Week 16 Gameday Match-up: Hamilton Ticats
It's certainly been a rare occasion over the past decade for the Montreal Alouettes to find themselves needing a win this late in the season to lock down a home playoff game. But that's exactly the spot the Als are in this Sunday afternoon when they host the Hamilton Ticats at Percival Molson Stadium.
Behind 2-1 in the season series with the Ticats, and facing a one-point deficit in the points differential between the two teams, the Als can take the series with a win at home by two or more points this weekend.
A victory Sunday would also give Montreal a six-point cushion on Hamilton in the standings with three games remaining, thus guaranteeing the Als second place in the East and a playoff game at the Big O.
While it might be a stretch to call this Sunday's tilt a "must-win" game, a loss to the Ticats would certainly complicate things unnecessarily.
When you consider the Alouettes' remaining schedule (at Winnipeg, Calgary, and at B.C.), putting the Ticats in their place now would allow the Als' to focus on securing a playoff bye over the next three weeks rather than on fighting off a resurgent Hamilton team with a home post-season game of their own still in the mix.
Coming off a tough 33-17 loss at home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week, the Ticats will certainly be playing with a sense of urgency Sunday. Quarterback Kevin Glenn has been under fire for sub-par performances of late. In fact, he'll be splitting time with back-up Quinton Porter this Sunday in a playoff of his own to keep his starting job.
Hamilton's defence will also be spoiling for a fight, having been gutted by the Bombers' receiving corps for big plays in last weekend's loss. And as well as the Ticats' have already played the Als' offence this year, you can bet they'll make it an uphill climb again this go around.
Make no mistake, this Sunday's tilt is crucial game for the Montreal Alouettes. As Coach Trestman is fond of saying, it's a season-defining game in many ways.
Appearance vs. Reality
As much fun as it is to lean on statistics to tell the tale of what a team is or isn't, there's no denying the fact that stats lie as often as they illustrate the truth.
Anyone looking for proof of that should review the tape of last week's game against the Toronto Argonauts. Heading into last weekend's match up, the Argos' defence was ranked last or second to last in every meaning defensive statistical category. Against the Alouettes, though, the Argos' D played like those rankings were upside down.
This Sunday, the Alouettes face another appearance/reality dilemma with the Hamilton Ticats' defence.
Coming into week 16, the Ticats' D ranks second to last in net offence allowed (5407), average yards allowed per game (386.2), average net yards rushing allowed (1637), average rushing yards per game (116.9), net passing yards allowed (4012), and average passing yards per game allowed (286.6). They are also only two points off Saskatchewan's league-worst 402 points allowed.
In terms of appearances, those stats paint the picture of an over-matched, under-manned defence struggling to stay in game.
Having watched the Alouettes struggle to find offensive rhythm against this Hamilton defence in two out of the three tilts they've played this season, however, I can say without reservation that appearance just isn't reality in this case.
Regardless of how ugly a picture the stats paint for Hamilton, they've got more than their share of playmakers lined up on the defensive side of the ball. And defensive coordinator Corey Chamblin knows how to employ them against the Als.
Ticats' defensive end Justin Hickman currently sits second in the CFL in both QB sacks (11) and forced fumbles (5). LB Jamall Johnson ranks fourth in the league in tackles with 72, and his running mate Rey Williams is just two spots behind with 69.
Add to those figures DB Marc Beswick's league-leading special teams tackle total (23), and the picture of a quick, aggressive, hard-tackling Ticats team should be coming into focus.
Anthony Calvillo and company will certainly have their hands full Sunday against the Ticats' defence, regardless of what the numbers say. Hopefully, though, Calvillo's 421 yards and four TDs in his last outing against Hamilton will hold true again as numbers Montreal CAN rely on.
Tightening the Throttle on Thigpen
No player on the field has the ability to tilt the field quicker than an elite return man. And this week's game against the Hamilton Ticats features one of the CFL's best in Hamilton's Marcus Thigpen.
Heading into week 16, Thigpen sits third the league in punt return yards with 460, just two-tenths of a yard off Chad Owens' per-return average with 9.6 yards per return. He also holds the third spot in combined yards (1677) and missed field goal return yards (125) with a 41.7 average.
More than just producing numbers for stats hounds like myself, or keeping fans in their seats on third downs in lieu of heading for refreshments, Thigpen is a virtual lock to provide points and/or short fields to operate for Kevin Glenn and the Ticats' offence.
Throughout his career, Thigpen has proven he can score from anywhere on the field. And given the Alouettes' propensity for surrendering big plays on special teams, it's going to be critical to keep him under wraps from the opening gun.
Make It or Break It Match-Up
Since there's not much mystery left offensively and defensively after three meeting between the Alouettes and Ticats already this season, the match up I'll be keeping an eye on from the opening kick off will be the battle for field position off the kicking game between these two squads.
Statistically speaking, nothing jump starts offensive productivity quite like good field position. And for the past several years, the Alouettes' offence has been the beneficiary of some of the best starting field position in the CFL.
Some of the credit for that prime real estate has to go to the Als' traditionally stingy defence. Some would have to go to the kickers the team has employed, whose net punting and yards-per-kickoff averages have placed at or near the top of the league's stats lists for the most part. Some would undoubtedly have to go to quality coaching and overall team speed in coverage.
But the bulk of the credit for the Alouettes' excellent starting position year in and year out goes to an exceptional list of kick and punt returners, including the likes of Keith Stokes, Ezra Landry, and Larry Taylor. This season, injuries to key contributors like Tim Maypray have slowed the Als' production in that respect quite a bit.
Facing a player like Marcus Thigpen on the other side of the ball certainly kicks the competition for field position yards off the kicking game up substantially.
It's virtually impossible to kick away from a returner an entire game via directional kicks and squibs, both of which shave too many valuable yards off net kicking averages anyway. So the onus for controlling Thigpen's production is going to be on a combination of kick placement and sure kick coverage.
The Als' kick coverage teams are well-stocked with fast, sure-tackling players like Kitwana Jones, who is currently third on the CFL's Special Teams Tackles list. It'll be paramount for the those coverage teams to maintain great discipline in their lanes and to rally to the ball in numbers to make sure they get Thigpen on the ground quickly before he can make any magic happen.
On the other side of the ball, keeping holding and illegal blocking penalties to a minimum will give Als' returner Perry Floyd a nice shot at doing some damage himself.
Roster Notes
For the second week in a row, the Alouettes' injury news has been fairly scarce. The only significant change to report in player status comes via the Gazette's Herb Z. that safety Jeff Hecht has suffered a hand injury and will have to play Sunday's game with a cast.
On the Ticats' sideline, offensive lineman Peter Dyakowski has been hampered by an arm injury in practice this week, and his ability to protect the QB is something to keep an eye on.
Hamilton's secondary has also been a little banged up following the Winnipeg game, with Jason Shivers, Milt Collins, and Loyce means all missing practice time.
Up Next
Check back Monday for my take on what went down in the Als' bid to earn a home playoff game against the Ticats, including, as always, my five plays that swung the game.
