Kyle Myers
Ticats.ca
When the Hamilton-Tiger Cats head to Calgary for this Friday’s with the Stampeders this weekend, there are more than a few Cats entering familiar territory.
One of those players is Brian Bulcke, a defensive tackle who joined the Tiger-Cats in the offseason after spending the first two years of his CFL career in the prairies.
So far this season, Bulcke is just four tackles away from eclipsing his previous career-high and has already tallied two sacks, equalling his total from 2012. For Bulcke, the transition to becoming an every-down CFL player in Hamilton hasn’t been easy, but he’s enjoyed every minute of it.
“I took a lot of the things I learned in Calgary over the past few years and really dedicated this offseason to being that anchor on defence,” he said after practice Tuesday. “I came to camp with the expectation that I wanted to play every down. I love my role here.”
Coach Austin didn’t even try to hide his praise for the third-year man out of Stanford.
“I love Brian,” Austin quipped, a big grin spreading across his face. “He’s a throwback. He’s an old-school football player. He plays every snap to the whistle, he plays with tremendous effort, he doesn’t want to get pulled from the game even when he’s tired. He really cares.”
Helping Bulcke in the transition to Hamilton – aside from his tireless work ethic – is his familiarity with some of the personnel the Ticats have brought in on defence the past few seasons, including two defensive linemen he played with in Calgary.
“It’s funny, because in my rookie season it was me and Torrey (Davis) in Calgary,” he said. “Then he came here last season and I kind of followed him this year. I guess we’re the tandem two inside.”
That cohesion with the man he works beside has paid dividends not just for Bulcke, but for the strength of the defensive line in general.
“Torrey and I play with a lot of chemistry and we have a tremendous amount of respect for each other,” he said. “It’s great when it’s second and two and I look across at him and we both know exactly what the other is going to do. We can play off each other and don’t even have to communicate.”
The Ticats defensive line has really settled into a groove of late, due in part to the chemistry building not only between Bulcke and Davis, but Eric Norwood as well, the end who plays on Bulcke’s side.
“I love playing next to Norwood. That’s another on,e of those situations where it’s second and long and we don’t even have to call the stunt, we know exactly what to do” he said.
This week will be one of the stiffest challenges yet for the Ticats defence as they face arguably the best offence in the game, featuring one of the most dynamic running backs in the CFL. Hamilton hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since Kory Sheets did it in week four, and they certainly aren’t about to let Jon Cornish break that streak without a fight.
“Stopping Jon is about being really physical,” said Bulcke, who lined up on the other side of Cornish several times over his two seasons with the Stamps. “Calgary does a good job of getting off the ball. We have to be really stout inside and make some big plays.”
With both teams coming into the match-up on a roll, Friday’s tilt should be an highly competitive and entertaining affair. But few, if any, will have more fun on Friday night than Bulcke.
“I’m really excited,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “I might lose a little sleep the night before, maybe two nights before, but that’s good, I’ll play with a chip on my shoulder. I am really pumped up.”
