Three Takeaways: Ticats close out the season against Montreal

Hamilton knew they were already playoff bound and Montreal had known for several weeks that their season would be done following the final whistle against the Tiger-Cats. Montreal did manage to piece together a winning effort and defeat Hamilton 32-25, but their season has come to an end. Hamilton, however, will move forward and look to host the Edmonton Eskimos as they cross over to play in the Eastern Semi-final, which will take place on November 13 at Tim Hortons Field.
Special teams playing with confidence
Hamilton’s kicker Brett Maher goes into the playoffs riding a nice wave as he closes out the CFL regular season with an 82 field goal percentage, making 41 of his 50 attempted field goals in 2016. Saturday’s game against Montreal marked Maher’s ninth game for double-digit points this season, making three field goals and an extra point for ten points. Special teams coordinator Jeff Reinebold made sure to bring out his bag of tricks before the regular season wrapped up. On a perfectly executed third down play, Aaron Crawford snapped the ball directly to Carl-Olivier Prime, who then rumbled the ball for a Ticats first down.
Lookin’ good in the Black and Gold
Hamilton elected to sit many of their starters in the game against Montreal. With playoffs beginning next week, it’s crucial for a banged up Ticats roster to be as healthy as possible. That being said, Hamilton has seen a lot of new faces in the Black and Gold. The game against Montreal provided added opportunity for those players to gain more familiarity with the playbook. Keon Raymond has made his impact on the Ticats linebacker group since joining the squad in October. Despite Saturday only being his second game with Hamilton, a forced fumble and recovery by Raymond helped turn the tide and led to a Hamilton scoring drive against the Alouettes. The offensive side had its share of newcomers make a splash as well. That scoring drive would be capped off by a Brian Tyms touchdown, another new face to the Ticats offense. Hamilton would elect to go for two and come up successful with a reception by Kevin Elliott to make the scoring drive finish with eight points.
Preparation for Eastern Semi-final
Zach Collaros went eight for thirteen for 134 yards in the first quarter before he was sat for the remainder of the game. For one-quarter of play and over a hundred yards, it wasn’t a bad day at all for the Ticats starting pivot. It was an opportune time for many on the depth chart to seize the moment. Perhaps the best example would fall into the hands of Ticats fullback Carl-Olivier Prime. The fourth-year man made the most of the two occasions he had the ball against the Alouettes, gaining 67 total yards. Junior Collins led the Tiger-Cats with six receptions for 95 yards. Collins spent most of the season being a rotational player before getting more playing time when injuries rolled through the Hamilton receiving corp. Despite the loss to Montreal at home, Hamilton did take advantage of the situation to further evaluate their depth against the Alouettes and prepare for their playoff matchup against the Eskimos.