Kyle Myers
Ticats.ca
When the Tiger-Cats host the Blue Bombers this weekend in Guelph, they’ll be searching for their third victory against Winnipeg in 2013 and their third straight win overall.
Playing in their second back-to-back of the 2013 season, the Ticats look to build off what was their best performance of the season last weekend in Winnipeg and put the Bombers into a 1–7 hole.
“We can potentially knock them out with a win this week,” said defensive back Raymond Brown, who grabbed his first interception of the season last weekend against the Bombers. “They’re 1–6, they’re looking to knock our heads off after we beat them up last weekend. We expect them to come out here and fight.”
The Ticats defence grabbed their first two interceptions of the season last weekend against Max Hall, who will once again line up under centre for the Bombers. Hall also lost a fumble in the contest, and was the second Winnipeg quarterback to be held under 250 passing yards this season against the Ticats.
For Hamilton, takeaways have been at a premium so far this season, but the team’s performance last week is certainly a step in the right direction.
“Turnovers help not only our defence but our offence as well,” said linebacker Rico Murray, who accounted for two of the Bombers’ three turnovers in last Friday’s win. “The field position battle is crucial, because it gives our offence an opportunity to put at least three points on the board, rather than taking a punt and being pinned in our own zone.”
But perhaps more than just good field position, turnovers help to build confidence not only within the individual player, but the defensive unit as a whole.
“Dropping balls, missing opportunities to get turnovers hurts your confidence,” said Brown. “For us to finally get those picks is a huge boost for our defence.”
On the offensive side of the ball, the Ticats continued rolling last week, putting up over 100 yards rushing for the second game in a row. Hamilton are now 2–0 when they rush for 100 yards or more, and centre Tim O’Neill believes it’s the ever-expanding offensive playbook which has allowed the run game to thrive.
“We’ve been doing a good job of mixing it up on offence,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of options now in the ground game, from misdirection to the draw-style runs, we have much more in our repertoire to keep defences off-balance.”
In addition to the improved run game, the offensive line did a much better job of keeping Henry Burris on his feet in the second meeting between the two teams. The Bombers managed only three sacks in last week’s game, a large contrast to the seven they tallied in the first meeting.
“We’re working well as a unit right now,” said O’Neill. “But they played hard last week. I’m sure we can expect more of that this week. They know what we’re good at and we know what they’re good at, so whoever makes the better adjustments will be the ones who have more success.”
Facing the Bombers for the second week in a row, the Ticats can expect another strong effort from a Bombers team eager to exact their revenge after a big loss at home.
“They’ll have some changes, especially offensively,” said Head Coach Kent Austin. “Tim (Burke) is a good coach. They’ll be well prepared, and they’ll play hard.”
The Tiger-Cats and the Bombers kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Alumni Stadium.
