Edmonton 37, Hamilton 35

It's getting very frustrating watching this team. For the second straight week, the Cats build a two-touchdown lead, and for the second straight week, they squander it. This team needs to learn how to put the foot on other teams' throats when they have them down.

Positives
I think it is safe to say that DeAndra' Cobb has found his groove again. He's hitting the holes with purpose, and has stopped dancing around in the backfield. There is still one area of the game that he really needs to work on, but I'll cover that later.

Arland Bruce gets blanketed, Dave Stala gets knocked out. No problem, just give the ball to Marquay McDaniel. What a great game by McDaniel. It's nice to know that guys like McDaniel can pick up the slack when other players are struggling.

Remember when our Punter was a liability? Not the case anymore. Eric Wilbur has been phenomenal since coming to Hamilton. I don't gush over any type of kicker too much, but Wilbur has been great and deserves all the fawning he's getting.

Stevie Baggs seems to paying off, eh? I ripped Perry Lefko when he said that Baggs was overrated and not worth the money. After two weeks Baggs has a strip-sack and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Not bad for only being in town for three weeks.

The kick coverage team, a unit that rarely gets any mention, deserves a shout out as well. They really bottled the Edmonton Kick Returners, and forced a safety on one punt. Not too many people recognize the coverage team's work, but it's time someone gave them a big thumbs up.

Negatives
For God's sake, DeAndra' Cobb! The fumbles are killing the Cats. There is never a good time to fumble, but the two worst places are inside the opponent's 20 and inside your own 20. Well, in two weeks, Cobb has three fumbles in those areas. Mistakes in those areas kill teams, and Cobb's miscues have killed the Cats against the Riders and Eskimos.

The only guarantees are not just death and taxes. Bo Smith sucking is another one. He whiffed huge on a tackle in the first half, and he was beaten badly on a couple of throws. The guy is just terrible.

I have had it up to here with this bend-but-don't-break garbage. People always talk about how bad Mike Gibson (the Offensive Coordinator) is, yet talk about how great Greg Marshall (the Defensive Coordinator) is. I'm sorry, but if a team puts up 35 points, the Defense should be able to hold the opposition to 34. The Cats seem to always be on the losing end of these shootout games. I'm sick of watching teams march up and down the field against the Cats. It's time to start punching teams in the mouth. This style is the reason the Cats can't hold a lead. Enough is enough.

Final Thoughts
This is the second consecutive week that the Cats could have won. I won't say should have, because if they should have won they would have won.

With the rest of the East Division losing this week, the loss isn't crippling, but it would have been nice to pick up a game on everyone. I already gave up thinking that the Cats would win the East. It would take a big collapse for that to happen now. The Cats are three back, with five to play, but with Montreal having won the season series, the Cats would have to go 4-1 or 5-0 over the last five weeks to even have a chance. Not going to happen.

However, the Cats can still clinch a playoff spot next week with a win and a Winnipeg loss. That would put the Cats at 7-7 and Winnipeg at 3-11. That means that Winnipeg could only finish tied with the Cats, and with Hamilton having the season series against the Bombers, it wouldn't be enough. But that's next week, and this is about this week.

The loss today was a tough pill to swallow, but the Esks come to Hamilton next week, and a win there would erase the bitterness of this loss.