Positives
Gotta start with Baggs, no? I've said it before, and I'll say it again, this guy was worth every penny he's being paid. Two sacks, seven tackles and countless big plays. It was Baggs who stuffed Cory Boyd on an Argos third-and-one gamble. That stuff led to a Tiger-Cat touchdown, which pretty much sealed the game. The guy was an absolute monster out there and he just gets better the more comfortable he gets. He may have been the missing piece to the puzzle. I'm sure #55 jerseys will be dotting the Ivor Wynne landscape before too long.
The Defense as a whole just played excellent football. The Cats forced seven Argonaut turnovers, limited any big plays and only gave up three points. The Defense was on last night. Just an outstanding overall performance.
Special Teams was also dynamite. Marcus Thigpen had some great runbacks, Eric Wilbur hit some beautiful punts and pinned the Argos deep, and the coverage team kept electric Argo Returner Chad Owens bottled up all night long. Another great overall performance by the Special Teams.
Negatives
After a 30-3 win, it's hard to find many negatives, but the Offense wasn't great. Kevin Glenn did not have a very good game, making some very poor decisions by throwing into double coverage a lot and throwing two interceptions.
The Running game was stagnant again. The holes just were not there, and while I commend the team for pounding away, it was tough sledding with minimal results.
Final Thoughts
Two straight weeks of dominant football by the Tabbies have allowed them to clinch a playoff spot. Last season, this did not occur until the final week of the regular season. The Cats are now assured of a spot, and securing a home playoff game becomes the goal. This win goes a long way to making that a reality.
The Cats have now swept the season series with the Argos, and have looked better and better each time they've played. Winning the first game by four, the second game by fifteen and this one by twenty-seven. I don't care what anyone says, but that will be in the heads of the Argos if and when these teams meet in the playoffs.
The Cats are back in the playoffs for the second straight year. Football, real football, is alive and well in Steeltown. Great, great win.
This one never seemed in doubt? Well, not until later in the 3rd quarter. Only 10-3 at halftime, it was a tight game until the Cats blew it open starting with Sandro's second field goal and McDaniel's TD, and in those types of contests anything can tip the balance. In this case, it was the Argo penchant for turnovers, and we pounced on them and made them pay.
ReplyDeleteI thought both defenses played very well. The Boatmen just couldn't keep it up with no support from their offense and special teams.
Nice to see us step on someone's throat and then put the other foot there too. If the Cats get the offense rolling like it was last week, and the defense stifling and hitting like last night, they will be a force with which even the best teams in the league will have trouble reckoning. Win or lose, Hamilton needs to make that kind of a statement vs. Montreal next week - we won't be pushed around any more.