BC/Hamilton
- Thread starter SixFive
- Start date
It's now or never for the Cats
While a number of Hamilton Ticats were throwing around the word ?desperation? in relation to Friday night?s Canadian Football League match with the B.C. Lions, running back Avon Cobourne wasn?t at all happy with the team?s final on-field prep session.
?It?s a big game and to be honest, I don?t think we were as focused as we needed to be today as important as this game is,? Cobourne said Thursday. ?It was shocking to me for that to happen, to come out here and things not to go smoothly in the walk-through as they need to be.
?It?s a serious game for us and I don?t know how serious most guys are about it.?
The Ticats are 5-9 and trail Edmonton by a single game in the race for the third and final playoff spot in the East Division, which the Eskimos currently hold via the crossover. So not only do the Tabbies need victories, they?ll some help from Edmonton opponents along the way if they hope to even make the postseason.
?We have to win this game ? when you talk about desperation, it doesn?t get any more desperate,? said Ticat quarterback Henry Burris. ?We?re fighting for our playoff lives.?
Their opponents this week aren?t in the same dire straights ? at 10-4, the B.C. Lions have the league?s best record ? but they are looking to lock up a home playoff date with a win and a Calgary loss. And they aren?t without their challenges: receivers Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce, as well as defensive tackles Khalif Mitchell and Eric Taylor, will miss the game due to injury.
B.C. quarterback Travis Lulay acknowledged new faces will force the offence to alter its game plan but said there was a positive side to the new blood.
?You have to (alter it) a little but what we lose in savvy and experience we gain in youthful exuberance, the excitement to play, the appreciation for opportunity,? Lulay said. ?Those (players) are hungry to play and play well and that?s the trade-off.?
Having Lulay certainly helps. Coming off a 2011 campaign that saw him win the CFL?s most outstanding player award, the 29-year-old is having another stellar season with 3,800 passing yards, 25 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions. But it?s his mobility that worries the Ticats most.
?Lulay is the reason they are where they are,? said Hamilton coach George Cortez. ?If you let him get outside the pocket he?s very dangerous because you can only cover guys for so long. He will run but he?s really looking to make a play down the field.?
Hamilton will have stop Lulay ? and running back Andrew Harris ? without the benefit of all-star linebacker Jamall Johnson, who will miss the game due to back spasms. That means the defensive line will have step up, says Jermaine McElveen, one of the few consistent bright spots on the front four this season.
?I?m the oldest and the most experienced and we have a bunch of rookies up front so it?s my job to help these boys along,? McElveen said. ?I feel like we?re going to have a good game this week. This game is really on the defensive line and we need to play well for us to win.?
To this point in the season, the defence has yet to step up and win a game for the Ticats, who have averaged over 40 points in their five wins. But Burris and the offence have also been undone by turnovers ? Hamilton is 3-0 this year when they turn the ball over less than their opposition, 2-9 when they cough it up more. Historically, they are 8-71 since 2006 in games in which they lose the turnover battle.
Burris, however, says he feels no additional pressure to keep putting up sevens to offset the team?s generally woeful defence.
?All I can do is handle my job and make sure I?m doing the things to make our offence successful,? Burris said. ?I?ve all got five million things to think about and I don?t need to add another one.?
Cobourne?s comments, however, may be cause for concern. But the veteran running back said he still expected his team to come out strong on Friday night.
?I?m not worried because everybody handles things differently,? he said. ?I like things to be sharp and crisp and I would prefer it to be a lot sharper than it was.?
While a number of Hamilton Ticats were throwing around the word ?desperation? in relation to Friday night?s Canadian Football League match with the B.C. Lions, running back Avon Cobourne wasn?t at all happy with the team?s final on-field prep session.
?It?s a big game and to be honest, I don?t think we were as focused as we needed to be today as important as this game is,? Cobourne said Thursday. ?It was shocking to me for that to happen, to come out here and things not to go smoothly in the walk-through as they need to be.
?It?s a serious game for us and I don?t know how serious most guys are about it.?
The Ticats are 5-9 and trail Edmonton by a single game in the race for the third and final playoff spot in the East Division, which the Eskimos currently hold via the crossover. So not only do the Tabbies need victories, they?ll some help from Edmonton opponents along the way if they hope to even make the postseason.
?We have to win this game ? when you talk about desperation, it doesn?t get any more desperate,? said Ticat quarterback Henry Burris. ?We?re fighting for our playoff lives.?
Their opponents this week aren?t in the same dire straights ? at 10-4, the B.C. Lions have the league?s best record ? but they are looking to lock up a home playoff date with a win and a Calgary loss. And they aren?t without their challenges: receivers Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce, as well as defensive tackles Khalif Mitchell and Eric Taylor, will miss the game due to injury.
B.C. quarterback Travis Lulay acknowledged new faces will force the offence to alter its game plan but said there was a positive side to the new blood.
