Williams Wins Again, a Trade and All-Time Coaches

A lot of news from the last couple of days that I need to catch up on, so here it goes.

Chris Williams has once again been named the Special Teams Player of the Week. What more can be said about Williams at this point that hasn't already been said countless times? I've already said he's going to be named the Most Outstanding Special Teams Player at the year-end awards ceremony and I also think he is a legitimate shot to win the top award, Most Outstanding Player, as well. If he keeps winning these awards, and this is the third straight week in which he has, I don't know what I am going to say about him. I am seriously running out of ways to say "he is awesome."

The Cats made a deal yesterday with Calgary for defensive linemen Torrey Davis. Davis is a mountain of a man and could be just what the team needs in the middle of their defensive line. Davis and Robert Rose could form a pretty formidable defensive tackle combination for the Tabbies. Davis won't play this week against Toronto, so we will have to wait until the following Saturday against Edmonton to see what he can do.

Finally, the Ti-Cats unveiled the head coach nominees for the all-time team. Five coaches are up for one spot: Al Bruno, Ron Lancaster, Ralph Sazio, Jim Trimble and Carl Voyles. I remember both Bruno and Lancaster, and I remember them fondly, but the pick here has to be Sazio. He won three Grey Cups in four appearances and won 10 playoff games in his five years as Hamilton's head coach. No other Tiger-Cat coach can match that, and while I am sure there are still some people angry over his defection to the Argos, he is pretty much universally considered the greatest coach in Tiger-Cat history.

10 Things I Learned... In Week 10

We have now reached the midway point of the 2012 CFL season and things are starting to become clearer. It looks like BC and Montreal are on a collision course for Toronto, while the Argos, Eskimos and Stampeders look like the most likely teams to crash that party. Saskatchewan halted their five-game slide by crushing the Blue Bombers, while Hamilton lost their fourth in a row. Winnipeg, well, not much can be said about them. The parity that was alive and well during the first month of the season looks to have gone away.

(1) Labour Day Classics lived up to their name
The two games played on Labour Day were classics in every sense of the word. The Argos won on a field goal with less than a minute left and Calgary scored the game-winning touchdown with under 90 seconds to play. Those two games rank up there with the best we've seen this season and they had everyone on the edge of their seat for the full 60 minutes. For those in attendance and those who watched on television, they were treated to a pair of classic CFL contests.

(2) Horse collar rule needs amending
After the call in the BC-Montreal game, I think it is time to revisit the horse collar rule. Cauchy Muamba was called for a horse collar tackle on Eric Deslauiers when Muamba grabbed the shoulder area of the jersey, not the collar or inside the neck of the pads, and pulled him down. That's not a horse collar tackle, that's a tackle. If that is going to be the call, then why not make it illegal to grab the jersey when you are behind a player? I didn't like it when the call was made and I still don't like it today.

(3) Illegal participation: what's the point?
In the Toronto-Hamilton game it looked like illegal participation was going to be called on an Argo player (I can't remember which one) for losing his helmet and continuing to chase down field. The Argo helmet was laying at midfield and the player walked 30-40 yards back to pick it up. Clearly he lost it and then continued to play, which is against the rules. The flag was thrown, but it was picked up. I don't understand why. I think the rule is a silly one because it goes against a player's instincts, but it is the rule so it should be called.

(4) Chris Williams is simply amazing
If there was only one player I would pay money to see it would be Chris Williams. In just his second season in the league, Williams has already broken the record for most kick return touchdowns in a season with six and has become the only player in CFL history to return a punt for a touchdown in three straight games. Considering all the great returners that have played in the CFL in the past, that is truly an amazing feat. I can't wait to see what he has in store for the remaining nine games of the season.

(5) Winnipeg has hit rock bottom
I thought things were bad enough in Winnipeg... and then played in Regina. I was once watched as the Tiger-Cats lost 48-0 to the Argos in Toronto, but the listless effort (and that's being nice) that the Bombers gave in their game against the Roughriders was something else entirely. They look like they have completely given up. They fumbled two consecutive kickoffs, which is nearly impossible to do at any level of football, let alone at the professional one. This came after Bomber GM Joe Mack made former head coach Paul LaPolice the scapegoat for all the Bombers' problems. Looks like the problems went much deeper than the head coach.

(6) Paris Jackson may have made the catch of the year
Every year there are a handful of amazing catches (think Clarence Denmark last year), but this season's best catch may have come in Montreal. Lion receiver Paris Jackson hauled in a pass after he tipped it and fell to the turf. He caught the ball while on his back. It was an amazing display of concentration from the little-used veteran, but that showed just what type of player Jackson used to be. For my money, it is the catch of the year.

(7) Cornish's hit was a good football play
There was a lot of talk during the Edmonton-Calgary game that the block by Jon Cornish on Almondo Sewell might be met with discipline from the league office. TSN replayed the hit over and over again, and I didn't see anything that would warrant Cornish being fined. It was nothing more than a devastating block and a nice football play.

