Fraser Caldwell
Ticats.ca
“There were too many mistakes to win the game”
Ticat Head Coach George Cortez was unequivocal in the wake of his team’s 43-40 loss to the Argos on Thursday night.
Cortez indicated that he was disappointed most with the errors that prevented his team from completing its comeback and preserving its playoff dream.
“We dug ourselves a hole,” said the coach. “We got to the lip of the cup but we couldn’t quite get out of it.”
“For whatever reason, I was surprised by the number of mistakes that we made tonight. If you look at the stat line, we had four turnovers and they had none. That’s a huge factor in the game.”
Quarterback Henry Burris agreed with his coach’s assessment of the loss, shouldering the blame for his offence’s costly turnovers.
“Offensively we gave up 14 points and had two interceptions,” said a Burris. “I definitely put us in a tough rut and we had the fumble backed up. We gave them points and in a game of this magnitude, that can’t happen.”
“We did make a run late in the end but when you put yourself in a hole that many times – and give any offence that short a field – you’re not giving yourself a good opportunity to come out successful in the end.”
“The guys gave a great effort tonight but when you make that many mistakes, it’s probably not going to fall in your favour.”
Burris: Youth should benefit from this experience
Burris suggested that the very thing that has caused growing pains for the Ticats this season could stand them in good stead in 2013.
For a young and inexperienced crop of players, the experience of a full CFL campaign should lead to improvement.
“Hopefully our youth will be our strength for next year,” said Burris. “The fact is that the guys we had were young and were going through a lot of new circumstances.”
“Offensively, we had a few guys up front who were brand new to the game. Tonight was a pressure-packed game, and when we look at our team, 80-85 per cent of the guys were new players.”
“Hopefully, the experience of this year will make us better for next year.”
Burris: Credit where credit is due
The Ticat quarterback praised the performance of the Argonaut defenders who stifled his offence early in the Thursday contest.
“Kudos to their defence,” said Burris “They’ve played great football all year and they’ve made it tough on a lot of guys.”
“In the end, that was pretty much the reason for the slow start, and when they got up by ten, we became a pretty one-dimensional offence at that point.”
Burris: Effort has never been in question
The Ticats nearly came away with a see-saw game at the Rogers Centre, and Burris indicated that it was not for lack of trying that he and his teammates came away empty-handed.
“It definitely was crazy,” said Burris of the contest. “The two teams were clawing back and forth, and even through all of the adversity that we caused for ourselves throughout the game, our guys kept giving effort and battling hard.”
“That’s one thing that’s never been a question about our team is the effort.”