?You have to (alter it) a little but what we lose in savvy and experience we gain in youthful exuberance, the excitement to play, the appreciation for opportunity,? Lulay said. ?Those (players) are hungry to play and play well and that?s the trade-off.?
Having Lulay certainly helps. Coming off a 2011 campaign that saw him win the CFL?s most outstanding player award, the 29-year-old is having another stellar season with 3,800 passing yards, 25 touchdowns against just 10 interceptions. But it?s his mobility that worries the Ticats most.
?Lulay is the reason they are where they are,? said Hamilton coach George Cortez. ?If you let him get outside the pocket he?s very dangerous because you can only cover guys for so long. He will run but he?s really looking to make a play down the field.?
Hamilton will have stop Lulay ? and running back Andrew Harris ? without the benefit of all-star linebacker Jamall Johnson, who will miss the game due to back spasms. That means the defensive line will have step up, says Jermaine McElveen, one of the few consistent bright spots on the front four this season.
?I?m the oldest and the most experienced and we have a bunch of rookies up front so it?s my job to help these boys along,? McElveen said. ?I feel like we?re going to have a good game this week. This game is really on the defensive line and we need to play well for us to win.?
To this point in the season, the defence has yet to step up and win a game for the Ticats, who have averaged over 40 points in their five wins. But Burris and the offence have also been undone by turnovers ? Hamilton is 3-0 this year when they turn the ball over less than their opposition, 2-9 when they cough it up more. Historically, they are 8-71 since 2006 in games in which they lose the turnover battle.
Burris, however, says he feels no additional pressure to keep putting up sevens to offset the team?s generally woeful defence.
?All I can do is handle my job and make sure I?m doing the things to make our offence successful,? Burris said. ?I?ve all got five million things to think about and I don?t need to add another one.?
Cobourne?s comments, however, may be cause for concern. But the veteran running back said he still expected his team to come out strong on Friday night.
?I?m not worried because everybody handles things differently,? he said. ?I like things to be sharp and crisp and I would prefer it to be a lot sharper than it was.?
Lions will give Andrew Harris lighter load
Marshall Faulk, for a half-dozen seasons in the NFL, was the most versatile back in football, as much a threat as a receiver as a runner.
"I always wanted the ball in my hands so I could do something with it," Faulk told his audience last year, when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Faulk and Roger Craig, who played with the San Francisco 49ers, are the only two players in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards and make 1,000 yards in receptions in the same season.
Nobody in the Canadian Football Hall ever has. And one player who might be able to give it a run this year
-- running back Andrew Harris of the B.C. Lions -- probably won?t be given enough touches to attempt it.
Going into tonight?s game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Harris sits third in the CFL rushing tables with 915 yards. The two men ahead of him -- Jon Cornish and Kory Sheets -- have almost 50 more carries apiece.
As a receiver, Harris would need a monster game -- or two -- to get close to 1,000 yards. But with 629 yards on 64 catches, he is the leading pass catcher in the CFL who doesn?t line up normally as a pass receiver.
Harris not only leads the CFL in combined yards from the line of scrimmage -- 1,544 -- but he is within easy striking distance (119 yards) of Terry Evanshen, the last Canadian to lead the league in that category, 45 years ago.
Still, if you imagine all that productivity would convince head coach Mike Benevides to fulfill Harris? Marshall Faulk wish, think again. Harris is averaging about 15 touches a game, and that?s just fine with Benevides.
The Washington Nationals have a pitch limit on phenom Stephen Strasburg. Apparently, there is something of a touch limit on the Lions? whiz kid at tailback.
?We want to be great at the end,? Benevides explained Thursday. ?It?s been asked, ?Well, Andrew has 50 less touches than X running back? Why don?t you use him more?? Long story short, there is a conscious thought process not to beat him up, and have our team living and dying with him. We don?t want him to be the focal point, the workhorse. The number of touches has a cumulative effect by the end of the season. Mentally, Andrew is extremely sharp. And he?s not worn out. You don?t want him to get to a point where it?s, ?Gosh, this is too much to handle.??
If there is a conscious decision to limit Harris? carries and touches, it?s coming from within the coaching staff.
Quarterback Travis Lulay greeted the news that a governor is being placed on his talented tailback with a quizzical
look Thursday, following the the Lions? walk-through at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
?Honestly, no, I wasn?t really aware of that,? Lulay admitted. ?But it does make sense. It is a long season. At the tailback spot, if I guy was getting 25 carries a game, I just don?t know how they?d do it. It would take a superhuman effort.?
Then, Lulay amused himself with another thought.
?I hope I?m not screwing up that ratio (of Harris? touches) if I throw him the ball more,? he chuckled. ?I?m sure he wouldn?t object if I did.?
Harris, in fact, wouldn?t object. He has a number in mind -- 20. He feels that amount of touches would represent the ideal: not too onerous, but more than just enough.
