As Ticat head coach Scott Milanovich was saying earlier today, injuries are a regrettable but very real by-product of football.
Over the past couple of games, both wins for the Cats, one of the many significant contributing factors was continuity among the starting 24 players. They’ve had their best three-game stretch of the season, and even in the first of those three games—a last-second loss in Winnipeg—when they had seven lineup changes, a chunk of those alterations were in response to a big loss against Edmonton and the subsequent hiring of Chris Jones to run the defence. They weren’t all injury-related.
But when both teams’ depth charts were released today for the Ticats’ visit to Toronto Friday night for the most important game of the year and a four-point swing in the East division standings on the line, Hamilton was missing five players, all to injury, affecting all three phases –offence, defence and special teams—of the game.
The hardest blow is to the defence where defensive tackle Casey Sayles will sit out his first game because of an injury in over three years, and SAM (field side) linebacker Johnathan Moxey is also down. I talked briefly with Sayles in the team breakfast room earlier today and just by his body language, you could sense his disappointment, because he’s prided himself in playing an injury-vulnerable position and not missing games because of being hurt. In fact, the only game he’s missed in the past three years was last year’s lame-duck 18th game of the regular season against Montreal when the Ticats, their third-place finish already locked in, rested a number of regulars for the playoffs.
Sayles’ tackle and sack numbers are down a bit from his career-best totals last year, his first as a Ticat, but those stats are a deception because he’s often—more than often, actually—fighting off double teams, which potentially frees others on the defensive line and in the linebacking tier to make the tackle or sack. He probably should win his first CFL divisional all-star spot if he misses only this game.
Moxey, meanwhile, had an outstanding game last week against Ottawa, with an interception and a knockdown and is considered part of the secondary which is arguably the team’s most improved segment the past three weeks. And his experience and savvy will be missed against Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly who likes to swing wide and RPO (run-pass-option) against the players out there…like the SAM linebacker.
On offence, the hit isn’t quite so hard, as Greg Bell’s injury makes way for the man Bell originally took the job from, James Butler. But Bell did have 231 yards from scrimmage, with a touchdown, over the past two games.
The Cats have also lost defensive line backup Luke Brubacher, who adds speed and size to special teams, to the one-game injury list. And all-purpose fullback Felix Garand-Gauthier will be out long-term with a knee injury. He was leading the team in special tackles and was a pivotal blocker on return teams.
“You lose a guy like Casey Sayles, ‘difficult’ is the best word for it but fortunately we have a lot of depth at that position,” head coach Scott Milanovich said. “The guys who are going to step in (new arrival Mario Kendricks from Virginia Tech has been activated) will do a great job. That’s one of the places that we fortunately could handle some injuries.
“Moxey, that’s a big one at SAM. He’ll kind of be replaced by a committee. Greg has an ankle injury but James is a vet and a very good football player so we’re fortunate to be able to have him to be able to step in.”
Bo Levi Mitchell, who’s thrown for a combined 646 yards, four touchdowns and just one interception in wins over Toronto and Ottawa, has always praised both Bell and Butler, pointing out that they bring contrasting running styles to the backfield. Mitchell, like Butler, had lost his job, however temporarily, but he was soon back under centre because of the frightening head injury to Taylor Powell.
“He’s intelligent, he understands the game, a true veteran and a guy that cares,” Mitchell said about Butler today. “I’ve talked with him a lot the past couple of weeks. Obviously it’s similar situations for both of us. I was ‘Let’s go out there and have fun together. We’ve been doing it all year. Is this the reason we want to be in? No. But we are in and let’s go out there and we want to be in the game so put everything else aside, let’s go out there and play and have fun.’
The guy’s got great hands, he’s got great ball-carrier vision, He can run you over, make you miss and a guy that’s definitely explosive. He can make plays happen.”
Those who aren’t deep-football-savvy might not be able to grasp how much losing Garand-Gauthier can impact special teams. And remember, both wins against Toronto this year were by three points, and it could be close again on Friday so field positions—often dictated by special teams results—will likely play a decisive role. Garand-Gauthier had 11 downfield tackles on special teams but less obviously was a solid blocker on returns, especially on the outside left of the kickoff return unit.
“I’m disappointed for Felix,” Milanovich said. “He was having a great year on special teams. I can’t, as an offensive coach, impress upon you enough the value of a guy like that who can do anything when somebody gets hurt. I’ve mentioned this before: in the Edmonton game he came in for a half as a receiver, because of injuries, and knew what to do and did the right thing and was productive.”
For its part, Toronto gets superior middle linebacker Wynton McManis back from injury, fortifying an already-stout front seven. Toronto’s defence is always a challenge but two of the Ticats’ top three first-down-play averages this year came in the wins over Toronto. They struggled on second down in July, but were bold and successful on second down on Labour Day, especially in the opening half and on their closing drive.
“Their defence has multiple different looks, pass rush, veteran DBs who understand their own concepts,” Mitchell says. “They’ll add some wrinkles., Our job is, and I know it’s a cliché, see what you see, trust your eyes, feel them out, then let the ball rip. Trust your receivers, trust your O-line, and running backs.
“They’re a team that can bring pressure from both sides: they’re all over and they’ve got some DBs who can attack the ball in the air so we just have to be smart, take care of it, and understand that this is not the third game, looking for a sweep. It’s a game against the Toronto Argonauts, who have seven wins in the division and we have to try to chase them down.”
CATS CLAUSES: The Argos will be without injured Janarion Grant returner who has four of the 10 CFL return touchdowns this year … but Ticat head coach Scott Milanovich warned that “Everybody’s got more than one returner so I think you throw the caution flag up to the team. We just brought (Lawrence) Woods off the injured list and he returned one for a touchdown so I don’t think there’s any time on special teams that you can relax.” … Bo Levi Mitchell needs 318 passing yards for his fifth 4,000-yard season … Tim White has 11 catches, 246 yards and two touchdowns in the two wins against Toronto … the Argos are 6-0 at BMO Field against the Ticats since 2021 … turning to the Argos, Chad Kelly is averaging 344 passing yards in four starts since returning from the league-imposed suspension. He is a career 4-1 versus Hamilton … DaVaris Daniels is 27 receiving yards away from 6,000 in his career… in his past two games, Makai Polk has 13 catches for 221 yards and a TD … Damonte Coxie is four receptions shy of 100 for his career … Argo DL Ralph Holley’s seven sacks have come in his last seven games, including three last week. He is tied for the league lead.
