And with that, it is over.
One of the most tumultuous seasons in Ticats history, both on and off the field, ends with the team absolutely thumping the listless Montreal Alouettes 33-0.
There isn’t a whole bunch new to take from this, but there are some things worth pointing out and celebrating as the Ticats 2017 season comes to a close, so let’s do that.
Less Than Zero
Shutouts in football are rare. Shutouts in professional football are even rarer. Shutouts in Canadian professional football are the rarest of them all. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats recorded their first shutout in 43 years against Montreal. And yes, we have to take into account the Als being awful and having nothing to play for, but a shutout in any situation is impressive, so kudos to the Ticats defense for playing hard and fast for 60 minutes.
Sack to the Future
Sticking with the defense for a second, the numbers they posted were ridiculous, so let’s list them:
- nine first downs allowed
- 169 yards of net offense allowed
- three interceptions
- four sacks, including two on the game’s first two plays
- nine completions allowed
- five second down conversions allowed
- 10 punts forced
- zero trips to the red zone for the Montreal offense
Again, a lot of grains of salt come with these numbers, but those would be hard to achieve against air, let alone another team playing for nothing but pride. Just an all around stellar effort from the defensive side in this one.
Banks of 1,000 Yards
Moving to the offensive side, Brandon Banks got his 1,000 yards. I have spent weeks in this space extolling the virtues of Speedy B and imploring the Ticats brass to make sure he is retained for next season. His 1,011 yards, 959 of which came in the last 10 games, sits him 12th in the league. He might not stay there, but him finishing in the top-15 in receiving yards for the season is incredible considering there were calls from fans to release him prior to Labour Day (I heard the pleas to released Banks personally from more than a few fans).
Cool Hands Luke
Congrats go out to Luke Tasker for becoming the Ticats single-season record holder for catches. Tasker’s 104 catches broke Andy Fantuz’s record of 101 set just one year ago. Incredible to think that in the near 150 year history of the Tiger-Cats, no one had ever eclipsed the 100-catch mark until last season. Tasker also picked up another 102 yards, and no sits fifth in the league in receiving, with his teammate Jalen Saunders finishing three yards ahead of Tasker and sitting fourth in the league. The Ticats, for the first time ever, had three 1,000-yard receivers. Another incredible feat considering where this team was just 11 weeks ago.
Journey to the Command Centre of the Earth
I can obviously only speak for myself, but the CFL’s “test pilot” of showing the video from the command centre was a huge hit with this fan. It gave great insight into what the people in the command centre see, and while I will continue to be hard on them when they screw up, I now understand a lot more of what they do in the review booth. I sure hope this program is extended and enhanced in future seasons because I think fans in all nine CFL cities would greatly benefit from seeing this during their home games.
Also, Ticats fans, Richard Leonard fumbled. I know you booed, and I knew you would, but they got that one right. And the Luke Tasker catch-and-fumble, the one that went Hamilton’s way that you cheered, I’m not sure they got that one correct. So can we end the talk of their being a conspiracy against the Ticats, the team’s fans and city of Hamilton, please?
Leonard Picks Seven
Speaking of Richard Leonard, he picked off two Matt Schiltz passes to take his total to seven on the season. He now sits second in the league, behind only Ed Gainey and his 10 interceptions. For a rookie to come in, start all 18 games, and perform at this high of a level speaks to the player Leonard is. Hopefully this performance catapults Leonard into a rookie of the year award.
The Truth About Masoli
Jeremiah Masoli was once again outstanding. I know a segment of the fan base doesn’t want to hear that, but the truth is Masoli has been magnificent since taking over as the team’s starting quarterback. Forget the 6-4 record for a second because QB wins are the most overblown stat in all of sports, but just look at the numbers:
- 15 touchdowns to five interceptions (a 3:1 TD-to-INT ratio ranks amongst the league’s elite)
- five straight 300+ yard games
- his 1.3 interception percentage is the best amongst all players who have thrown at least 30 passes. Thirty! Not 300, not 200, 30
- of those five interceptions, just one has come in the last seven games.
The narrative surrounding Masoli, the notion that he is nothing more than Kevin Glenn 2.0, is one that the numbers do not, in any way, support. Masoli still makes bad throws and poor decisions, but he doesn’t do them any more than any other starting quarterback does. Fans who don’t like Masoli are holding on to images of the past, of the player he was two or three years ago. He is not that player any longer. The proof is in the numbers. we have watched Jeremiah Masoli become a legit starting QB in the CFL with our own eyes. Some do not want to accept it, but it is the undeniable truth. Jeremiah Masoli is a starting quarterback in this league and should be signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to be their unquestioned starter heading into next season.
Looking ahead
Looking ahead means looking to the distant future. The season is over and the Ticats have a lot of questions to answer before we get to next June and training camp.
It is going to be a long off-season for Ticats fans wondering what might have been. The team’s 6-4 run to end the 2017 campaign will probably keep fans buoyant for the 2018 season, but depending on how the off-season goes, things could change.
The team has a number of free agents (as does every team) and will have to make some tough decisions on who to re-sign and who to let seek green pastures elsewhere, and let’s not forget the decisions need to be made on Kent Austin, Eric Tillman and June Jones. Oh, and that Johnny Manziel guy, too.
One thing is for certain, it will not be a dull winter for fans of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
