5
HAMILTON — One-third of the way through this CFL season, it appears things couldn't be going worse for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Ticats enter tonight's game against the Toronto Argonauts at Ivor Wynne Stadium at 1-5 and are missing their starting quarterback, running back and primary big-play receiver.
All that said, a victory tonight against the Argos would move Hamilton to one game out of second place in the East Division, which just might be one of only two Eastern playoff spots up for grabs, given the likelihood of a crossover coming from the West Division.
Another loss, however, would not only make the playoffs a tougher climb for Hamilton, but would inevitably further damage the psyche of a team that could very well be on its way to a fourth consecutive season that's meaningless by Labour Day.
"We seem to deal with some confidence issues," head coach Charlie Taaffe said. "We seem to start slow at times and maybe come out tight. When we get behind — and I know this sounds crazy — the pressure's off and they come out and play well getting back into games."
A good example was last week's loss at Montreal in which Hamilton fell behind early and rallied to make a respectable 40-33 score.
But falling behind takes the Tiger-Cats away from what they consider their bread and butter, the ability to run the ball on first down and take pressure off their passing game.
That's especially true with backup quarterback Ritchie Williams making his second consecutive start, although Williams's total of 260 passing yards last week against the Alouettes was Hamilton's second best single-game total of the season.
Running the ball against Toronto won't be easy without the services of running back Jesse Lumsden, who torched the Argos for 189 yards in Hamilton's only win of the season on July 3.
But Taaffe said his team remains committed to the run, with Tre Smith and Terry Cauley stepping in to fill Lumsden's shoes.
"We have to run the ball to be successful," Taaffe said. "I know [the Argos] play more of a four-man front at times, but that's what we see every week. We have to know who we are and what we are and what we have to do to be successful and play to our strength. Teams that are successful against Toronto are teams that run the ball and won't give up running the ball."
The Argos, 3-3, are coming off a win over Winnipeg last week in which their defence played its best game of the season in holding the Blue Bombers to one offensive touchdown by limiting them on first-down yardage.
"The CFL is a game of second down," Toronto head coach Rich Stubler said. "If [the opposition] is in second-and-three, you're going to lose. If it's in second-and-seven, you've got a good chance to win the football game."
Highlighting Hamilton's need to stay out of second-and-long situations is the fact the Tiger-Cats have given up 13 sacks the past two weeks in losses to Edmonton and Montreal. Hamilton also ranks last in the CFL in passing yards and is amazingly still without a single touchdown pass so far this season.
Though Taaffe has made some changes to the offensive line from a week ago, inserting import tackle Charles Thomas to the left side, both he and his players insist the men up front aren't solely to blame for the protection troubles.
"It's also on me, holding the ball too long, receivers not in the right spot," Williams said.
The Argos will have one new wrinkle in their attack tonight. With a slew of injuries to its receiving corps, Toronto will dress backup quarterback Reggie McNeal at receiver for the first time in his CFL career.
