Preview: Tiger-Cats at Argonauts

6-6

3-9

There were some strong words being spoken by the Argonauts this week in the run-up to their game against the Tiger-Cats on Saturday night.

First, we had Linebacker Ejiro Kuale make the following statement after the Argos beat the Blue Bombers last week:

Guess what? They’re going to lose next week. Period. Point blank. I’m guaranteeing it.

Then we had Running Back Cory Boyd make this proclamation:

Aiming for 200 this week.

That seems like some big talk from a 3-9 basement-dwelling team. It also doesn't seem very smart to talk smack when your opponent pretty much has your playoff hopes in their hands. Should the Cats prevail in Toronto, the Argos would have to hope for a minor miracle to make the postseason. They would be eight points back of Hamilton for third in the East Division with five games to play. Hamilton would also win the season series, which would mean they would hold the tiebreaker. Basically, this is a must-win for Toronto.

The trash talk has been muted coming from Hamilton. Avon Cobourne was his usual entertaining self, but aside from that it has pretty much been all quiet on the Hamilton front. They are clearly not taking the bait, which must make Tiger-Cat fans happy.

The last time these two teams met, Hamilton won a 37-32 thriller. The Argos played perhaps their best game of the season, but a lot has changed for them since then, most notably the switch from Cleo Lemon to Steven Jyles at Quarterback.

The Tiger-Cats are no strangers to change themselves. They made two of them this week in acquiring Milt Collins from the Calgary Stampeders and coaxing Ray Mariuz out of retirement. Both players are expected to play on Saturday.

The one-sided war of words between the teams should add some intensity to the proceedings, which will likely make for a very interesting game between these two long-time rivals.

If you won't be making the trek to Toronto, you can enjoy the game on TSN or AM900 CHML. The fun kicks off at 7:00PM EST. Also, don't forget to follow Dief On Cats on Twitter for his one-of-a-kind take on the game.