Aug. 9

Hamilton - Injuries - Butler 1 game IR, Fantuz and Gable 6 game IR

2015 Meeting #1: (Hamilton 52 at Winnipeg 26)

- The key event turning the first meeting of the season was when Winnipeg QB Drew Willy went down after just 12 offensive plays and the end of their third possession. When Willy left the score was 10-7 Hamilton, and within 11:00 of play that had moved to 38-7.

HOME Team Notes & Trends - HAMILTON:

- Unbeaten at Tim Hortons Field: Since moving into Tim Hortons Field on September 1, 2014 vs Toronto, the Tiger-Cats have

played 7 regular season games and gone a perfect 7-0. Here are some updated facts & figures about the THF streak:

- The Crowd Effect Updated: Offside-Procedure-Time Count Penalties Hamilton 17, Opponents 28. No game demonstrated this trend better than last week when Toronto was flagged 7 times for offside-procedure calls to Hamilton’s 3.

- 20+ Leads: IN 3 of the 7 games at THF, the Ti-Cats have established a 20-point or better lead.

- Q4: The real key to the 7 wins has been an overwhelming scoring edge in the 4th Quarter of 57-23 (+34).

- Q4: Hamilton has yet to be outscored in any 4th Quarter at Tim Horton’s with 4 shutouts.

- Since 2002: The 7-game win streak is their longest at home since an 11-game winning run in 2001-2002. - Defence: Opponents have averaged only 13.0 points in 7 games and made 8 more T/Os than Hamilton.

- Opponent Offensive TDs: Hamilton has allowed only 7 opponent offensive TD drives in 7 games at THF.

- CFL Record Pace Penalties: Hamilton drew 12 penalties in last week’s game, and are now tied for last with Toronto at 14.60 per game. At that pace, the Ti-Cats would just surpass the CFL’s all-time record for most penalties in a single season. They are on pace to draw 263 penalties in 2015; one more call than Hamilton themselves drew in 2004 at 14.56 per game (262 total).

- Creating multiple first down drives: Of the 62 possessions that Hamilton has had thus far, they have created multiple first downs on 31 of them – or exactly half (does not include possessions where they simply take a knee). They are #2 at 29 yards per drive.

- Amazing streak: The Ti-Cats lead the CFL in 2nd down conversions at 59.5% including the Edmonton at BC game this week. What is remarkable is that Hamilton has been 50% or better in all 5 games (better than 55% actually). Hamilton went above 50% in only three games all of last year. NO CFL TEAM HAS GONE MORE THAN 5 GAMES IN A ROW SINCE 2011.

- Luke Tasker 7 of 7: The 2014 Eastern All-Star returned last week and was targeted 7 times against Toronto. He caught all 7 pases for 73 yards, three of which were key 2nd down conversion catches. Of his 73 yards, 30 came after the catch.

- Two-and-outs: In their five games this year, Hamilton has only 15 two-&-outs (3.0 per game) compared to 38 in the first five games last season (7.6 per game). Hamilton has the fewest two-&-outs in the CFL.

- Last Week vs Toronto: The Argos outgained Hamilton 431 yards to 279, had 7 more first downs, threw for 389 yards and controlled the ball for 31:52. These are all solid indicators for a win and yet – Hamilton won 34-18. The key was 5-1 turnover advantage, all 5 of which came in the second half.

- No interceptions of late: After throwing 3 interceptions on Jul 16/15 vs Montreal, Zach Collaros had none in the last two games and none in his last 58 pass attempts.

VISITING Team Notes & Trends - WINNIPEG:

Injuries - Moore, Newman, Gibson, Richards - 1 game IR

- Drew Willy a Key: Twice this season so far, the Bombers have lost starting QB Drew Willy mid-game. Here are the game scores before and after Willy left the game with the result that when he has been in the game the Bombers have had a 113-102 scoring edge (+11). When he has been sidelined, Winnipeg has been outscored 70-19 (-51).

In 2015, with Willy in charge of their offence, the Bombers have averaged 26.3 yards per drive, without him that average drops by 59% to just 15.6 yards per drive. Last week, Willy led them to 389 yards of offence vs BC in only 11 possessions.

- Drew Willy #1: The Bombers starting QB held the CFL’s highest passer rating through Week #6 at 113.3. last week, he did not throw an interceptions and completed 17-of-25 passes for 269 yards and 2 TDs. Last week, he rushed for a career-high 72 yards vs BC on just 5 attempts. Of those 5 carries, 4 went for 10+ yards.

