Odds and Sods - Hamilton Tiger Cats at Winnipeg (understudy edition)

[TrueBlue4ever]

Bombers enter the game trying to secure a playoff spot against the lowly Tabbies....who are trying to not play out the string.....

I enter the game opting for Appleton rum as the beverage of choice....

Tiger Cats win the toss and emphatically say "we want the ball" rather than deferring, which will give the boys in blue the wind in both the second and fourth quarters.....curious....do the Cats know something we don't?

Looks like it on the opening drive, with two long runs against our defence, which doesn't look like the team that knew how to tackle last week....

Before Masoli baits Randle with the pump fake and hits Banks with a 60 yard TD strike 2 minutes in....guess we don't need to worry about the Bombers getting lulled to sleep by a soft opponent.

After a quick Bomber series, Tabbies get the ball back and march downfield again....but on 2nd and an eyelash the Cats opt for trickery and try a hitch screen.....which Randle reads perfectly and lights up Saunders for a loss, and a FG......10 minutes in, a 10-0 lead and 128 yards of offence....that sound you hear is alarm bells for this defence.

Flanders comes up limping after Nicholls first off-target pass of the night.....but the offence is starting to click....

until Nicholls gets plowed into in his throwing motion and the ball squirts loose....didn't notice the fumble because our QB is laid out like roadkill on the turf. after what looks like a helmet -to-helmet shot......

O'Shea has a long discussion with the refs about something.....while reviews show the helmet blow was to the chest, but the original hit was an arm to the face mask which should be roughing the passer......alas no challenge, the fumble is upheld....so instead of first down at the Hamilton 20, Ticats take over......maybe with Nicholls not ready to go back in O'Shea opted not to gamble?.....hoping that doesn't bite us...

Hope diminishing as the turnover leads to another 3 points, instead of 10-3 or 10-7, now 13-0, not liking the direction this game is taking so far

Nicholls (and Flanders too) back in, looking none the worse for wear despite what the radio folks say is a bloody finger, guess concussion protocol cleared him too.....

Throwing darts to his receivers too....and Darvin Adams gets into the act with a bomb to a wide open Andrew Harris on the short yardage misdirection, Flanders finishes it off and we are back in business....

Undeterred, Hamilton marches right back....Masoli making it look too easy against soft coverage and inconsistent pressure.......never figured he'd be beating us with his arm.....

Hamilton offence looking unstoppable right now, chewing up yards and clock....and adding points...16-7...

Nicholls trying to fight back, with great long touch pass to Adams......reminiscent of a young Ricky Ray with his deep sideline accuracy of late.....

But gets pummelled on another sack, and another fumble.....which Sukh Cheung alertly scoops up and flips to Denmark for a 9 yard gain instead of a 6 yard loss...setting up a field goal...back to a one score game...now if our defence can actually register a stop.....

Holy 2 and out Batman, defence steps up...... but a penalty wipes out a good effort by Lankford on a crossing route for a first down.....the dreaded hands to the face call....let me guess, Hardrick?.....yup.

At least Medlock looks back in form....the secondary, not so much....busted coverage, poor tackling, could someone tell Loffler you body check in hockey, not football?

And Hamilton is right back down the field to add points.....but FG is wide, Leggett is just one tackle away from busting it for a TD, but the big development is Castillo ripping up his knee......who will kick for Hamilton now, and with the Bombers getting the option in the second half, will they take the ball or the wind (which is picking up) in the fourth?

We may not be out of this yet, despite being  badly outplayed this half....classic Nicholls 2 minute offence could put us in the lead even.....46 seconds seems like an eternity when he runs the hurry-up....Bombers move 48 yards in 33 seconds....time for one deep shot before taking the FG.....

Until Lankford quits running on a corner route for a couple of seconds and Leonard picks off the pass....easy points given away again.....get to the locker room and regroup...score should be worse given how easily Hamilton moved the ball.....

And yet we elect to give it to their offence to start the half......guess the wind and injured kicker factor is more important....and they are starting on their own 5...won't mean much if our D doesn't tighten up....

I blink twice and Hamilton already at midfield, where is our secondary??????

3rd down, Masoli staying on, maybe they don't have a kicker......except for him, who boots it down field.....where it bounces and rolls away from the Bomber defenders, and an onside Brandon Banks is first on it.......that play pretty much sums up the night for this team......that sound you hear is the air being let out of the stadium....

