Fraser Caldwell
Cobourne shined in a losing effort
Veteran running back Avon Cobourne made the most of his return to the Ticats lineup on Saturday, rushing for 119 yards on 13 carries in a loss.
Both Cobourne’s quarterback and coach were complimentary of the performance he turned in and the effort with which he surpassed the 100 yard plateau.
“He played hard tonight,” said Burris of his running back. “He came out and gave us energy and effort all night. He played his butt off. We need more people playing like that. He gave everything that he had.”
“But that’s what I expected from Avon. He’s a seasoned vet – a winner – and he knows how to play the game.”
Ticat Head Coach George Cortez echoed his quarterback, and added that Cobourne played the role of on-field leader for the Ticats on Saturday.
“Avon I thought played very well today,” said the coach. “I thought he played with a lot of drive and he certainly was a leadership factor in the game for us. So yes, I thought he played well.”
Cortez: “We didn’t play well enough to win”
Cortez was uncompromising in his assessment of his team’s effort in Toronto.
Where Hamilton has fallen just short in recent weeks, the coach suggested that his team’s mistakes widened the gap this time around.
“We didn’t play well at all on offence for most of the game,” said Cortez simply. “There were too many drops, and we opened the game with a sack. We had the conversion play where we dropped the ball and we just didn’t play very well. We certainly didn’t play well enough to win.”
“Defensively, I thought in the first half that the defence did a nice job of forcing field goals and keeping us in the game, but we didn’t get that done in the second half. It would be really easy to say that we threw a pick and if we’d caught that it would have saved us seven points. But right now, I think that would be giving us too much credit.”
Burris: “Every guy’s got to hold himself accountable”
Quarterback Henry Burris dismissed the notion that his team’s effort on Saturday was a product of a lack of self confidence.
He argued that the effort given from he and his teammates was insufficient, and said that each of the Ticats must hold themselves accountable as they move forward from the Week 11 defeat.
“There’s no [lack of self confidence]. It was more of an effort thing, and that’s a thing that we’ve done a great job of this year: playing with effort,” said Burris.
“In some cases, we didn’t give it like we’ve always been giving it. Every guy’s got to hold himself accountable. I’m holding myself accountable.
“I want to make sure that I’m doing what I can to be better with my offence. For us to have 17 points in almost three quarters, that’s not acceptable.”
Burris: Time is now to “right the ship”
When asked what Saturday’s defeat meant for the Ticats’ playoff chances, Burris pointed to his team’s position within striking distance of cross-over rivals Saskatchewan.
However, he indicated that the team must sort out its own effort before it concerns itself with the teams around it.
“We’re only one game behind Saskatchewan before their game against Winnipeg,” said the quarterback.
“But it doesn’t matter what’s going on with them. We’ve got to right what’s going on with our own ship, because we’re not sailing in the right direction.”
