3 Keys: Eastern Final

The Eastern Final is here and Ticats are one game away from the Grey Cup. They’ll have a huge advantage, in that they earned the right to hose the game and are yet to lose at Tim Hortons Field. The sell-out crowd is expected to be loud and proud and the Ticats will try to return the favour, by giving their fanbase a rooting interest in the 107th Grey Cup. These are the 3 Keys to the Eastern Final.
Pass Rush
This will be a very interesting element of this matchup. Its the classic meeting of a great defensive line and a quarterback who is incredibly tough to get to. Harris has only been sacked once in his two games since coming back from injury, which has been widely attributed to how quickly he gets rid of the ball. The interesting flip-side of this is that in their two meetings with the Eskimos, the Ticats had a ton of success getting to Logan Kilgore—eight times to be exact— while Harris was on the injured list.
Defensive coordinator Mark Washington says the key is just making things difficult for Harris.
“It’s about disrupted timing. This offence and Trevor know what they’re doing have a good understanding about knowing where they want to go with the ball. We know we’re going to have our hands full but we’ve just to try and stop that train before it gets going.”
 
Killer B’s
Bralon Addison and Brandon Banks have emerged has one of the best receiving duos in the league—actually they’re the best duo in the league. No two teammates have more than Banks and Addison’s combined 2,786 yards and only Bryan Burnham and Reggie Begelton have matched their combined 20 touchdowns.
The duo came to play in the two meetings with the Eskimos too, finishing as the teams two leading receivers in both of the games against their future Eastern Final opponents.
If the Ticats are going to advance to the Grey Cup, their dynamic duo will likely have to play a major role in the offence and the game as a whole.
 
The Hammer
It’s been much talked about, but the home-field advantage for the Ticats is real. They went perfect at home this season and set a franchise record with a nine wins at Tim Hortons Field. The Eastern Final sold out in the middle of the week so Tim Hortons Field will be packed on Sunday. A playoff blackout is in effect for Tim Hortons field, meaning fans are encouraged to dress in all black, be in their seats for 12:45 and wave their rally towels proudly and cheer on the hometown team to victory.