- Close games: The Bombers have had a series of close games this year, three to be exact settled by 1, 2 and 4 points. At the other end two have been decided by two of the CFL’s three largest margins for 2015 – decisions by 26 and 29 points.

- Turnover Ratio: In their three wins Winnipeg has a T/O Ratio of +8, in their three defeats they are -5. Since 2009, they have gone 32-8 (.800) when making less turnovers, and only 8-66 (.108) when do not win the T/O battle.

- Darvin Adams: In his last three games, Adams has recorded two of 120+ receiving yards. Last week, he caught just 4 passes but turned that into 127 yards with an effort that earned 62 YAC and a TD.

- Paris Cotton: Started off the year with 154 rushing yards on 22 carries in the first two games. Since then in 4 games, he has had only 102 yards on 31 carries for a 3.3 yard average.

- Lirim Hajrullahu 3-for-3: Made all three of his FG attempts vs BC last week on the heels of a two-game span where he was successful on only 2-of-5 tries. His three misses in 2015 have all come from 42+yards.His punts shave trapped opponents inside their 20-yard line 13 times thus far in 2015.

- Kahlil Bass: Led all CFL defenders with 10 tackles last week vs BC.

- Denmark: Clarence Denmark has been held to just 6 catches for 23 yards in the last two games despite 13 targets.

Stoudermire had some good returns, but hard to keep him out there at a gaffe per game, costing the team points with bonehead decisions.

^{Only 3 blowouts in 7 tries, they are batting better than .500}

Still too many special team breakdowns......under Tracy...

Nice pick 6 by that plug Marve.

CJOB interviewing Pontbriand... painful.

I like Jamaal Westerman

Ya, his comments at half time. Need more of that. We don't have a player who can lead, it seems.

What bothers me is the team reaction to something bad, early, yet again. (Willy pick 6) You are supposed to hitch up your pants and fight back...not fall completely apart

All the big mistakes, the direct to points ones were individual breakdowns. Hard to call out the response of the whole team based on that. Hamilton's offense didn't do much. D responded when they got a chance. Banks didn't do much. OL just isn't good enough to sustain drives, mentally and somewhat physically. Stoudermire is an idiot who is trying to do too much. I have no issue with about 40 of the 44 who played today. Get a LG, C, KR who are average to good CFL players and this team is in the 9-11 win range.

Special teams are killing us..... Marcel cannot handle pressure D packages... Some of the vets on the OL got pushed around...

will anyone be held responsible?

Bring back Morley?

All the big mistakes, the direct to points ones were individual breakdowns. Hard to call out the response of the whole team based on that. Hamilton's offense didn't do much. D responded when they got a chance. Banks didn't do much. OL just isn't good enough to sustain drives, mentally and somewhat physically. Stoudermire is an idiot who is trying to do too much. I have no issue with about 40 of the 44 who played today. Get a LG, C, KR who are average to good CFL players and this team is in the 9-11 win range.

Agree in the main, especially the D, but this is a real bad "habit" when it happens as often as it does. We had essentially 53 minutes of garbage time..

All I know is, if Willy stays in the game, we've got a shot...

 

or he stays in after our shot is long over, and gets hurt, meaning we now have a good shot of going 3-15.

Bring back Morley?

As an OL coach. Yes.

Here's my beef with the whole OL thing, Bomber specific and the league to some extent.  Why put guys out there who you know can't do the job?  Priority #1 for the whole team, not just the offense needs to be protecting the QB.  Especially for a team like the Bombers who are obviously reliant on Willy to be able to compete.  Use 3 imports on the OL if you have to, and bring in an import who knows how to play the interior positions, not just a tackle who you're going to slide inside and be just as bad as the NI guy.

 

Neufeld clearly missed a lot of Picard's calls or just wasn't in this game.  A lot of slide protections he just opened up out of his stance like they were doing a regular pocket with no movement, other times he chased guys off the line which opened up his inside gap and completely killed the play.  When he does get his hands on somebody he's a below-average blocker.  Picard is worse.  If Goossen truly isn't an option at this point he must be just terrible.  If I'm Walters I'm looking at getting import help for the interior.

Who is this supposed guru of an o line coach that we have. He's been here for a year and a half and with supposed better talent and his o line is no better than last year. With a pocket passer and slow reaction passer like Willy you've got to hold your block a second or two longer. These guys not only can not block but in todays game i've never witnessed so many missed blocks especially from the interior linemen. 

