Six Pack: Takeaways from the Labour Day Classic

Collaros bounces back well

 
Collaros did not play poorly against the Alouettes last week, but the game was far from his best and it was capped off with a game-ending interception. The Ticats quarterback showed no memory of the game as he took the field against the Argos this week, putting together one of his best games of the entire season. Collaros was on the money from the start, completing 72% of his first-half passes for nearly 300 yards while adding three touchdowns to his league-leading total.
In the second half it was much of the same story for Collaros, as he picked apart the Argos defence for another blank yards and blank touchdowns. Collaros finished the game with 400 yards and four touchdown passes, the second of which was his 50th career passing TD in the CFL. On top of the touchdown milestone, the Steubenville Ohio native’s 400 yards passing were more than enough to lift him to ninth on the Tiger-Cats all-time passing yards list. In his second season as the Ticats starter, Collaros has established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the game and he showed that yet again on Monday afternoon.
Defensive backs deserve credit
The game was not a flashy one for the Tiger-Cats defensive backs by their 2015 standards. While fans have come to expect multiple interceptions per game, the Labour Day Classic featured (just) one. Despite the relative lack of takeaways, the Ticats secondary unit deserves recognition for their standout play on Monday.
Courtney Stephen made the team’s lone pick of the game, adding another two tackles and a key fumble recovery on special teams. Emanuel Davis added to his league-leading six pass knockdowns, making two more against the Argos. Davis was not the only player making impact plays though, as Rico Murray got up added three pass breakups of his own.
As a unit, the Ticats secondary held the Argos big three receivers (Gurley, Hazelton and Elliott) to just 131 yards and kept one of the league’s leading passers Trevor Harris to just 211 yards in the contest. The game was not their most notable statistically, but the unit played well as a group and their play went a long way in the Ticats victory.
Ticats bring back Ballard Trophy

 
Each season the Ballard Trophy is awarded to the season series winner between the Ticats and Argos, and last season saw the Argonauts take it home. The Ticats righted the ship on Monday, securing the trophy with their second straight victory over the double blue. The trophy may not be of utmost importance, but a season series win over the team’s most bitter division rival is both satisfying for the fans and important for the team’s overall success. The gravity of beating a division rival in consecutive games, not to mention the dominant fashion in which it was done, can not be understated.
Pass rush back on track
Missing their leading sack artist from the last two seasons, the Ticats pass rush still managed to bring down Argos quarterback Trevor Harris for three sacks in the game. While he didn’t manage to record his first career CFL sack, Adrian Tracy filled in well for Eric Norwood, creating pressure on a number of plays. Justin Hickman added another two sacks to his season total, taking the team lead with six sacks through 10 games. Not to be outdone, defensive tackle Bryan Hall got in on the action as well, recording his second sack of the season in Monday’s game.
After a hiatus from the sack column over the last couple games, the team’s three sacks were a welcome sight and the pressure on the quarterback was undoubtedly a large factor in the Ticats victory.
Lawrence a consistent leader on defence

Simoni Lawrence continues to get it done as a statistical and emotional leader on the Ticats defence. Lawrence made a team-high eight tackles on Monday afternoon, adding to his team-leading 37 on the season, while adding a fourth sack to his season total as well.
The statistics are impressive on their own, but they are more impressive because of the vocal leadership that backs them up. Lawrence plays the role of a vocal leader on the defence, but he’s not just blowing smoke, he backs it up with his consistently strong play. The middle linebacker has been a force on the field for the Ticats all season, leading the team in tackles game-after-game and finding a way to get frequent pressure as a blitzer.
Pick your poison
The Tiger-Cats offence has become a quandary for opposing defences; you can only lock down so many receivers, and every one of them is getting it done for Hamilton right now. You can shut down one or two of Terrence Toliver, Luke Tasker, Terrell Sinkfield and Tiquan Underwood, but it’s nearly impossible to stop all of them with the way they’ve been playing as of late.
In Monday’s game, all four receivers made three or more catches, with Toliver, Tasker and Sinkfield each hauling in five or more. Toliver extended his team-lead in receiving yards, adding another 90 yards to his 499-yard total on the season, while Tasker caught seven passes for 105 yards. Tasker’s seven receptions marked the fifth time in six games that the three-year vet has caught five or more passes, and the third time he’s gained over 100 yards. Terrell Sinkfield made a splash for the second time in three games, making five receptions of his own for 110 yards and another two touchdowns, a nearly identical stat-line to his Week 9 game in Edmonton.
When Bakari Grant and Andy Fantuz went down to injury, there was a sense of doubt surrounding Zach Collaros’ weapons receiving weapons, but no lingering doubt remains. With Collaros and his receiving corps clicking as they have, there’s no need to worry about the state of the Ticats passing game.