Steve Milton: Labour Day Classic: For the Tiger-Cats and their fans, it just doesn’t get any better
It would be going way too far - given that we're in the first week of September - to call this a mutual admiration society, but there have been plenty of compliments floating around Toronto and Hamilton this week that will certainly not be in the air on Monday afternoon.
What will be in the air then, particularly amid the pandemic-capped audience of 15,000, will be a lot of things you have to spell with asterisks.
Toronto Argonauts' head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said that he considers the Hamilton Tiger-Cats the best team in the CFL East until proven otherwise. Given the Ticats' 1-2 record, that must depend upon what you consider proof.
Meanwhile, as they prepare for the Labour Day Classic which they've won every single time (six) it's been played in Tim Hortons Field, the Ticats are showing the double blue a from-a-distance respect for pulling their jalopy into the auto shop and overhauling it with mostly proven parts. Some with a few miles on them.
They went out and got the likes of sack maestro Charleston Hughes, and Cordarro Law (on the six-game injured list as of Friday), Canadian linebackers Henoc Muamba and Cameron Judge, veteran receivers Ricky Collins Jr., Eric Rogers, DaVaris Daniels, Juwan Brescacin (injured), several experienced defensive backs and quarterback Nick Arbuckle, who will start against the Ticats.
The Argos have won twice and lost just once, to Winnipeg who also beat the Ticats, so they're a game ahead of the Ticats heading into a pair of head-to-head games within five days. The return match is Friday night in Toronto.
That the Argos have shown as much team and unit cohesion as they have, especially on defence, is a mild surprise and the Ticats have taken notice.
Everyone knows they went out and signed everybody," says Ticat quarterback Dane Evans, who will almost certainly start on Monday. And it works for them. They're a solid team all around; offence, defence, special teams. It's Labour Day, right? So, the record of the teams doesn't matter."
Evans took over from Jeremiah Masoli during the Hamilton's second loss, in Saskatchewan, and played the whole game a week ago Friday, when the Ticats beat Montreal to find some buoyancy heading into their first home game in 659 days.
Masoli didn't throw any passes in team drills during the three practices this week and, in fact, missed one for a doctor's appointment but head coach Orlondo Steinauer said he'd be surprised if Masoli wasn't dressed for Monday's game. David Watford, the 2019 short-yardage quarterback, has rejoined the team as No. 3, but the Ticats dress only two pivots on game days.
The offence which started against Montreal will return intact for this game and must exert more sustained pressure on the defence than they have in any of the three games to date, reminding them the Argos they're still trying to mesh. To do that, they've got to find a way to separate Brandon Banks from all the extra coverage he's been enduring. The emergence of Steven Dunbar Jr. last week and a great start from fellow tall receiver Jaelon Acklin, will play key roles in freeing up some space for Banks.
I'm still just getting into my mojo," Banks said Friday. I'm just waiting for the opportunity. We've got other guys who are stretching the field."
Hamilton's secondary showed some ball-aware aggressiveness against Montreal and for that to continue, and accelerate, the front four will have to angrily bypass the revamping Argonaut offensive line and harass Arbuckle. Dylan Wynn looks as if he'll play Monday along with the other three returnees - Ja'Gared Davis, Ted Laurent and Julian Howsare - from 2019's dominant wall and that will help.
Wynn pointed out Friday that it's imperative to stop the run, especially on first down. One-time NFLer D.J. Foster rushed for over 100 yards against Winnipeg and former Ticat John White also dresses for Toronto.
They have a nice one-two punch," Steinauer says.
The Hamilton head coach and former Ticat player, who also played and coached for the Argos, said that when he looks at his former team, I see a team that believes in itself. On paper, I'd put them up there as one of the most talented and experienced teams in the league. They're playing with some fun up there. They've had three tough games and did quite well.
There's no doubt they're for real."
It will be, as it always is on Labour Day, the Ticats' job is to alter that reality.
Steve Milton is a Hamilton-based sports columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: smilton@thespec.com