Ticats rewind: 10 thoughts on the win over Toronto

I went back and watched the Ticats win over the Argos last Thursday. Here are some of the things I saw…

1. The Ticats captains for the game were Simoni Lawrence, Luke Tasker, Andy Fantuz, John Chick and Frederic Plesius… interesting to see Plesius included as the special teams captain (a role filled by Justin Medlock last year.)

2. Defensive coordinator Orlondo Steinauer likes to drop defensive ends into coverage on a regular basis but I wondered if he’d change that up when the team signed John Chick, who is seen as a more of straight pass rusher (as opposed to the departed Eric Norwood and Justin Hickman, who was a linebacker in the NFL.) But there was Chick, dropped into coverage a full nine yards behind the line of scrimmage, when he made his first quarter interception (which was ultimately called back on a penalty.)

Toronto quarterback Ricky Ray looked flummoxed in the early going, likely because he wasn’t sure where the pressure was coming from or what coverage he was facing.

3. On the offensive side, the Ticats moved their receivers around quite a bit – the ability to play multiple positions is something Kent Austin stressed on both sides of the football – and that allowed them to get favourable match ups, particularly with Andy Fantuz.

4. Receiver Terrence Toliver took left the game after making a catch in the first quarter, came back, then was on the sidelines for much of the second half. There was no update available on his status over the weekend.

5. There were 21 penalties called (13 against Hamilton) and the game took 3 hours and 11 minutes to play (ideally, the CFL would like both numbers to be lower.) That said, the injury to Jermaine Gabriel delayed things significantly in the fourth quarter (he’s going to be fine, by the way.)

6. Generally speaking, inexperienced quarterbacks struggle to get through their progressions and make good decisions with the football: they have a tendency to hesitate or hold the ball too long. Dual threat guys often rely on the feet: they’ll make one read, not like it, then just take off. Both Zach Collaros and Jeremiah Masoli were like this.

Collaros eventually got passed it, which comes with playing time and experience. And now Masoli has, too.

Masoli rushed the ball just three times against Toronto, one on a designed run. Instead, he used his feet to buy time, rolling out of the pocket but keeping his eyes downfield and making accurate throws on the run. He completed 73 per cent of his passes, including that remarkable 15-for-15 stretch during the two touchdown drives in the second half. He looked calm in the pocket.

All of which is to say it’s possible that Masoli has made that transition from inexperienced running quarterback to a mature quarterback that can run. The sample size is still pretty small – essentially the East Final and last Thursday – but if it holds, the Ticats will be more than fine until Collaros gets back.

7. A lot was made during the TSN broadcast about Simoni Lawrence’s “Top 5” comments, which they figured were in reference to the TSN Top 50. Lawrence was No. 14 on the list and behind defensive players Adam Bighill (No. 2), Jamaal Westerman (No. 9), John Bowman (No. 10) and teammate Ted Laurent (No. 13.)

But while the Top 50 may be part of the equation, I also think it’s in reference to the Drake song “Grammys” which features this lyric…

Whole city goin’ crazy, top 5 no debating
Top 5, top 5, top 5 and the whole city rate me

Here’s what Lawrence said about it in a halftime interview with Matt Scianitti…

“I’m just trying to help my team win, just trying to motivate myself and my tam. There’s a bunch of great players in the top 50 and all I care about is winning but… you know…”

And then he laughed.

8. Former Hamilton defensive lineman Bryan Hall has been going at it with Ticats’ fans on Twitter since he signed with Toronto as a free agent in the off-season. Predictably, they chirped the crap out of him after Hamilton’s win… and he handled it like a pro. A single sampling that is representative of a large group…

9. There were reports of some issues between Ticats fans and their Argo counterparts in the stands at BMO on Thursday, as well as fans reporting issues with stadium security…

Must be nice to have extra money to be throwing beers at us. Come see us at #TimHortonsField and we’ll share a few beers #Ticats style. #CFL

— BoxJBoys (@BoxJBoys) June 24, 2016

10. The Ticats decided not to conduct an on-field practice on Sunday, taking an extra day of rest instead (they’ll still get a regular week of prep thanks to the eight days between games.)

They face B.C. on Friday (a team facing a cross-country flight and a short week of prep), then host Winnipeg on July 7 – two games they”’ be favoured to win. Following that, they are on the road for four straight and aren’t a THF again until Aug. 20… a 3-0 start without Collaros would be a dream start and it isn’t out of the question.