The Hamilton Tiger-Cats fell to 0-4 on the season after a heartbreaking 24-22 loss at the hands of the Ottawa Redblacks. Below are my thoughts on the game.
Squibbed it away
A football game comes down to much more than a single play, but Hamilton’s decision to squib kick with 28 seconds left cost them Sunday’s matchup. The Ticats had just gone up 22-21 after Bo Levi Mitchell found Shemar Bridges in the end zone, but missed the two-point conversion to keep the lead to a single point.
Conventional wisdom would be to kick it deep and force the opposition to string together a couple of long plays to get into field goal position, but Hamilton went against the grain and squib-kicked it, presumably to keep the ball away from return man DeVonte Dedmon.
The plan backfired as Tobias Harris returned the ball 27 yards to Ottawa’s 52 and set the Redblacks up with great field position. Three plays and 19 yards later, the Redblacks lined up for the game-winning field goal and walked away with a 24-22 victory.
I understand Dedmon was having a great game, going for 162 yards on eight returns, but you have to give your special teams unit a chance to pin the Redblacks deep. Maybe the squib kick was the right call, which was spoiled by poor execution and bad tackling, but I imagine head coach Scott Milanovich and special teams coordinator Paul Boudreau would do some things differently in hindsight.
Do you Bo-leve?
I was hesitant to say Bo Levi Mitchell was back to his old M.O.P. form after the first two weeks of the season, but the 34-year-old gunslinger is slowly turning me into a believer — or should I say, Bo-leaver.
Mitchell had another strong performance against Ottawa, throwing for 322 yards and two touchdowns while completing close to 70 percent of his passes. His season totals through four games equate to a 68 percent completion percentage, 1,297 yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions, already surpassing his totals from last season.
Hamilton’s quarterback play was my biggest question mark heading into the season but Mitchell is starting to prove his doubters wrong. If the Ticats manage to turn this disastrous start around, Mitchell will be part of the solution should he continue to play the way he is.
From Tim to him
Tim White was a hot topic of conversation amongst Hamilton fans on social media the past couple of weeks, including whether or not the Ticats should consider trading the all-star receiver. Hopefully, White was able to quiet some of that negative discourse as he returned to the form fans got accustomed to seeing over the past three seasons.
White caught nine passes for 118 yards and a touchdown while also garnering 94 total yards on eight returns after taking over duties from Lawrence Woods, III who left the game in the first half with a knee injury. As noted last week, Hamilton needs White to help them out of this funk and he’ll certainly be doing his part if he continues to put up the numbers he did on Sunday.
Missed opportunities
After three weeks of allowing 30-plus points, Hamilton’s defence had a better performance against the Redblacks, though the story from the defensive unit in this game was the missed opportunities to force turnovers.
Hamilton forced Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown into bad decisions multiple times but couldn’t capitalize on them with interceptions. Kenneth George Jr., Jamal Peters, and Kobe Jones all dropped potential picks, which could have been turning points in the contest or, in Jones’ case, won Hamilton the game.
The Tabbies have struggled to force turnovers this year, only creating four all season. If things are going to turn in a more positive direction, they have to learn to capitalize on the opportunities that present themselves and pounce on those takeaways.
A running back, not a bellhop
Star running back James Butler missed Sunday’s game with a head injury, so first-year rusher Greg Bell got the start and didn’t look out of place.
The 25-year-old didn’t have eye-popping numbers, rushing the ball 13 times for 56 yards and catching seven passes for 40 yards, but his play allowed Hamilton to execute a more balanced offensive attack, mixing in both runs and passes, something they weren’t able to do a week ago.
Bell found holes, ran tough, and was a safety valve for Mitchell through the air on several occasions when things deteriorated downfield. I thought it was a very nice first impression for the former San Diego State Aztecs star.
The rookie will likely find himself back on the practice roster when Butler returns from injury due to the Canadian ratio, but Hamilton appears to have found a solid option should Butler be out for an extended period of time.
Undisciplined football
Hamilton continues to be one of the most undisciplined teams in the CFL, taking seven penalties against Ottawa for 60 yards. Through four games, Hamilton has now taken 32 penalties for 299 yards, an average of eight penalties a game for 75 yards.
Too many times over the past couple of weeks, penalties have put Hamilton’s offence in first or second and long, kept the defence on the field, or given the opposition better field position on special teams.
Penalties were an issue last season for Hamilton and Milanovich indicated that he would find players “he could count on” during the preseason if the trend of costly penalties continued. That trend has continued through four games, so we’ll see if Milanovich sticks to his word and starts to find replacements for those who have consistently taken bad penalties.
Put your Legg into it
Special teams have been a bit of an adventure for the Ticats in the early part of the season, but kicker Marc Liegghio has certainly picked up where he left off last year.
Liegghio has hit 90 percent of his field goals, going nine-for-ten with a long of 42 yards, while hitting all eight of his one-point conversions. Liegghio struggled in the early part of his career in Winnipeg but kudos to him for continuing to put in the work and seemingly turning the corner to become one of the better kicking options in the league.
Up next
The Tiger-Cats (0-4) will look for their first win of 2024 when they host the B.C. Lions (3-1) on July 7. The two teams split the season series in 2023 with Hamilton dominating the Lions in the first matchup on a strong performance from James Butler before B.C. returned the favour in October with a 33-30 walk-off victory in Hamilton.
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