Justin Dunk
Ticats.ca

On Sunday when Hamilton takes to the field at Moncton Stadium they will be looking to get back on the right track.

After a resounding Labour Day win over division rival Montreal, the Tiger-Cats have dropped two straight contests. Although, as Ticat fans will recall the last time their beloved Black and Gold experienced consecutive losses, they bounced back ripping off three successive victories, climbing over the .500 mark in the process.

“We know where we want to be and we came out here this week and practiced and prepared the way we needed to in order to get where we want to go,” Ticats linebacker Jamall Johnson said after Hamilton’s final practice before the team heads east.

“It’s been a real good week of practice, a lot less mental mistakes, execution has been great, which is a good sign that we’re going to play well on game day.”

Star running back Avon Cobourne echoed the same sentiments for the offence.

“It definitely has a different feel than the last couple weeks. We’re more tuned in and a lot more focused,” he said. “The way we practiced this week has definitely reinforced my belief in the direction this team is going.”

After practice on Thursday the team packed up and headed to the airport, destination Moncton, a trip that is longer than a normal CFL road game.

“We’re leaving our home crowd, but maybe this is what we needed, a change and something different to get back on track,” Cobourne said.

Number 22 believes the Ticats must be better on first down in order to light up the offensive fireworks against Calgary.

“We need to get yards on first down, if we don’t get any yards on first down it’s a tough road for the whole team,” Cobourne said. “It puts our defence in a bind because if we don’t get yards on first down there is a possibility for a two-and-out.”

“It just makes it more manageable. When you can be in second-and-four as opposed to second-and-10, teams approach it differently. It makes it more manageable for us because we know what to expect from the defence.”

Hamilton sports a 5-1 record when leading after the first quarter and Cobourne knows how important it is for his offensive unit to put some points on the board early in the proceedings.

“We just have to make plays and be involved in the game early, so we can still run the ball,” he said. “If it gets too out of hand we can’t run the ball and than we really have no balance, then the defence can rush the passer like crazy.”

Cobourne hasn’t been forced to fight through many losing streaks in his career, but he has a good idea of what needs to be done for the Ticats to get back on the proper side of the outcome this week.

“You can’t expect anything to be given to you. You can’t settle for just being mediocre,” he said. “Reality has to hit, we have to do things different because we’re 5-6 right now.”

Hamilton is looking to turn the page and start a new streak, a winning one, on the east coast.