Sure enough, TD two plays later....so much for them starting at their own 5....and 2 point convert try with their kicker in the MASH unit....which is fumbled and grabbed by Leggett for a 95 yard 2 point return the other way.....except for the illegal batting of the ball forward, which I saw before Moe even scooped up the ball....so did the refs, no score....22-10 seems like a lot to overcome for some reason...but Matty Ice has done it before....

Except he won't, as Dom Davis coming in to start the second half....that sound you hear is me re-filling my Appleton as I have this feeling the Bombers have just conceded this game for the sake of player health.....

And despite a long overdue run by Harris, which works great, Davis' arm and legs do nothing to take away that feeling as the Bombers are right back on defence.....

Exchange of punts, maybe we can take control of the field position battle.....sure aren't doing it with our offence.....

Nice catch by Wolitarsky, his first......brutal drop by Wolitarsky, his first (of many?....yah, I'm getting as frustrated as the Bombers now).....

Harris is finally remembered again, and gets a penalty on top of his catch, FG inches us closer.......if only we'd use him more I'd feel better about where this game is headed.......

Hamilton's offence actually bogging down, but Davis, not taking advantage at all.....Nicholls still throwing on the sidelines....maybe?....nope, they've hidden his helmet.......

On to the last quarter, and we've pinned them on their 10 yard line....need a quick stop to take advantage of the wind and no kicker....Ok, need a stop before they cross mid-field....ok, a stop before field goal range....ok, a stop, period.... oh, screw it! How about no 2 point convert....nope, can't even give me that.....to recap that's a 14 play, 100 yard TD drive that took 8:35 off the clock against the wind and puts them up by 3 scores.....officially fed up with this defence again after a one-week reprieve........

Davis teases with some 1st downs against a prevent defence...but only briefly, and Medlock misses, giving them the ball deep in their end again....I have no faith they'll stay down there.....surprise, surprise, more big runs and passes and they are at centre field.....

Ball back, but way too late....Davis taking a page from the Drew Willy playbook, 5 yard pass on 3rd and 12...Hamilton mercies us with a couple of knees....and a cold walk to the parking lot awaits......

So, let's review.......swiss cheese defence that can't cover, can't pressure, can't stop the run, can't tackle......Mo looks hurt, Flanders is hurt, Miller is really hurt, Nicholls was sat, Davis makes you wonder what he's been doing on our roster all this time, Harris was ignored (9 touches for 91 yards, great average, so why so underused?)

Feels like they quit at the half, knowing they didn't "need" this win.....feels like I'll drink even though I don't "need" the Appleton......'cuz it won't help...but is better sipping than stewing about this effort...glug, glug, glug......

 

 

Edited October 7, 2017 by TrueBlue4ever

[deepsixemtoboyd]

 This is well done. You definitely are showing as a more than capable back up, which is more than can be said for a few blue this afternoon.

[deepsixemtoboyd]

 Further to the above, I may be stating the obvious, but I see two key turning points in terms of momentum – not counting the team is taking the field at the beginning of the game. :-) 

 The first was Lankford quitting on his route taking points off the board at the end of the first half. The second was the cats' pooch kick recovery leading to another score at the outset of the second half. 

 Pretty much all she wrote after that.

That said, I have found it interesting to watch, in a couple of games now this yr, where a team has lost their kicker and it's forced them to get creative and, in both cases, to some ultimately positive affect. 

 Makes one wonder if there might be a place for more third down gambling  or quick kicks (with the option to throw a pass or run a bootleg etc.) in offensive situations like third and 2 or 3…  even if your kicker is in good shape.   My dad, who is 75 years old, says they used to be way more of that sort of thing. And it was fun, and interesting, and often effective. 

 

Edited October 7, 2017 by deepsixemtoboyd

[TrueBlue4ever]

I agree with those turning points, but also thought O'Shea not challenging the fumble with a roughing the passer when Nicholls got hit was big. Looked clear to me that the first tackler arm-barred him in the face mask before the second hit was led with the helmet to just above the sternum. A successful challenge and we're 1st and 10 at their 20, down 10-0 and marching for a gimme 3 or maybe 7. Instead they get 2 first downs and a field goal, it's 13-0. 

As for the gambling, I am surprised there aren't more 2 point convert tries, since they are more then 50% successful since the rule change and in the long term would lead to more scoring for teams.

