Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
Montreal experience on Labour Day
Tiger-Cats Head Coach George Cortez once again addressed the implications of the Labour Day Classic when he faced the media in the wake of his team’s Friday workout.
Cortez argued that while he has yet to experience the grudge match that occurs between the Argos and Ticats on Labour Day, he has plenty of Ivor Wynne memories of the Monday holiday from his time as an assistant with the Montreal Alouettes.
“When I was in Montreal, we played here on every Labour Day,” said Cortez. “It probably wasn’t of the same intensity as it will be with the Argos, but there was a parade through downtown and there was a lot going on.
“I wasn’t here but I have a pretty good understanding of what it’s about. Most of us have either played or coached in a big rivalry game and that’s what this is.”
Rivalry games bring a different atmosphere
Cortez admitted on Friday that a game such as the Labour Day Classic will inevitably affect his players’ performances, with the unique environment that accompanies it.
“There’s no doubt that when you come out of the tunnel, there’s a difference when you’re playing your big rival and there’s a lot more people here pregame,” said the coach. “There’s a different energy in the air and the players react to that.”
Argos’ secondary relies on matchups and unpredictability
The Argonauts secondary has gained a reputation as one of the most fearsome defensive backfields in the CFL.
Cortez suggested that much of that group’s success lies in their ability to find one-on-one matchups tailored to individual opponents.
“They do a very good job of matching guys up,” said Cortez. “If you watch them week-to-week, they put whoever they think is their best cover guy on the best receiver they think they’ll be facing. So a guy who usually plays corner might not be playing corner in the next game because he’s covering a guy who plays slot.
“I know for example that one of their guys followed Andy around in some situations the first time that we played them and that’s not really the spot where he plays. He was going wherever Andy went. They’ve pretty much done that in most of their games.”
But just when an offence is getting a bead on that backfield, it is capable of shifting schemes radically in the middle of a game.
“They also will just play their position and play man, so that you can’t always tell what they’re doing,” said Cortez. “But they also play zone. Some games they’re predominantly man and others they’re predominantly zone.
“People who don’t become patterned are the hardest ones to play against.”
Jones’ defence is different from his Calgary past
Cortez coached alongside Toronto’s Defensive Coordinator Chris Jones in Calgary for two seasons (2008-2009), but argued on Friday that Jones’ defence has changed greatly since their time together.
“I’m familiar with what they did when we coached together, but they’re not doing exactly the same stuff,” said Cortez. “They’re like everyone else, they evolve.
“They very much look at who they’re playing and play that team as much as anybody that I’ve seen in the league. When they played the Lions, they played them very differently from how they played the Eskimos. It’s not all just who the players are, it’s what the scheme is too.”
Ticats hope to keep some tricks up their sleeve for round two
The Tiger-Cats will have little respite from the Argos after Monday’s Labour Day Classic, as the two teams reconvene in Toronto only five days later.
Cortez stated that he would prefer to have a few surprises left to spring on the Argos when round two falls next Saturday. But he accepts that the two teams will likely be very familiar with one another when that rematch comes about.
“You would hope that you had some things that you liked and didn’t use that you can use in the second game,” said the coach.
“But we did this for 11 years in Calgary (against Edmonton). It’s just a fact of life that you play another game against the same team really quickly.”
