Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
There is no room left for misunderstanding or misdirection on the Ticats part.
Facing a win-or-die contest in Toronto tomorrow night, players stress the importance of a unified message and a single purpose if they are to overcome the Argos.
“When we’re on the same page, we’re pretty much unstoppable,” says Ticat receiver Onrea Jones.
The last time that Hamilton travelled to the Rogers Centre, it was a series of costly miscues that held the Ticats explosive offensive at bay and left the door open for an Argo surge in the second half.
Jones doesn’t see a need for substantial changes to his team’s approach this time around. Instead, Hamilton needs only to exorcise the demons of performances past.
“I wouldn’t say that anything needs to change,” says the rookie receiver. “We just need to come together as a team and put together plays and drives. We need to be on the same page.”
“That’s what hurt us, we’ve been on different pages at times, and those were big times of the game where we needed to be on the same page.”
“We’ve got to communicate better,” agrees quarterback Henry Burris. “It starts with the protection up front and then myself and the receivers making plays.”
That shared understanding is vital, because the alternative brings plays – be they turnovers or simply missed opportunities – that stunt an offence and give the initiative to opponents.
“Those are momentum changers,” says Jones. “We fumble the ball or drop a first down – anything along those lines – and we give the opposing team momentum.”
“We leave them in the game and they keep on thinking that they can hang in, and pretty soon it starts to bite us in our butt.”
The message, the need for a better understanding entering the latest round against the Argos, is echoed by the Ticats defenders.
“We need more communication,” says defensive back Bo Smith – who returned to action for the first time since August last week – of the recipe for greater success against the Argos.
“I think it was mental errors that we had. We can’t have mental errors. Everybody’s got to be in their gaps and they’ve got to be sound out there and we’ll be fine.”
“When you’re talking, it alerts everyone on the team.”
Smith and the Ticats defence are rounding into form at the most crucial of stages, having held the Blue Bombers to 325 total yards a week ago. That success follows the return of a handful of veterans – of which Smith himself is the last – to Hamilton’s lineup.
“Me, Tisdale, Rey, there’s a lot of vets out there,” agrees Smith. “Me and [Tisdale] played for three years together. I know how he plays and he knows how I play.”
“It helps a lot, knowing the person that you play with for a while helps you on the defensive side because you know what’s going on against the offences.”
The defensive back is relieved to have reentered the lineup after roughly three months spent rehabilitating a leg injury, jumping straight into the line of fire at this crucial juncture.
“My getting back out there with my family – my teammates – was one of the best feelings ever,” says Smith.
“When you have an injury, you never know when you’re going to be back. You don’t know whether you’re out for the season. You don’t know if you’re going to be back for the last game or the playoffs.”
“But for me to be back out with my family, it helped me to be more positive about my injury.”
The Ticats will make use of every hand on deck as they attempt to sneak into the postseason with a win tomorrow and some out of town assistance the following night.
A win at the Rogers Centre would not only keep Hamilton’s playoff dream alive, it would even the season series against bitter rival Toronto heading into a potential East semifinal rematch.
“Toronto is a team that beat us the last two games and just like Winnipeg it’s a team that we’ve been hoping to play again,” says Burris. “Here’s our opportunity.”
“If we want to get into the playoffs, we’ve got to beat the team that right now has the season series against us.”
The challenge ahead is clear enough. Now all that remains for the Ticats is the necessary execution.
