Friday 21 October 2011

Preview: Lions at Tiger-Cats

9-6
7-8
Arland Bruce's return to Hamilton.

The Tiger-Cats using two Quarterbacks.

Two playoff teams looking to find their spot.

All of those things could be the main storyline heading into the game between the Lions and Ti-Cats. But one thing seems to dwarf them all:

Injuries.

Both teams come in missing some major contributors. Hamilton will be without the services of Linebacker Jamall Johnson, Receiver Chris Williams and Running Back Terry Grant. The Lions will be missing Defensive Lineman Khalif Mitchell, Kick Returner Tim Brown and, probably most importantly, Linebacker Solomon Elimimian (who missed last week's game as well).

With both teams coming in without key players, it should be interesting to see who steps up in their absence.

The Ti-Cats need to win this game if they have any hope of hosting the East Division Semi-Final. A loss and they are on the road for the duration of their playoff run. The Lions are in the thick of things for first in the West, so this is meaningful for them as well.

It'll be interesting to see how Head Coach Marcel Bellefeuille works his two Quarterbacks this week. While the end result wasn't there last week, the decision to play both Kevin Glenn and Quinton Porter wasn't the unmitigated disaster some – like myself – thought it would be. Both players had their ups and downs, so seeing how both players are used this week will be worth watching.

Like when any former player returns, the reception Arland Bruce receives will be worth keeping an ear on. I would suspect that Bruce will be met with both cheers and boos, but I think (and hope) that it is more the former and less of the latter.

This is also the Tiger-Cats final home game of the 2011 regular season. No doubt they want to go out with a win.

If you won't be heading down to Ivor Wynne Stadium, you can catch the game on television on TSN or on the radio on AM900 CHML. Also, do not forget to hit up Dief on Cats on Twitter as he tweets about the game from his seat at Ivor Wynne. The fun begins at 7PM EST, and in the immortal words of the late Billy Red Lyons, "Don'tcha dare miss it."

1 comment:

  1. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control (primarily financial), I'll be tweeting my insights from the "DiefOnCats Studio" this Saturday night. :(

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