Who is this supposed guru of an o line coach that we have. He's been here for a year and a half and with supposed better talent and his o line is no better than last year. With a pocket passer and slow reaction passer like Willy you've got to hold your block a second or two longer. These guys not only can not block but in todays game i've never witnessed so many missed blocks especially from the interior linemen.

Bellefeuille and to a lesser extent Willy holding onto the ball too long are the problems with protection. The actual OL isn't the primary problem.

When o linemen are getting schooled right off the snap it isn't anyone else's fault but theirs. One on one and guys just whiff.

 

Who is this supposed guru of an o line coach that we have. He's been here for a year and a half and with supposed better talent and his o line is no better than last year. With a pocket passer and slow reaction passer like Willy you've got to hold your block a second or two longer. These guys not only can not block but in todays game i've never witnessed so many missed blocks especially from the interior linemen.

Bellefeuille and to a lesser extent Willy holding onto the ball too long are the problems with protection. The actual OL isn't the primary problem.

 

 

Flat out wrong.  Willy had guys in his face when he got the snap on numerous occasions.  About the only sack he took where he held the ball for even a remotely longer than he should have was a 2nd and 20 when he needed extra time to let the guys downfield get open to try and convert.  The OL is the entire problem with the offense.  It is abysmal and was even bad by the low standard they've set for themselves tonight.  They looked like they were running different plays than the guy next to them far too often.  Nobody should ever come through untouched between the inside gaps of the OT's and OG's and it happened at least a dozen times tonight to all 3 QB's.

Who is this supposed guru of an o line coach that we have. He's been here for a year and a half and with supposed better talent and his o line is no better than last year. With a pocket passer and slow reaction passer like Willy you've got to hold your block a second or two longer. These guys not only can not block but in todays game i've never witnessed so many missed blocks especially from the interior linemen.

Bellefeuille and to a lesser extent Willy holding onto the ball too long are the problems with protection. The actual OL isn't the primary problem.

Flat out wrong. Willy had guys in his face when he got the snap on numerous occasions. About the only sack he took where he held the ball for even a remotely longer than he should have was a 2nd and 20 when he needed extra time to let the guys downfield get open. The OL is the entire problem with the offense. It is abysmal and was even bad by the low standard they've set for themselves tonight. They looked like they were running different plays than the guy next to them far too often.

Sorry man. You're wrong. Bellefeuille, Willy, then the actual OL (in that order) are the problems with the OL.

Here's my beef with the whole OL thing, Bomber specific and the league to some extent.  Why put guys out there who you know can't do the job?  Priority #1 for the whole team, not just the offense needs to be protecting the QB.  Especially for a team like the Bombers who are obviously reliant on Willy to be able to compete.  Use 3 imports on the OL if you have to, and bring in an import who knows how to play the interior positions, not just a tackle who you're going to slide inside and be just as bad as the NI guy.

 

Neufeld clearly missed a lot of Picard's calls or just wasn't in this game.  A lot of slide protections he just opened up out of his stance like they were doing a regular pocket with no movement, other times he chased guys off the line which opened up his inside gap and completely killed the play.  When he does get his hands on somebody he's a below-average blocker.  Picard is worse.  If Goossen truly isn't an option at this point he must be just terrible.  If I'm Walters I'm looking at getting import help for the interior.

 

 

This is a baffling thing about the Neufeld trade... he was like that in Sask as well.  He only looked good at RT but he's never gotten a look there.   

 

I was a Picard fan, but sure is looking like his best before date has passed...  then again, whoever we plug and play - for years now - just seems to deteriorate...  remember when Jones, Knapp were our saviours?

 

Teams know that if they load the box Bellefuile will crumble...  why abandon the run in this game?  It was working and the score was so out of hand, just take it one play at a time...

 

Here's my beef with the whole OL thing, Bomber specific and the league to some extent.  Why put guys out there who you know can't do the job?  Priority #1 for the whole team, not just the offense needs to be protecting the QB.  Especially for a team like the Bombers who are obviously reliant on Willy to be able to compete.  Use 3 imports on the OL if you have to, and bring in an import who knows how to play the interior positions, not just a tackle who you're going to slide inside and be just as bad as the NI guy.

 

Neufeld clearly missed a lot of Picard's calls or just wasn't in this game.  A lot of slide protections he just opened up out of his stance like they were doing a regular pocket with no movement, other times he chased guys off the line which opened up his inside gap and completely killed the play.  When he does get his hands on somebody he's a below-average blocker.  Picard is worse.  If Goossen truly isn't an option at this point he must be just terrible.  If I'm Walters I'm looking at getting import help for the interior.

