Holy Moly Jeremiah Masoli
Jeremiah Masoli picked up his second win in as many starts on Saturday. Masoli’s performance in the Labour Day Classic was just enough to earn the Tiger-Cats the victory, but in Ottawa on Saturday night, Masoli elevated his play, in particular throughout the first half of the football game.
Masoli passed for 231 yards, but was also a threat on the ground. He rushed for 73 yards, just one yard shy of his starting running back’s total rushing yardage.
Masoli’s ability to scramble out of the pocket and make plays with his feet kept the Redblacks’ defensive front guessing. The Ticats QB was consistently pressured, but on almost every occasion, he was able to evade capture and leverage his unique frame to gain positive yardage.
Overcoming ratio concerns
The Ticats were faced with a number of ratio concerns against the Redblacks. Due to numerous injuries to national players, some fresh faces saw the field.
Felix Faubert-Lussier made his first start at wide receiver for the Tiger-Cats. He was targeted more than once, and almost hauled in a circus catch in the end zone after making a solid adjustment to the ball. After he was sidelined a couple plays later, national fullback Carl-Olivier Prime saw some tailback action in place of CJ Gable.
A late game injury to Justin Cappiciotti also resulted in some shuffling for the Ticats. The team was able to respond, as 2017 draft pick Justin Vaughn recorded the first sack of his CFL career at a critical point in the ball game.
The depth of national talent on the Ticats’ roster was in full display on Saturday.
Gable’s ground game
For the second straight week, CJ Gable earned three key takeaways recognition. Normally, I don’t go in for repeat appearances, but it would be difficult to overlook his performance against the Redblacks. Besides, Gable earned his shout-out for a different reason this time around.
Last week, Gable was praised for making the most of the touches he was granted. Against the Argos on Labour Day, Gable had just six carries but was able to average a significant number of yards per carry. Today, Gable wasn’t just making the most of his touches, but he was also the Tiger-Cats’ most potent offensive weapon.
Gable rushed for 74 yards on 11 carries and recorded two touchdowns to boot. He was also a factor in the aerial attack, as he recorded 28 yards through the air and was the Tiger-Cats fourth leading receiver.
Gable racked up a number field stretching rushes, with his longest of the night sitting at 30 yards. His average yards per carry didn’t suffer either, at 6.7 yards.
During the second half, when the Tiger-Cats’ passing offence was running into some difficulty, Coach Jones was able to rely on the veteran Gable to get things done on the ground.
Gable spent a couple games on the sidelines, waiting for his chance to return to the starting role. Since his return he has been a major factor for the Ticats, both with his feet and his pass protection.
Perhaps next week against Saskatchewan Gable will earn his third consecutive spot on the three key takeaways.
Ottawa, ON – SEP 9, 2017: Canadian Football League game between the Hamilton Tiger Cats and the Ottawa Redblacks,
(Photo by Ryan McCullough / Hamilton Tiger Cats)
