Jekyll and Hyde Hamilton Tiger-Cats fall flat against slumping Stampeders (& eight other thoughts)

Will the real Hamilton Tiger-Cats please stand up?

The Tabbies fell 37-20 to the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday afternoon in a game where they just could not seem to get going. Bo Levi Mitchell threw an uncharacteristic two interceptions, and Hamilton was stopped on third-and-short multiple times.

The scoreline was slightly unfair to the defence, who did all they could to slow down Vernon Adams Jr. and the Stamps. Inconsistency on the offensive side of the ball, a couple of questionable play calls, and a plethora of key mistakes are the main reasons the Tiger-Cats will have to wait at least one more week to clinch the East Division. 

Here are my thoughts on the Tiger-Cats’ seventh loss of the season. 

Read the mail 

Professional sports can be a roller coaster. A contest is never over until it’s over, anyone can win on any given Sunday, etc.

The Tiger-Cats’ first play from scrimmage was a pretty good indicator of how the rest of the game would go against Calgary, hindsight being 20-20. 

Adrian Greene read Bo Levi Mitchell’s mail and essentially ran Tim White’s route for him. The defence managed to hold the Stamps to a field goal on the ensuing drive, but it would not be the only points Calgary scored off turnovers. 

Deja vu all over again 

This game bore a striking resemblance to the Tiger-Cats season opener against the Calgary Stampeders in 2024. Hamilton had plenty of opportunities to put the ball in the endzone in the first half, and the defence helped them hang around in the game, but the missed opportunities built up, and Calgary ran away with it. 

Back then, it was a wide-open corner route to Tim White that could have changed the complexion of a contest which went to half with the Stamps up 24-7. This time, it was not one, but two missed opportunities in and out of the receiver’s hands.

White was running wide open in the endzone, but looked to not be on the same page with Bo Levi Mitchell, as he was expecting an inside throw, and the throw came outside. White laid out awkwardly for the ball and was unable to come up with it. It looked like a well-thrown ball, and an error in the route from the receiver.

On the next series, Mitchell went back to White, who was unable to secure a contested catch. White was in a better position to catch it and had every opportunity to make a play.  

A catch in the end zone, converting on third and two from the six-yard line, or utilizing their short-yardage team on third down. Any one of those three outcomes keeps the game closer. There were missed opportunities all over the field for Hamilton against Calgary.  

Bo-verwhelmed 

Mitchell had good reason to pound the football into the turf, as he lost count of how many times he was picking himself up off of it. The Stamps had four sacks, a handful of hits, and pressure on essentially every other play. 

Evidently, the struggles on the offensive line extended past pass blocking, with Greg Bell getting nine carries on the night despite averaging a respectable 3.5 yards a carry and looking like one of the more dangerous Tiger-Cats early on. 

The offensive line was overwhelmed against the Stamps, and it led to a frustrated Tiger-Cats’ offence. 

Bending, and then breaking 

Giving up 37 points on the night means Calgary eventually put the pedal to the metal on the Ticats, specifically through the ground game. Dedrick Mills ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. 

The way the offence started this contest, it should have been a 21-point deficit in the first quarter. On four separate occasions, after mustering a total of three points on their first four possessions, Hamilton’s defence held Calgary to a Rene Paredes field goal. That included once after an interception put Calgary in plus territory, and once after a kick return set the Stampeders up near midfield. 

The secondary on the whole, Stavros Katsantonis, and Philip Ossai on the defensive line were all standouts as usual. Jamal Peters had a good game locking down his side in his return to the lineup. He also had two tackles, including a short gain on a screen pass he blew up.

Getting to Adams was a chore as the Ticats only recorded one sack, but the defence picked up three tackles for a loss in the first half. 

The defence played winning football until they couldn’t. 

Laying the boom

You don’t see many old-time football hits like the one Stavros Katsantonis laid in this one. Katsantonis read a screen pass and delivered a clean, bone-rattling hit on Calgary receiver Jalen Philpot. Way to lay the boom, Stav. What a hit!

Paging Jake Dolegala 

Having a good short-yardage quarterback is essential in Canadian football. It’s why every single team employs and dresses one, save the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — who pay Dolegala to sit on the bench despite averaging more yards per carry in short yardage than the starting running back against Calgary. 

His absence was certainly noticeable when Hamilton had third-and-two at the six-yard line and ran a play with no end, only to get stuffed up the middle. Letting Dolegala pick his gap or pull it and run as he has in the past was the correct play here. Not sure why he didn’t see a snap in short yardage when the Cats were stopped on third-and-short twice. 

Inching closer to history

Though none of the Tiger-Cats’ receivers had their best day, Kenny Lawler inched closer to history with his 14th touchdown of the season. One more will move him into a tie for the most in a single season by a Tiger-Cat. Lawler has three games to tie the record or beat it with two touchdowns. 

The Ticats’ number one target had eight receptions for 113 yards and a major. 

Trash it and move on… again 

Which version of the Ticats will we get next week? The team that can run the ball successfully and hit you at any moment with a big play, or the team that looks downright flat for three quarters of the game?

Two losses where it can objectively be said they were far from their best in the last three weeks are certainly a concern. Hamilton has zero time to dwell on it. Montreal is playing its best football of the season. Whether they have to win the East Semi to get there, or they get a bye to the East Final, it feels like Montreal is going to be the team Hamilton will have to get through to earn a ticket to Winnipeg. They need that bye.  

With three more chances to get it, their fate is in their hands. If the Tiger-Cats are serious about being contenders, they need more Jeckyll and less Hyde.