Preview Hamilton Tigercats at Calgary Stampeders
Sunday, August 28, 2016 7:00 PM
TiCats gun for first in East, Stamps aim to solidify first on Sunday Night Football
CALGARY — The Calgary Stampeders are the best team in the Canadian Football League right now.
That’s not an opinion, it’s a statement of fact; Craig Dickenson’s football team’s plus-87 point differential is the best in the league by a wide margin, and the Stamps are the only team that’s managed a winning record (3-0) at home.
On the flip side of the coin this Sunday are the hard-charging Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a team that’s certainly proven it can trade offensive punches with the best of them.
This week’s edition of Sunday Night Football will pit the two against each other at McMahon Stadium (7 p.m. ET) in a game which will be the first-ever live mic broadcast on TSN.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats took their turn bashing the Saskatchewan Roughriders on home turf at Tim Hortons Field in Week 9, when they put the Riders away in comfortable 51-7 fashion.
The win snapped a two-game skid for the Tabbies (4-4), who after a promising start on the defensive side of the ball had given up 37 and 45 points in Week 7 and 8 losses to Winnipeg and BC respectively.
“I look at every game as a test, because you’re always trying to judge where you’re at in the season,” TiCats head coach Kent Austin told TiCats.ca. “Every game’s different (and) every opponent poses a different challenge.”
The challenge for Hamilton this week will be to shut down a deep Calgary attack which has averaged 38.3 points-per-game through three wins at McMahon in 2016.
“They’re a really good football team in all three phases,” said Austin. “They don’t make a lot of mistakes, they score points, they’re good on D — they’re a complete football team (and) we have a tough challenge ahead of us.”
On the offensive side of the football, Hamilton quarterback Zach Collaros has been superb as of late, throwing for 771 yards and seven touchdowns in his first two games of the season since returning from the injured list.
“Calgary’s obviously a good challenge,” said the former Cincinnati Bearcat. “Since I’ve been in the league, they’ve been the standard of what you want to be in the league; Bo’s done a great job at QB, they have tons of continuity and they expect to win.”
As for the best-on-best matchup between himself and Stamps QB Bo Levi Mitchell, Collaros says he’s just focused on what he can control.
“I don’t know if I’m any more fired up (because) we don’t play against each other,” he explained. “He’s a great QB, he has been for three or four years, but I can’t concern myself with what he’s doing — I have to focus on what I’m doing, what their defence is doing.”
The TiCats made some waves late in the week with an announcement releasing wide receiver Tiquan Underwood and defensive back Quinton Pointer.
“We appreciate what Tiquan did for us, he’ll land on his feet,” said Austin of the Rutgers alum Underwood, who after a 557-yard, three-TD campaign in 2015 had only played in three of his team’s eight games in 2016. “It’s just about trying to make your football team under certain budget constraints — it’s a numbers game.”
Pointer, a UNLV product, had recorded 16 tackles and a pair of sacks in eight games for the TiCats.
National linebacker Byron Archambault could see his first game action of 2016 after being placed on the gameday roster; the U-Montréal alum has battled back from a nasty ACL injury which sidelined him at the midway point of last season.
Calgary’s ship has been sailing smoothly for the better part of two months; since Bo Levi Mitchell and the rest of the Stamps crew dropped a Week 1 decision to BC, they’ve gone 6-0-1 and outscored opponents by 85 points.
“It’s going to be a great game, we do feel like they (Hamilton) are playing really well,” Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson told stampeders.com. “We like where we’re at — it’s good to get back home (and) I’m looking forward to feeling the energy from our fans.”
One of the keys to Calgary’s recent success has been some good fortune on the health front; with the exception of defensive lineman Quinn Smith’s move to the one-game injured list, the Stamps will field an identical lineup to the one they fielded in Week 9.
“We’ve been fairly fortunate on that (injury) angle,” admitted Dickenson. “Continuity is important (and) when you get the same guys playing, good things happen.”
Dickenson and his staff opted to keep wideout Davaris Daniels in the lineup this week.
“I’m happy with our receiving core, I just thought he deserved that shot (last week) and he played well,” said the head coach of Daniels, who hauled in 66 receiving yards on four catches in Calgary’s win over BC. “(Hamilton)’s defensive backs play a little softer, but they break on the ball and have some blitzes — we’ll have to play with our eyes open and make adjustments.”
For star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, caught in a neck-and-neck race with his Edmonton opposite number Mike Reilly for the lead in most passing categories, the live-mic broadcast will be a unique experience for fans.
“It’s going to be fun for the fans to get inside the huddle, and inside me and Dave talking,” said the Texas-native Mitchell. “There might be some bad words — I like to chirp people if they chirp during the game — (and) we’re not sailors but we’re not saints.”
In terms of squaring off against the red-hot Zach Collaros and the overall TiCats offence, Mitchell is confident — with good reason.
“I measure myself against the best to every play the game,” said the Stamps pivot. “I can’t see myself in that light unless I believe I’m the best right now — Jennings, Reilly, (and) Collaros are fun to watch, but I focus on myself.”
The Stamps have broken the 30-point mark in five of their eight games: All five ended in Calgary victories.
If the TiCats want a run-and-gun, high-scoring shootout on Sunday in Cowtown, the Stamps will let it happen knowing full well they’ve got the horses — ahem — to win.
