The Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 23, 2009)
things to watch
Who has the football
Montreal leads the league in time of possession at 33:50 per game so far this season. The Cats are second at 31:56. The longer Hamilton can keep the Alouettes' high-octane offence off the field, the better their chances of victory.
Quinton or Kevin
Quinton Porter had his coming out party in a 44-38 win over Montreal last October, the first compelling evidence he could be a CFL star. He'll start against the Alouettes tonight, but how long will head coach Marcel Bellefeuille wait to go with Kevin Glenn if things don't go as planned? Glenn led the Ticats to victory Saturday after coming in to start the second half.
Trying to beat the man
Like the Lions two weeks ago, the Alouettes like to play a lot of man-to-man in pass coverage. The Hamilton quarterback -- or quarterbacks -- will have to be accurate on routes moving across and down the field as opposed to letting receivers settle into the open spaces in a zone defence, as they did against Winnipeg last week.
BY THE NUMBERS
333Number of career touchdown passes for Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo, tied for second all-time in the CFL. He needs one more to move ahead of Ron Lancaster and 61 more to catch Damon Allen at 394.
6 Giveaways by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (five interceptions, one fumble) this season, good enough for second least in the league.
72.7 Percentage of pass completions by the Montreal Alouettes this season.
"Obviously, we have to be better against the run, or at least more consistent. We seem to have a couple plays every game where they bust a long one. We have to eliminate that big play."
-- Ticat defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall. The team is last in the league defending against the run, allowing a league-worst 133.7 yards per game on the ground.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have made a couple of roster changes ahead of tonight's game in Montreal.
Middle linebacker Otis Floyd and wide receiver Airese Currie have been added to the one-game injured list, while wide receiver David Ball was placed on the 46-man active roster from the practice roster and fullback Darcy Brown came off the injured list.
* * *
The Cats caught the train to Montreal yesterday, but the possibility of a strike by VIA engineers has forced them to alter their return trip.
Instead of choo chooing it home tomorrow, the team will fly back.
VIA is a Canadian Football League sponsor and club officials said they worked together in finding a solution for the team.
* * *
Despite his team's 3-0 record and gaudy margin of victory of almost 27 points, Als' head coach Marc Trestman remains convinced his team can do better.
"Scores are a little bit like fairy tales -- they're not real. Our guys realize we haven't been at our best collectively as a football team. That's the message we're sending," said Trestman yesterday. "I don't think we have dominated. I don't think the scores have been indicative of how close the games have been. We've had kicks blocked, we've turned the ball over in the red zone too many times."
The Montreal coach says the massive overhaul of the Hamilton roster still has him putting numbers to names, but he can see areas where the team has improved.
"They seem faster than they were a year ago. They have two quarterbacks that give them hope. No team can survive with a quarterback that gives them hope, they've got two," he said.
"Last year, they were an extremely competitive team against us. We have a lot of respect for this team and we know they're coming in feeling good about themselves."
Veteran CFL quarterback Anthony Calvillo said the addition of defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall has strengthened that unit.
"You see their record is better, but the film doesn't lie. Defensively, they are a lot more sound and playing well as a group," said the former Ticat quarterback.
(Jul 23, 2009)
things to watch
Who has the football
Montreal leads the league in time of possession at 33:50 per game so far this season. The Cats are second at 31:56. The longer Hamilton can keep the Alouettes' high-octane offence off the field, the better their chances of victory.
Quinton or Kevin
Quinton Porter had his coming out party in a 44-38 win over Montreal last October, the first compelling evidence he could be a CFL star. He'll start against the Alouettes tonight, but how long will head coach Marcel Bellefeuille wait to go with Kevin Glenn if things don't go as planned? Glenn led the Ticats to victory Saturday after coming in to start the second half.
Trying to beat the man
Like the Lions two weeks ago, the Alouettes like to play a lot of man-to-man in pass coverage. The Hamilton quarterback -- or quarterbacks -- will have to be accurate on routes moving across and down the field as opposed to letting receivers settle into the open spaces in a zone defence, as they did against Winnipeg last week.
BY THE NUMBERS
333Number of career touchdown passes for Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo, tied for second all-time in the CFL. He needs one more to move ahead of Ron Lancaster and 61 more to catch Damon Allen at 394.
6 Giveaways by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (five interceptions, one fumble) this season, good enough for second least in the league.
72.7 Percentage of pass completions by the Montreal Alouettes this season.
"Obviously, we have to be better against the run, or at least more consistent. We seem to have a couple plays every game where they bust a long one. We have to eliminate that big play."
-- Ticat defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall. The team is last in the league defending against the run, allowing a league-worst 133.7 yards per game on the ground.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have made a couple of roster changes ahead of tonight's game in Montreal.
Middle linebacker Otis Floyd and wide receiver Airese Currie have been added to the one-game injured list, while wide receiver David Ball was placed on the 46-man active roster from the practice roster and fullback Darcy Brown came off the injured list.
* * *
The Cats caught the train to Montreal yesterday, but the possibility of a strike by VIA engineers has forced them to alter their return trip.
Instead of choo chooing it home tomorrow, the team will fly back.
VIA is a Canadian Football League sponsor and club officials said they worked together in finding a solution for the team.
* * *
Despite his team's 3-0 record and gaudy margin of victory of almost 27 points, Als' head coach Marc Trestman remains convinced his team can do better.
"Scores are a little bit like fairy tales -- they're not real. Our guys realize we haven't been at our best collectively as a football team. That's the message we're sending," said Trestman yesterday. "I don't think we have dominated. I don't think the scores have been indicative of how close the games have been. We've had kicks blocked, we've turned the ball over in the red zone too many times."
The Montreal coach says the massive overhaul of the Hamilton roster still has him putting numbers to names, but he can see areas where the team has improved.
"They seem faster than they were a year ago. They have two quarterbacks that give them hope. No team can survive with a quarterback that gives them hope, they've got two," he said.
"Last year, they were an extremely competitive team against us. We have a lot of respect for this team and we know they're coming in feeling good about themselves."
Veteran CFL quarterback Anthony Calvillo said the addition of defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall has strengthened that unit.
"You see their record is better, but the film doesn't lie. Defensively, they are a lot more sound and playing well as a group," said the former Ticat quarterback.
