CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO — With the 2014 calendar year coming to a close and the focus shifting to the off-season, CFL.ca takes a league-wide look at what went down in 2014 — one team at a time. Next up are the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Ticats entered the season with mixed expectations, one off-season removed from a Cinderella run to the 101st Grey Cup that ended with a loss to the host Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Yet while Ticat fans hoped to take another step forward, the team continued to get younger and build on a promising future, starting with a big change at the quarterback position to the talented but unproven Zach Collaros.
The move paid off, as the Ticats followed up a strong 2013 with another step in the right direction. Collaros was exceptional after his Labour Day return from injury, while the Ticats returned to the Grey Cup for the second straight season before eventually falling to Calgary.
Overview:
Surrounded by optimism heading into 2014, the Ticats started the season on a sour note. Zach Collaros made his first career start and was sacked a whopping 10 times on the way to a 31-10 loss on a rain-drenched evening in Riderville.
The Ticats’ O-line issues carried over to the next week, when Edmonton’s Odell Willis picked up three sacks –including one on Collaros that took him out of the game with a concussion.
Collaros missed the next five starts and the Ticats managed only one win before Labour Day, before the team entered its debut at Tim Hortons Field against the Argos with a 1-6 record.
In what felt like a must-win game, however, Collaros returned for the Labour Day Classic, and with a stout defence behind him helped deliver a 13-12 win over Ricky Ray and his former team. The Ticats lost to Montreal the next week, but then went on to win seven of their next nine games, going 6-0 during the regular season in their new digs.
Needing to win by at least eight points in the season finale to win the CFL East, the Ticats ended their regular season with a dominant 29-15 win over Montreal, stifling Jonathan Crompton and the Als’ offence.
After a first-round bye, the Ticats won the rematch with Montreal on the strength of two Brandon Banks punt return touchdowns, before bowing out in a hard-fought battle to the Calgary Stampeders in the 102nd Grey Cup – one that came right down to the wire.
The Good:
Plenty of good and bad came with the 2014 season, but the Ticats had eliminated most of their bad habits by the end of the year. By the time the season was over, the ‘Cats were going toe-to-toe against the league’s elite in the Grey Cup game – a holding penalty on a late punt return touchdown making the difference.
A permanent home stadium in Tim Hortons Field and a dominant presence in Steeltown may be the best thing the Ticats have going for them heading into 2015, as the Ticats were a perfect 7-0 in the regular season and playoffs at their new venue.
The emergence of Zach Collaros is another major strength. The Ticats appeared to be taking a substantial risk by cutting ties with veteran star pivot Henry Burris, but in the end it paid off. The team now has one of the brightest most talented young quarterbacks, already with a Grey Cup start under his belt, to build around for at least the next decade.
The Ticats were fourth in the league in total offence and second in passing offence, as offensive-minded Kent Austin has set the wheels in motion for a passing attack that should flourish for a long time coming.
Perhaps the biggest contributor to the Ticats’ late-season success, however, was their defence. Hamilton’s defence at home was arguably the CFL’s best, while its run defence led the CFL with only 76.8 yards against per game – far and away number one (the Eskimos were second at 95.9 yards against per game).
The Bad:
The Ticats’ 1-6 start was a lowlight of their season, but a distant memory after the team’s strong finish and second straight Grey Cup appearance.
The biggest concern for the Tabbies entering 2014 might be their rushing attack, which wasn’t the worst in the league but was in the bottom half of most categories. The Ticats averaged only 91.2 rushing yards per game on the second-fewest rushing attempts in the league.
Kent Austin is known for leaning more on the pass and using short completions to substitute run plays, but if the Ticats could establish better balance in 2015, they could grow as an offence.
Highlight of the season:
Winning their first game at Tim Hortons Field was a feel-good moment for the Ticats, who did it against their hated rival Toronto. That was the turning point for a team that went 10-3 from then on, including the Grey Cup loss to Calgary.
The bigger highlight may have been a win over the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final though, their first home Eastern Final since 1989. Hamilton was the better team, but the Alouettes kept it close and were eventually ousted by Brandon Banks’ two awe-inspiring punt return touchdowns.
Those touchdowns will forever be remembered in Ticats lore, as Banks engineered one of the most dominant seasons for a kick/punt returner the CFL has ever seen. In fact, he even had one called back on a penalty in the very same game.
Banks is a pleasure to watch, and seeing him make a difference in a big game the way he did was a moment that won’t soon be forgotten. The sight of the Ticats winning on home turf to make it back to the Grey Cup was pretty memorable, too.
Potential departures:
The Ticats will have a busy off-season trying to re-sign some of the pending free agents, as a number of key contributors of 2014 have expiring contracts. Brandon Banks, Delvin Breaux and Luke Tasker are among prized CFL free agents that could look to take their talents south of the border.
Bakari Grant has been a key cog in the Ticats’ offence, but could look for a bigger opportunity elsewhere. Nic Grigsby emerged as a strong runner down the stretch for Hamilton after leaving Winnipeg, but may not be assured a roster spot as the injured C.J. Gable remains in the mix.
Justin Hickman and Taylor Reed are other key defensive players that the Ticats likely hope will be on the field for them in 2015, as they look to maintain that dominant front seven.
Here’s the list of Tiger-Cats due to hit free agency on Feb. 10, 2015:
Brandon Banks, WR/KR, International
Marcellus Bowman, LB, International
Delvin Breaux, DB, International
Antonio Coleman, DE, International
Marc Dile, OL, International
Greg Ellingson, WR, International
Marc-Antoine Fortin, DL, National
Samuel Giguere, WR, National
Bakari Grant, WR, International
Nic Grigsby, RB, International
Justin Hickman, DE, International
Dan LeFevour, QB, International
Stephen McGee, QB, International
Tim O’Neill, O
L, National
Taylor Reed, LB, International
Luke Tasker, WR, International
Greg Wojt, OL, National
Why they’ll win the Grey Cup in 2015:
The third time’s the charm is what Ticat fans have to be thinking right now, after twice in a row the Ticats went to the Grey Cup but left empty-handed. The Ticats are among the strongest teams in the league in both passing offence and run defence, while Collaros projects to continue improving early in his career.
The fact that the Ticats play in the East, considered by most to be the weaker of the two divisions, could pave the path to another Grey Cup appearance – is there anyone in the East that you can pick as a favourite right now over the Ticats?
All in all, the Ticats are a team that over the last two years has grown tremendously, but is just shy of beating the top-ranked teams from the West. A third year under Austin and hopefully some continuity could change that, as the Ticats look to take the next step forward and carry last year’s late-season success into next year.