(8) Never count out Arland Bruce
Quiet for most of the season, Arland Bruce became the go-to guy for the BC Lions against Montreal when Geroy Simon left the game with an injury. Those that questioned whether Bruce still had it were given their answer. Those games might not be every week occurrences now, but the future Hall of Famer can still come through when his team needs him.

(9) Rematch weekend is important
For the teams that lost on Labour Day weekend – BC, Winnipeg, Hamilton and Edmonton –the rematches this week are hugely important. No team wants to be swept in back-to-back games by the same opponent. For BC, they need to beat the Als to regain the edge in what is a potential Grey Cup preview; Winnipeg cannot drop to 2-8 and must rebound from that humiliating 52-0 loss; the Ti-Cats need a win to get back into the race in the East and to quiet the growing number of critics that are starting to surface; and Edmonton does not want to drop two to Calgary and loss their grip on second place in the West. We will learn a lot about the four losing teams from this past weekend in the upcoming rematches.

(10) Players of the Week
There were quite a few offensive players who had great weeks – Ricky Ray, Chad Owens, Anthony Calvillo, Arland Bruce – but when you score three touchdowns you get the award, which is exactly what Brandon Whitaker did against the BC Lions.

Defensive player could have went to a couple of players, and I really wanted to give it to Saskatchewan's Tyron Brackenridge, but Almondo Sewell played such an excellent game for the Eskimos that it was impossible to ignore. He had a sack and three tackles, one being on a key second-and-one stop of Bo Levi Mitchell. Sewell had a dominant game for the Eskimos and deserves the award.

I had Brackenridge pencilled in for top special teams player, but then Chris Williams did what Chris Williams always does. Another punt return for a touchdown, this one breaking the single-season record for total kick returns touchdowns and Williams once again gets the award.

Canadian of the week is Jon Cornish. Cornish rushed for 71 yards, caught four passes for 23 yards and a touchdown. No other Canadian player came close to Cornish in Week 10 and his selection was a slam dunk.

Toronto 33, Hamilton 30

That was definitely not how I expected the final Labour Day Classic played at Ivor Wynne Stadium to turn out. I honestly believe that the Ti-Cats would destroy the Argonauts. But another second-half lead evaporates and the team is now very close to must-win territory after losing their fourth in a row, this time 33-30 to the Argos.

Positives

I should probably just call this the "Chris Williams Section" and move on. I hate to think of where this team would be without Williams. Another punt return for a touchdown, his record-breaking sixth return for a touchdown this season, made him the first player in CFL history to score on a punt return in three straight games. He is single-handedly trying to get this team into the playoffs and is by far the best player on this team.

I was very impressed with newcomer Brock Campbell. Filling in for Markeith Knowlton and Carlos Thomas at one of the toughest positions on a CFL defense, Campbell made a few plays and didn't look to make many mistakes. With both Knowlton and Thomas injured, the Cats might be alright with Campbell manning that position for the time being.

Dee Webb came to play yesterday. His biggest play was a blocked a field goal, but he was around the ball the entire game. Webb put together perhaps his best game since being traded to Hamilton last year and he is establishing himself as the key cog in the secondary.

Negatives

This loss falls 100 per cent on the offense. People will look at the final score, see that the Ti-Cats scored 30 points and think that the defense once again let the team down. Don't let numbers fool you; the offense was the weak link today. When they had the wind in the third quarter all they could muster was six points on two field goals. When you have the wind you are supposed to take advantage and try to build a lead. The Ti-Cats could have really put things away if they could have scored touchdowns instead of settling for field goals once again. The offense was supposed to be the strongest unit and now it is becoming a big liability.

Staying with the offense (which is what this entire section will be about), all the fears I had back in January when Henry Burris was acquired are starting to creep back up. What happened to the player that was on pace to set league and team records? What happened to the guy who looked poised and confident at all times? Since the bye week, Burris has been extraordinarily ordinary, with his 13-for-30 passing performance being the latest example of his ordinariness. He has regressed as the season has gone on and I am starting to worry that the player that got himself benched in Calgary is starting to resurface. That player of the month award for July sure seems like a long time ago.

Finally, will someone please tell me where I can find Andy Fantuz? The guy as been invisible the last couple of games. I know teams try to take him away, but he has just four catches for 49 yards the last two weeks. The team did a lot to bring him here and you'd have to consider his first half season in Hamilton to be a failure. Yes, he had a big catch called back on a penalty, but he also tipped a pass that landed in the hands of Patrick Watkins for an interception. Fantuz has so far not been the difference maker he was brought in to be.

Final Thoughts

Entering the season I was sure about three things. One, the Ti-Cats would win on opening day; two, they'd win on Labour Day; three, they'd win the final game at Ivor Wynne Stadium. So far I am wrong on the first two and I sit here writing this and wonder if I am going to be wrong about all three. I try to stay positive as much as I can, but I say this with all sincerity: I don't know if this team will win another game this year.

Chris Williams can only do so much and if they keep asking him to carry the team on his back, like he is doing now, he is going to get burned out. The offense and the defense have to figure things out before this season gets away from them.

