Steve Milton: The Ticats plan for Sunday against the Alouettes: Stand back and stop the run
Normally, on the final Sunday of November, the season would be ending if not already over.
But these aren't normal times so the CFL's second season" is a Carpenters song. It's only just begun.
On Sunday afternoon at Tim Hortons Field, two years plus four days after the CFL played its last playoff game - sorry to have to bring this up: it was the 2019 Grey Cup - the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats open the playoffs. The winners of the East division semifinal advance to Toronto the following Sunday against the Argonauts in a Grey Cup play-in final while the losers mutter, Well, that was brief."
Just three months ago when the Ticats beat the Alouettes 27-10, Dane Evans was the starting quarterback for Hamilton and Vernon Adams Jr. for Montreal. Adams was also the quarterback who led the Als back from a 14-point deficit to an overtime win in Hamilton in early October. But, by then, Evans was injured, and Jeremiah Masoli started his first game after six weeks of rib injury.
And after Adams' Thanksgiving Day shoulder injury, the Alouettes had to trade for veteran Trevor Harris, who alters the look of the Montreal offence and jars the bruised memory of Ticats fans. Yes, the same Trevor Harris who threw only six touchdown passes in the 2018 East final, when he was in Ottawa and the Ticats were ... well, somewhere else that day. But, also the same Trevor Harris, then with Edmonton, whom the Ticats picked off twice in the 2019 division final.
I think Trevor brings experience," says Hamilton head coach Orlondo Steinauer. Obviously he's a champion ... and he brings a sense of calmness. They're definitely different at the quarterback position but their M.O. remains the same. They want to run the football. They've got arguably the best back in the league."
That would be William Stanback who simply ran away with the CFL rushing title.
The Ticats have done a decent job of limiting the explosive Stanback but know they have to do it again, stopping him early and often. And they also need to get to Harris who likes to throw quickly.
With V.A. (Adams) they pushed the ball more downfield," says Hamilton defensive back Cariel Brooks whose five interceptions tied for the league lead. Trevor is more of a rhythm quarterback, more of an RPO (run-pass option), zone -read kind of quarterback."
Safety Tunde Adeleke who, like Brooks, made the East division all-star team said the Ticats respect Stanback's ability to break through the line then make big gains and they must try to contain him before he gets a head of steam.
We have to take that away to make sure their offence doesn't get started," Adeleke said. When one guy gets to him, the next guy's got to get there then the third guy's got to get there."
The Ticats themselves have to establish a running game, or at least the threat of one, so Don Jackson will again be key to keeping an opposition defence honest and allowing Masoli a little more time to find his talented receiving corps.
And Masoli must make sure he finds those receivers when they are open. He struggled with that in the first half of a loss in Toronto two weeks ago, but was in a groove in his one half of play last week against Saskatchewan. Evans played the second half so he has had enough live action that if the offence isn't moving and the Ticats have fallen behind he could, and definitely should, be called upon.
Steve Milton is a Hamilton-based sports columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: smilton@thespec.com