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Uncategorized October 14, 2013

Pre-Game Breakdown: Tiger-Cats vs. Argonauts

Ticats.ca Staff

The Battle of Ontario continues on Thanksgiving as the Ticats host to the Toronto Argonauts in the tail-end of a home-and-home series at the University of Guelph’s Alumni Stadium on Monday.

The Tiger-Cats return to Guelph after marching into the Rogers Centre and handing the Argos their first loss since September 3rd, securing a berth in the 2013 playoffs in the process. The Ticats jumped out to an early lead they never relinquished, stymying another late Argonauts comeback to tie the season series at one win a piece.

Another win for the Tiger-Cats this weekend would give the team the all-important tiebreaker and bring them within one game of first place in the East Division.

 

TIGER-CATS HISTORY vs. TORONTO ARGONAUTS

  WINS LOSSES TIES PTS FOR PTS AGAINST
ALL-TIME  124 91 2 4,782 4,612
LAST 10 (TOTAL) 5 5 0  319 281
LAST 10 (in Hamilton) 5 5 0  277 267
IN 2012: 1 3 0  137 148
IN 2013: 1 1 0 67 58

 HEAD-TO-HEAD:

FRONT SEVEN
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS		   RICKY RAY
ARGONAUTS QUARTERBACK
bulcke

For much of the season, the Ticats defence has been providing solid pressure limiting the opposing quarterbacks pocket.

Last week in Toronto, the ‘D’ registered five sacks in the team’s 33-19 win.

 Unlike the secondary, which has seen some rotation due to injuries, the front seven has remained largely unchanged for the past month, with 6 of the 7 starting each of the last five games.

Defensive tackles Brian Bulcke and Torrey Davis have anchored the middle of the defensive line for the latter half of the season, while the addition of former Argonaut Brandon Isaac has added a mean streak to the linebacking corps.

Much of the praise for last week’s win against the Argonauts goes to the Ticats’ front seven and their ability to pressure the quarterback.

With Ricky Ray back in the line-up this weekend, Hamilton’s ability to make plays on the quarterback will likely be a key battle to watch once again.

  

bulckeBefore being injured early in Toronto’s week nine clash with the Calgary Stampeders, Ricky Ray was on a torrid pace in 2013 – torching the CFL with over 1,800 passing yards in only six full games.

A reported shoulder injury has kept him out for the past six weeks, leaving second-string quarterback Zach Collaros the reins as the head of the Argonauts offence. This week Ray will make his return to the lineup.

Prior to injury, Ray had thrown for 15 touchdowns and his QB rating of 134 is a full 15 points over the CFL record set by Dave Dickenson in 2005. Though Collaros has performed admirably in relief of Ray, there’s no doubt that the return of the three-time Grey Cup winner will give the Argos’ offence a boost this weekend in Guelph.

Looking back at the Argonauts last three matchups with the Tiger-Cats, Ray has tossed for 300+ yards in each game.

In this year’s first meeting between the Ticats and Argos, Ray was 24-of-34 passing for 368 yards and four touchdowns.


THE FINAL BOUT:

Monday afternoon’s contest between the Tiger-Cats and Argonauts will be conclusion of this year’s season series. With the series currently tied 1-1, take a look at how these teams have fared against eachother after their first two meetings…

BES

PLAYERS TO WATCH

LB Marc Beswick
Throughout his career with the Ticats, Beswick has made his name as a special-teams ace.  He plays on every special teams unit and has a knack for finding the ball carrier and springing his teammates free. Despite missing last week’s game due to injury, Beswick leads the CFL with 19 special teams tackles through 13 games, and his return to the line-up will provide a boost to all of Hamilton’s special teams units.

LB Simoni Lawrence
Simoni Lawrence has made an immediate impact since entering the starting lineup in week nine at Winnipeg. Lawrence ranks third among Ticats defenders with 39 tackles despite only playing in nine of 14 games, while bringing unparalleled enthusiasm to the Black and Gold’s young defence.

DB Emanuel Davis
Another rookie standout for the Ticats, Emanuel Davis has taken the starting field cornerback role and made it his own, putting together an impressive run of late. Davis hasn’t finished a game with fewer than four defensive tackles since August 2nd, and recorded a season-high seven defensive tackles with a handful of key stops in last week’s win over the Argonauts.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

  • Henry Burris has completed 65.6% of his pass  attempts (303 of 462) this season.  The Tiger-Cats single-season record is 65.2%, set by Tom Clements in
    1982. 

  • Brandon Isaac returned to Toronto last week for the first time since being released by the team on July 23. Isaac recorded five defensive tackles and two sacks in his return to Toronto.
  • The Tiger-Cats lead the CFL with an average of 8.9 yards gained per pass and rank third (first among East Division teams) with 5.7 yards gained per rush.
  • C.J. Gable currently ranks second in the league in yards after catch with 406.
  • Defensive end Brandon Boudreaux currently leads the Ticats with five sacks. The second-year Tiger-Cat has recorded a sack in four of his last five starts.
  • In two games against the Argonauts in 2013, the Tiger-Cats have outscored Toronto 53-31 in the first half.
  • After 14 games, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats average time of possession has been 26:29. Last week vs. Toronto, the Ticats offence controlled the ball for 35:08, the second longest T.O.P recorded by the Ticats this season – 35:32 in week 9 vs. Winnipeg is the Ticats season-high. 

 

GETTING SOCIAL