There just seems to be something missing from this team, but the Grey Cup expectations that were on this club did not come from the fan base, they came from the team's own front office that told us all that making changes needed to be done to make the team "more better." Well, 3-6 after Labour Day and losing to the Argos is nowhere near "more better."

The Ti-Cats have now lost four in a row and things don't get any easier. They have very little time to lick their wounds before they head down the highway to take on the Argos at Rogers Centre SkyDome on Saturday afternoon. If the Ti-Cats don't find a way to win that one, this season could be over. I'm not ready to throw the towel in just yet, but in less than a week's time my attitude could be very different.

Preview: Argonauts at Tiger-Cats

4-4

3-5

We've waited two years for this matchup, but real Labour Day Classic is back! Last year we put up with the Labour Day Classique, and while it was nice to watch the Cats smash the Als, it just wasn't the same. Well, for the final season at Ivor Wynne Stadium, we get to enjoy one last real Labour Day Classic between the Tiger-Cats and the Argonauts.

Sentimentality aside, this is actually a really important game for both teams. One game separates the two and with back-to-back games against one another, the winner of the first game will be able to breathe a little easier going into the rematch on Saturday.

Chris Williams can't do it all by himself, so the Tiger-Cat offense is going to have to start producing. This feels like one of those games where Henry Burris is going to remind everyone why he is headed for the Hall of Fame after his career is over. This also feels like a game where Andy Fantuz is going to dominate. I am expecting some big things from the passing offense.

The running game will also see a boost of explosiveness with the return of Chevon Walker. Walker missed the last game with an injury, and while his return likely means a return to the bench for Avon Cobourne, Walker can take one to the house on any play and that could be useful against a stingy Toronto defense.

We all know the difficulties the Tiger-Cat defense has tried to overcome over the course of the season, but Toronto is a team they could get things on track against. The Argos pass protection has been atrocious so far this season, so getting to Ricky Ray might be easier for the maligned Tiger-Cat front four. Add in some well-time blitzes from Rey Williams and Jamall Johnson and it could be a long day for the Argo offense.

And I'd be in dereliction of duty if I didn't somehow mention Chris Williams. The last time Williams faced the Argos as his breakout game on special teams. He took two kicks back for touchdowns, a punt and a missed field goal, and won his first of three Special Teams Player of the Week awards because of it. With Earl Winfield in the house and being honoured at halftime for his 1988 Labour Day performance, I think the stars are aligning for another Chris Williams show tomorrow afternoon.

The crowd will be large and loud for the final Labour Day Classic at Ivor Wynne Stadium and the fans will be hoping the home side gets the victory and takes over second place from their provincial rivals. The last Classic at Ivor Wynne Stadium gets underway at 1 p.m.

Ivor Wynne Memories: Labour Day 1991

With it being the last season of Ivor Wynne Stadium, I said I am going to post some of my personal memories I have of the stadium. This edition will look at my favourite Labour Day Classic, the 1991 beatdown of the Toronto Argonauts.

Labour Day is a different game from most. This one really gets the blood flowing and the hatred for the opposing team is off the charts. When it comes to Labour Day, Hamilton has been host to quite a few memorable moments. Whether it be Earl Winfield's three touchdowns in three different ways in 1988 or the 30-30 double overtime thriller in 2004, great things happen on Labour Day. One of those great things happened in 1991 when one of the biggest upset in CFL history occurred on the field at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

The Ti-Cats were dreadful in 1991. Entering the Labour Day Classic, the Cats had yet to win a game and stood an 0-8 and in last place in the East Divsion. The Argos were an impressive 6-2 and would steamroll their way to a Grey Cup championship later in the year. But on one glorious Monday afternoon, the Ti-Cats were the better team and by a significant margin.

I went to the game because I acquired cheap tickets from the football team I played for at the time. It was my first year of playing football and the the Hamilton Minor Football Association (HMFA) had a deal with the Tiger-Cats to provide cheap tickets to to a couple of games for players in the league. One of the games was Labour Day. Now, you have to remember that back in 1991 fan attendance was down. For that Labour Day game, I sat in the end zone with my dad and we had a whole bench to ourselves. The place was empty. There were maybe 10,000 people there. But those 10,000 or so people went home happy.

I don't recall much of what happened that day because I went to that game not to watch the Tiger-Cats, but to watch the Argos. More specifically, I went to watch The Rocket. Growing up, my dad and I were huge Notre Dame fans and our favourite player was Raghib "The Rocket" Ismail. When he signed with the Argos in 1991, I was bummed and excited at the same time. Bummed because he was playing for the one team I hated more than any other, but excited because this would be my chance to see him play. That first opportunity came on Labour Day. The weird things is, I don't remember much of what Rocket did that day. I couldn't tell you his stats or anything.

Even more so, I couldn't tell what actually happened in the game (so much for a memory, eh?), but I remember that it was a sunny day and the Ti-Cats absolutely spanked the Argos to the tune of 48-24.

I might not have any memories of what happened on the field, but I got to see "The Rocket" play live and the Ti-Cats mercilessly pound the Argos. I may not remember many details (any details?), but I can still say that the 1991 Labour Day Classic was my favourite one played at Ivor Wynne Stadium.