?It?s all how the game goes, and the game flows,? Harris said. ?They?ve been really smart about my workload and keeping me fresh. That?s so important. An 18-game season is a long season -- for any player, regardless of position. A running back takes more hits than anyone. You?re going to get hit two or three times every time you touch the ball. Other than my turf toe scare, I?ve been fine. But I think that made them realize, ?Hey, we?ve got to be smart about this.? I think they?ve been really smart about my touches, and limiting them. I feel really fresh right now.?
In a couple of weeks, Benevides will join other coaches and members of the Football Reporters of Canada
in voting for the CFL player awards, and he knows that Harris might have to be considered for two of them -- most outstanding player AND top Canadian.
?I just learned something as a rookie head coach -- I get a vote,? Benevides said. ?I?ll go home, light up a couple of Cubans and come up with the right answer. When you look at Travis (25 straight games with a touchdown pass), when you look at what Andrew?s done, we have a lot of candidates for that (most outstanding player). It?s hard to make a choice between those individuals. Whatever choice is made is the right one.?
Marshall Faulk, for a half-dozen seasons in the NFL, was the most versatile back in football, as much a threat as a receiver as a runner.
"I always wanted the ball in my hands so I could do something with it," Faulk told his audience last year, when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Faulk and Roger Craig, who played with the San Francisco 49ers, are the only two players in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards and make 1,000 yards in receptions in the same season.
Nobody in the Canadian Football Hall ever has. And one player who might be able to give it a run this year
-- running back Andrew Harris of the B.C. Lions -- probably won?t be given enough touches to attempt it.
Going into tonight?s game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Harris sits third in the CFL rushing tables with 915 yards. The two men ahead of him -- Jon Cornish and Kory Sheets -- have almost 50 more carries apiece.
As a receiver, Harris would need a monster game -- or two -- to get close to 1,000 yards. But with 629 yards on 64 catches, he is the leading pass catcher in the CFL who doesn?t line up normally as a pass receiver.
Harris not only leads the CFL in combined yards from the line of scrimmage -- 1,544 -- but he is within easy striking distance (119 yards) of Terry Evanshen, the last Canadian to lead the league in that category, 45 years ago.
Still, if you imagine all that productivity would convince head coach Mike Benevides to fulfill Harris? Marshall Faulk wish, think again. Harris is averaging about 15 touches a game, and that?s just fine with Benevides.
The Washington Nationals have a pitch limit on phenom Stephen Strasburg. Apparently, there is something of a touch limit on the Lions? whiz kid at tailback.
?We want to be great at the end,? Benevides explained Thursday. ?It?s been asked, ?Well, Andrew has 50 less touches than X running back? Why don?t you use him more?? Long story short, there is a conscious thought process not to beat him up, and have our team living and dying with him. We don?t want him to be the focal point, the workhorse. The number of touches has a cumulative effect by the end of the season. Mentally, Andrew is extremely sharp. And he?s not worn out. You don?t want him to get to a point where it?s, ?Gosh, this is too much to handle.??
If there is a conscious decision to limit Harris? carries and touches, it?s coming from within the coaching staff.
Quarterback Travis Lulay greeted the news that a governor is being placed on his talented tailback with a quizzical
look Thursday, following the the Lions? walk-through at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
?Honestly, no, I wasn?t really aware of that,? Lulay admitted. ?But it does make sense. It is a long season. At the tailback spot, if I guy was getting 25 carries a game, I just don?t know how they?d do it. It would take a superhuman effort.?
Then, Lulay amused himself with another thought.
?I hope I?m not screwing up that ratio (of Harris? touches) if I throw him the ball more,? he chuckled. ?I?m sure he wouldn?t object if I did.?
Harris, in fact, wouldn?t object. He has a number in mind -- 20. He feels that amount of touches would represent the ideal: not too onerous, but more than just enough.
?It?s all how the game goes, and the game flows,? Harris said. ?They?ve been really smart about my workload and keeping me fresh. That?s so important. An 18-game season is a long season -- for any player, regardless of position. A running back takes more hits than anyone. You?re going to get hit two or three times every time you touch the ball. Other than my turf toe scare, I?ve been fine. But I think that made them realize, ?Hey, we?ve got to be smart about this.? I think they?ve been really smart about my touches, and limiting them. I feel really fresh right now.?
In a couple of weeks, Benevides will join other coaches and members of the Football Reporters of Canada
in voting for the CFL player awards, and he knows that Harris might have to be considered for two of them -- most outstanding player AND top Canadian.
?I just learned something as a rookie head coach -- I get a vote,? Benevides said. ?I?ll go home, light up a couple of Cubans and come up with the right answer. When you look at Travis (25 straight games with a touchdown pass), when you look at what Andrew?s done, we have a lot of candidates for that (most outstanding player). It?s hard to make a choice between those individuals. Whatever choice is made is the right one.?
