Winnipeg 49, Hamilton 29

What is there to say, really? This was ugly, and may have been one of the worst ways to start a season. This was disappointing on almost every level.

Positives
That should probably just say "Positive" because there really is only one good thing to come out of this game for Tiger-Cat fans: Marcus Thigpen. Thigpen had two returns for TDs (one off a kickoff, one on a missed FG). He looks like the real deal and could be a major weapon for the Tabbies in 2010.

To a lesser extent, Chris Bauman looked good. He had a TD called back, that shouldn't have been. I don't care what the officials said; he was in. It looks like things might finally be clicking for the former #1 overall pick.

Negatives
There were so many bad things in this game that I don't even know where to start, but I guess I'll start with the offense.

The all-Canadian O-Line experiment failed miserably, especially Simeon Rottier. I lost count of how many times he was beaten, and beaten cleanly, by the Blue Bomber Defensive Ends. It seemed like every time Glenn dropped back, a Bomber was in his face courtesy of Rottier. He may have a lot of potential, but he's not ready yet.

The running game. This isn't an indictment of DeAndra' Cobb, but more about Offensive Coordinator Mike Gibson's play calling. Where were the running plays? I get that once the score gets out of hand, you have to abandon the running game, but what about when the Cats are up 9-3 or 9-6? It can't always be about the passing game.

The Bombers started a 5'7" rookie at corner, yet the team found no way to exploit that. When a situation like that presents itself, it needs to be taken advantage of.

I can't recall seeing a Defense look worse than this one did tonight. There were more missed tackles than I'd care to enumerate and way too many big plays in the running and passing game. The DBs look just as bad as they did last year. Barker and Beveridge looked out of their element, and Jason Shivers did not look good.

The Offense did not play great, but the Defense did not help them in the least. Every time the Cats would score, and would need a defensive stop to keep momentum going, the D would give up a big play and a score.

Final Thoughts
The Bombers whooped us, plain and simple. The only phase of the game that the Cats played well in was Special Teams. Marcus Thigpen was the only player who came to play. Thirty seconds into the game, the Cats were up 7-0. After that it was pretty much all downhill.

There is just nothing else left to say about this. The game is over, and it's time to move on. But this was a very bad way to start the 2010 season.