Hamilton 44, Montreal 21

Different opponent, same result. While things got off to a rough start – a fumble by Maurice Mann was returned for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage – the Cats overcame that early miscue and pounded the Als to the tune of 44-21. In fact, the score is not even indicative of how dominant the Tiger-Cats were this Labour Day afternoon. It was a fun day to be a Ti-Cat fan.

Positives

The only place to start is with "Deuces" himself, Avon Cobourne. Cobourne is turning into a bit of an Alouette killer, as two of his best performances were against his former club. Over 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 19 carries. Cobourne is trying to show Montreal what they're missing by letting him go. Glad he landed in Steeltown.

Kudos to Chris Williams, who had Dwight Anderson draped on him all day (and despite what some might think, Anderson played a good game; Williams just had a better one), on putting up another 100-plus-yard outing. His concentration on a bomb from Glenn was the highlight of the night for the speedy rookie. Williams is turning into Glenn's go-to guy and is on his way to securing a nice new piece of hardware for his mantle.

The Defense had a great game. The Als may have totaled 21 points, but the Defense only gave up seven of those points. The plays of the game were undoubtedly their three goal-to-go stops at the end of the second quarter, two of them when Montreal had the ball on the one-yard line and were threatening to pull within a touchdown. The Defense held firm, and Montreal came away with nothing. Is it any surprise that the "D" stood tall with former leader Otis Floyd in the house? That's the type of performance that Otis could be proud of.

Individually, Justin Hickman and Stevie Baggs made life miserable for Anthony Calvillo. Hickman continued his All-Star-calibre season, while Baggs seems to have finally found his groove. These two are going to be a problem for opposing Offenses throughout the second half of the season.

Jamall Johnson also had a game that must have put a smile on his old running mate's face. Johnson led the team in tackles, with six, and had a strip-sack to go along with it. Johnson is, somewhat quietly, putting together his own All-Star-calibre season.

One of the big reasons for the win was that the Cats played with discipline. The Tiger-Cats didn't register a penalty until late in the fourth quarter. That type of discipline will likely not happen every week, but if they come close to it, they will win more often than not.

Negatives

Turnovers were an issue tonight. Two resulted directly in Montreal touchdowns, a fumble returned for a TD by De'Audra Dix and an interception returned for a touchdown by Dwight Anderson, which was the only thing that kept this game from being a beatdown for the ages. The Ti-Cats are going to have to tighten up the turnovers, because you don't normally allow two defensive touchdowns and win the game.

I am still not a fan of Hamilton's second-down defense. Too often, the Tabbies give up a first down on second-and-long situations. I know this is nitpicking, and I know that a lot of the softer coverage came when the game was pretty much over, but this has been a problem all season.

Final Thoughts

If this is the way that the Cats are going to treat the Als on Labour Day, I say keep 'em coming. Hamilton destroyed Montreal in every facet of the game.

But the celebrations shouldn't last too long, as these two teams will meet up in just six days, this time in Montreal. The Als will be angry and looking for revenge. I expect a much better effort from the Alouettes next Sunday.

So Labour Day is now in the rear-view mirror, and despite the opponent wearing a different shade of blue (or is it, bleu?), the outcome stays the same.