortez warned that Peach’s return to form would be gradual, but was optimistic that his time in the CFL would quicken his acclimation to his new situation with the Tiger-Cats.
“It’s a new defence for him, but he has also probably seen things occur during a game that other guys may not have,” said Cortez. “There’s a growth process to the whole thing, and I know that it doesn’t matter what position you play, the more you play, the better you get at it.”
Cortez: Montreal’s defence brings variety
Asked to evaluate the Montreal defence that his offensive players are set to encounter in four days’ time, Cortez indicated that the Alouettes could be expected to challenge his linemen with numbers.
“They play a concept where they’re going to force your linemen – especially in protection – not to have much help,” said the coach of his team’s upcoming opposition.
“They bring five guys a lot, so that the linemen are going to be manned up. Although they play a lot of the time with just three defensive linemen and four linebackers, so they’re peeling guys off of the end of the line sometimes to cover the backs.”
In a typical effort to cause confusion within an offence, Cortez explained that the Alouettes employ a variety of personnel packages to toggle their standard defensive appearance.
“They give you a variety of looks,” said Cortez. “Similar concepts but a lot of different personnel. I’m guessing that they’re still searching for their perfect personnel grouping, because they’ve played a lot of different guys in the first three weeks. They’re fairly physical and they play a very good mix of man and zone.”
