Friday 8 October 2010

Hamilton 36, Edmonton 11

What a perfect night for a football game. The weather was beautiful with nary a cloud in the sky, and the game itself was fantastic. This might be the most complete game the Tiger-Cats have played since last year's 24-6 beating of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Just a great night.

Positives
I've ripped the guy for almost two years, but I'm going to give Bo Smith some props after the way he played tonight. He was a tackling machine. He wrapped guys up and didn't let them go. I'm not ready to jump on the bandwagon just yet, but if he keeps this up, I'll stop hoping he gets released.

The entire Secondary deserves kudos as well. They had been brutal the past few weeks, and they came out tonight and stymied Edmonton's passing attack. Fred Stamps lit them up last week, and this week he did nothing. Their backs were against the wall, and there was talk of changes if improvements weren't there. Well, they're all safe for another week.

It was nice to see Arland Bruce get out of his mini slump. He had been shut down for over a month, but tonight he made plays. It's always nice to see Mr. Bruce go out and get his.

Kevin Glenn showed tonight that when he is hot, there isn't a better QB in the CFL. It's maddening to think how great Glenn would be if he was consistent.

Eric Wilbur, as usual, was awesome. There's not much more I can say about him. He's the best Punter we've had since Ozzie left town.

I know this won't make me many friends, but the offensive play calling tonight was fabulous. Mike Gibson takes a lot of heat from Tiger-Cat fans, some of it deserved, but tonight he called a heck of a game. At no point did the team rest on their lead. They went for the jugular. It was great to see.

Negatives
Not a lot of negatives from tonight's game. It was a very thorough beating.

Dave Stala's fumble was the only mistake the team made. Since Stala rarely fumbles, he'll get a pass.

The running game wasn't great tonight. Cobb only had 49 yards, but he didn't fumble. The holes just didn't seem there tonight, but since he ran so well the last three weeks, I don't think the running game is a problem. Heck, I'd rather Cobb run for 50 yards with no fumbles and the Cats win than for him to get 150 yards with two fumbles and the Cats lose.

That's about it.

Final Thoughts
This was a great win tonight. The team put together a full 60 minutes and took home a much needed win.

Now the focus shifts to the Argonauts and getting one step closer to hosting a playoff game. If the Cats can keep the momentum from this one when rolling into the Rogers Centre SkyDome, they should come out with a win.

But that is for next week. This week, we can all enjoy our turkey and fixins while raising a glass and being thankful for living in a city that has a darn good football team.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

2 comments:

  1. yes bo smith was a tackling machine. but he didn't knock any passes down. he needs to play tighter coverage - 3-4 yards of cushion is brutal.

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  2. Hey, I've hated on Bo Smith plenty, so eating a little crow here is tough. He still has plenty of deficiencies, but tonight he played well, and I had to say so. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't. He is still far from perfect, but tonight was a good game for him.

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