 

 

This is a baffling thing about the Neufeld trade... he was like that in Sask as well.  He only looked good at RT but he's never gotten a look there.   

 

I was a Picard fan, but sure is looking like his best before date has passed...  then again, whoever we plug and play - for years now - just seems to deteriorate...  remember when Jones, Knapp were our saviours?

 

Teams know that if they load the box Bellefuile will crumble...  why abandon the run in this game?  It was working and the score was so out of hand, just take it one play at a time...

 

 

Neufeld didn't look good at RT, he hasn't really looked good anywhere as a Bomber for more than a game at a time.  I watched the entire Riders-Stamps playoff game from 2012 when we got Neufeld and the Riders almost always had a back or tight end on his outside hip widening the rush lanes and helping him out, he still struggled to find a block and get his hands on anyone.  That was before he snapped his leg.  I doubt his mobility is any better.  He's better matched physically with ends in terms of strength but doesn't have the athleticism to stop them from turning the corner on him at 5 yards.

 

Hamilton wasn't really sending a ton of rushers in terms of numbers, they just disguise who is coming very well.  If the Bombers went into a basic pocket protection scheme, protect inside gaps and give the QB a chance to read the blitz and hit hot routes behind it they would have had a reasonable chance to move the ball consistently.  You gotta block gaps, not players when teams are sending anyone on a blitz, that's the only way to give a QB a chance.  Also might have simplified things to get the OL on the same page.  They seemed completely confused and out of sync, Neufeld in particular stood out as chasing guys far away from his basic responsibility to his inside gap and not moving in sync with the line when they went to slide protections at times when Picard called them to meet the blitz off the edge.

I don't know about you guys, but I was super impressed on Veltung's vertical jumping ability. That seems impossible to jump from a standstill, up to one's armpits and land....balanced.

Who is this supposed guru of an o line coach that we have. He's been here for a year and a half and with supposed better talent and his o line is no better than last year. With a pocket passer and slow reaction passer like Willy you've got to hold your block a second or two longer. These guys not only can not block but in todays game i've never witnessed so many missed blocks especially from the interior linemen.

Bellefeuille and to a lesser extent Willy holding onto the ball too long are the problems with protection. The actual OL isn't the primary problem.

Flat out wrong. Willy had guys in his face when he got the snap on numerous occasions. About the only sack he took where he held the ball for even a remotely longer than he should have was a 2nd and 20 when he needed extra time to let the guys downfield get open. The OL is the entire problem with the offense. It is abysmal and was even bad by the low standard they've set for themselves tonight. They looked like they were running different plays than the guy next to them far too often.

Sorry man. You're wrong. Bellefeuille, Willy, then the actual OL (in that order) are the problems with the OL.

Dunno guys. Can't say the offence lost this game. They didn't score near enough obviously but special teams are the ones that crapped the bed. That's what needs to get fixed before Friday.

Luckily I only have to watch the first 5 minutes and not spend 3 hours on this!

 

 

 

Who is this supposed guru of an o line coach that we have. He's been here for a year and a half and with supposed better talent and his o line is no better than last year. With a pocket passer and slow reaction passer like Willy you've got to hold your block a second or two longer. These guys not only can not block but in todays game i've never witnessed so many missed blocks especially from the interior linemen.

Bellefeuille and to a lesser extent Willy holding onto the ball too long are the problems with protection. The actual OL isn't the primary problem.

Flat out wrong. Willy had guys in his face when he got the snap on numerous occasions. About the only sack he took where he held the ball for even a remotely longer than he should have was a 2nd and 20 when he needed extra time to let the guys downfield get open. The OL is the entire problem with the offense. It is abysmal and was even bad by the low standard they've set for themselves tonight. They looked like they were running different plays than the guy next to them far too often.

Sorry man. You're wrong. Bellefeuille, Willy, then the actual OL (in that order) are the problems with the OL.

 

 

He's actually not wrong at all. It's not the whole OL but unfortunately, you're really only as strong as your weakest link and when guys can just come up the middle through gaps that should never be left open, it doesn't matter how good Stanley Bryant is, he can't do it all. I've noticed plenty of protection calls that just make absolutely no sense, so the blame doesn't end with the personnel on the line - my favorite was the one where the entire OL slid to the right on a play action where Willy rolled out to his left - but the Picard/Neufeld combo has been leaving guys free up the middle WAY too often.

 

Nothing more frustrating than watching us run a double tight set to allow extra protection, only to have Hamilton rush 5 and see Laurent or Hall come up the middle untouched because Picard is busy double teaming a guy who has already been taken out of the play.