Preview: Tiger-Cats at Lions

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Hamilton finally got the monkey off their back with their big win against Saskatchewan last week. That proverbial monkey, however, still sits on the ever-weakening back of the BC Lions.

Hamilton looked every bit the Grey Cup contender in their walloping of the Roughriders. The Offense looked to be getting into a nice rhythm as the game went on. Quarterback Kevin Glenn looked comfortable in the pocket, and the team stuck with the running game throughout, even when Avon Cobourne went out with a foot injury. The Offense wasn't at their best, but it was a vast improvement over the previous two weeks.

The Defense played one of the five best games I've ever seen a Defense play. The stats for the game are mind-boggling. You'd have thought the Cats were playing a middle school team with the way that the Defense smothered Saskatchewan's Offense.

Special Teams kicked in (no pun intended) with a great game as well. Hamilton played with a short field for most of the afternoon and capitalized on it by putting 33 points on the board.

If the Cats can repeat that type of performance, they will hang with anyone.

The Lions will enter this game a very desperate team. No one wants to go 0-4 to start the year. I can't quite comprehend why BC has yet to win. It seems every week it's something new that scuttles the Lions' plans for victory.

With this game being played in Vancouver, the Lions will need to establish themselves early to keep the boo birds from coming out. If the Tabbies get a lead, it could be a long night for Travis Lulay and Co.

This is a late start Friday night, with kickoff scheduled for 10PM EST. But if you're a night owl, you can catch the game on television on TSN or on the radio at AM900 CHML.