The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-10) and the Calgary Stampeders (12-1-1) are doing battle in the donut box on Friday. When the Tiger-Cats battled the Argos in week 15, it was a head-to-head of the two hottest teams in the East Division. After Tiger-Cat victories over the West Division’s Lions and Blue Bombers, the Ticats are in the conversation for hottest team in the league, right alongside the Calgary Stampeders.
Considering the discrepancy in record, and Calgary’s comfortable victory over the Ticats in week six, the result of this game may seem like a foregone conclusion. Delving into the stats reveals a different picture entirely.
The long and short of it is this: the Ticats have been a different team since Labour Day.
Since the Labour Day game against the Argos, the Ticats have made major strides on both sides of the ball.
Coming into Friday’s game, the Ticats will be testing their progress against a defensive Calgary team.
There has been a lot of talk about the Stampeders’ defence and for good reason. It ranks first in the league in many major defensive stat categories.
Calgary has allowed the fewest points of any team. They allow the fewest rush yards per game. They allow the second fewest passing yards per game, and they are a close second in sacks and interceptions.
But there isn’t such a large discrepancy between the Ticats and Stamps since Labour Day. Since the Ticats picked up their first win six games ago, their defensive numbers have been close behind the big dogs out West.
The Ticats are second in rush yards allowed per game since Labour Day. The Ticats are first in average yardage allowed per carry. If the Ticats averaged the same number of points allowed all season as they have after Labour, they would be a close third in the league, behind just Calgary and Ottawa.
So, in short, the Ticats are tough against the run, and they will be playing a Calgary team which likes to run the football. With Jerome Messam out of the lineup with injury, the Stamps have been unfazed, as the next-man-up, Terry Williams, has shown the ability to produce, and produce big, in his place. Shutting down the Stamps’ run game will be a key to the Ticats’ success.
Offensively, the Tiger-Cats are coming off two consecutive games of 30+ points and will look to ride the momentum. Masoli has improved in each game since taking over the starting spot and looked particularly sharp last week against the Bombers. His game-sealing 85-yard drive in the fourth quarter was the statement piece of an otherwise impressive performance.
Last week, national wide receiver Andy Fantuz saw a slight uptick in targets, and his counterpart, Shamawd Chambers, had a bounce-back game after being held off the stat sheet against the Argos in week 15. Chambers posted over 80-yards and doubled his production with his feet, picking up over 40 yards after the catch.
The Ticats signed Kenny Allen, formerly of the University of Michigan, as Castillo exited last week’s game with an apparent lower-body injury. Allen has performed well in practice, and Head Coach June Jones praised his punting ability in particular during media availability on Tuesday.
The Ticats are not the same team they were in week six when they suffered a defeat to the Stampeders in Calgary. The Stamps will be in for a surprise if they expect the same kind of performance from the Ticats when they visit Tim Hortons Field on Friday.
