Kyle Myers
Ticats.ca
The second season is now officially underway – it’s playoff time in the CFL.
After a 37–7 dismantling of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday, the Tiger-Cats focus can shift to their home meeting this weekend with the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Semi-Finals.
But despite the fact that the game in Winnipeg was utterly meaningless to their standing in the East Division, it was important for the Tiger-Cats to fine-tune their engines in preparation for their date with Montreal – the third meeting between the two teams in the past month.
“It’s all about momentum going into these playoffs, regardless of what your record is,” said quarterback Henry Burris, who threw two touchdown passes in the first half against Winnipeg. “Usually the team who has that mojo on their side and are playing their best football has the best chance to be successful come playoff time.”
The Tiger-Cats have now won two in a row to close out the regular season, but more important than the wins are the forward strides made by the team in that time.
“It was more important for us to be playing well going into the playoffs, regardless of the result,” said Coach Kent Austin. “We wanted to make sure that guys who haven’t played for a while and got an opportunity to play were dialed back in.”
One of those players was offensive lineman Brian Simmons, who was making his first appearance for the ‘Cats in over a month. Simmons and the offensive line looked strong on Saturday – limiting the tenacious Blue Bombers defence to just one sack – while helping Burris throw his first two touchdown passes since October fourth.
“It’s good to get back to the winning ways and feel confident,” said Simmons. “Coming out after the game I was very pleased, I think I did a little better than even I anticipated. The first quarter was a little iffy, but we all calmed down and it came to us in the second quarter.”
Simmons says there were discussions prior to the Winnipeg game of waiting another week to make his return to the line-up, but that he was relieved to get the chance to shake off the cobwebs before playoff time.
“I am very glad I played last week,” he said. “I’m going into this game with much more confidence than I would if I had missed last game, I feel like I’m back.”
Saturday’s win, though inconsequential in the CFL standings, gave the Tiger-Cats a final chance to iron out some of the kinks in their game, and prepare for the Semi-Finals against the Alouettes.
“We were confident and ready, but we really needed that win,” said defensive end Eric Norwood, who’s sack and forced fumble of Jason Boltus put Saturday’s game out of reach. “We needed it not just for the team, but for our owner and our fans, who have stuck through some tough times.”