[deepsixemtoboyd]

Yes,  I was at the game, so didn't see the hit to the head until I watched  the replays this afternoon. You're absolutely right, that had MOS challenged at that point it would almost surely have been ruled a roughing the passer (with the way they've been calling that this year). Huge turning point, I stand corrected.  Or at least supplemented... ?

Edited October 7, 2017 by deepsixemtoboyd

[Tracker]

I sure hope that O'Shea was livid at the way Hamilton sucked them in on that on-side gadget play. IRC, there were no less than three on side TiCats on that play, so it ought to have been obvious to the special trams coach that the game was afoot.

[TrueBlue4ever]

5 hours ago, tracker said:

I sure hope that O'Shea was livid at the way Hamilton sucked them in on that on-side gadget play. IRC, there were no less than three on side TiCats on that play, so it ought to have been obvious to the special trams coach that the game was afoot.

Problem was it was Masoli lined up in shotgun at QB on 3rd and 2, so it was presented as a 3rd down gamble rather than a punt play. Still, the Bombers were caught on the back end, although the bounce the ball took didn't help things Bomber-wise. 

[Tracker]

11 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Problem was it was Masoli lined up in shotgun at QB on 3rd and 2, so it was presented as a 3rd down gamble rather than a punt play. Still, the Bombers were caught on the back end, although the bounce the ball took didn't help things Bomber-wise. 

True enough, but the Bombers were totally caught with their pants down- utterly clueless on that play. Unacceptable for a coach who was a special teams guru.

[17to85]

On 08/10/2017 at 9:59 AM, tracker said:

True enough, but the Bombers were totally caught with their pants down- utterly clueless on that play. Unacceptable for a coach who was a special teams guru.

 But it wasn't a special teams play. It was the defense on the field and we already knew our dbshad their heads up their asses in that game.

[Tracker]

Just now, 17to85 said:

 But it wasn't a special teams play. It was the defense on the field and we already knew our dbs had their heads up their asses in that game.

Returning a punt is not a special teams play???

[Brandon Blue&Gold]

18 minutes ago, tracker said:

Returning a punt is not a special teams play???

They were assuming the TiCats were going for it so the D was out there.  To be somewhat fair Masoli was under centre to start the  play.  We didn't recognize until too late what was happening when Masoli dropped back and Banks ran around behind him when the ball was snapped.  Good play by the TiCats but we were definitely caught napping.

[17to85]

1 hour ago, tracker said:

Returning a punt is not a special teams play???

The ticats lined up their offense like they were going to go for it and the qb punted the ball, it was a punt, but a punt by the ticats offense that the Bombers defense was on the field trying to return. That's why it worked. If it was the Bombers special teams unit on the field there is no way that play ever happens. That's why it was a great call by Hamilton. 

[Sard]

On 10/7/2017 at 3:46 PM, deepsixemtoboyd said:

Yes,  I was at the game, so didn't see the hit to the head until I watched  the replays this afternoon. You're absolutely right, that had MOS challenged at that point it would almost surely have been ruled a roughing the passer (with the way they've been calling that this year). Huge turning point, I stand corrected.  Or at least supplemented... ?

Though I agree that O'Shea maybe should have challenged it, since it was a turnover, the play was reviewed by the command centre.  The fact that they didn't overturn it makes me think that it would have been a wasted challenge.  When it comes right down to it, the Command Centre screwed up the call, after the refs missed it in the first place.

[JCon]

22 hours ago, 17to85 said:

The ticats lined up their offense like they were going to go for it and the qb punted the ball, it was a punt, but a punt by the ticats offense that the Bombers defense was on the field trying to return. That's why it worked. If it was the Bombers special teams unit on the field there is no way that play ever happens. That's why it was a great call by Hamilton. 

It was a great call and so well executed.

I know it was short yardage but I was surprised that no one was back for the Bombers? They all crowded the line, despite all the clues: 3rd and 2, Masoli drops back into the shotgun, 3 receivers going wide.

They're going to kick themselves when they watch the video.

[SPuDS]

Just now, JCon said:

It was a great call and so well executed.

I know it was short yardage but I was surprised that no one was back for the Bombers? They all crowded the line, despite all the clues: 3rd and 2, Masoli drops back into the shotgun, 3 receivers going wide.

They're going to kick themselves when they watch the video.

ya they really caught us napping but it was borderline perfection in its execution, it even rolled into a spot that made it easier for them to get it.. just a perfect storm of crapiness for us on that play.