Bert Faibish
CFL.ca
Through the first half of the season the Tiger-Cat defence was good, but it seemed that a piece here or there could give it ‘elite’ status.
Thankfully, the month of September played out much like Christmas morning for Defensive Coordinator Greg Marshall.
“Obviously when you add good players, it’s going to make your team better,” said Marshall.
“The biggest difference between then and now is that we’ve taken advantage of the plays that were there, regardless of who it was,” he said.
One cannot downplay the impact that DB Bo Smith and DE Stevie Baggs have had on the Ticats defence.
Baggs especially, who is coming off of consecutive CFL Defensive Player Of The Week awards and has totaled 18 tackles, four sacks, one interception and 3 fumble recoveries, two of which he returned for touchdowns.
Smith has provided a solid force at the corner position, making plays in the secondary and providing support in the run game by adding 24 tackles already.
Suffice to say that since the addition of Smith and Baggs, the defence has taken the next step.
Even though they sit fourth in the league in terms of yards allowed, Hamilton’s defence is first when in it comes to scoring and have allowed a ridiculously low 17 points over their last three games — all wins.
“You can never have enough talent, that’s for sure, and anytime you can add good players to the mix, I’m happy to have them,” said Marshall.
Just last week the Ticats added yet another piece, LB/DB Kyries Hebert, who had played under Coach Marshall in Winnipeg before signing with the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL.
Hebert has made an immediate impact on special teams and could be used in certain circumstances as a pass-rusher in blitz packages.
“A lot of it will depend on how quickly he picks things up but he could certainly be a situational guy, and I know that the special teams guys are happy to have him,” said Marshall.
The luxury of being able to either rotate all three defensive ends in throughout the game or have them all on the field at once is one that sets Hamilton apart from other teams. The Ticats were near the top of the league in sacks before adding Baggs and with him, they have been downright dominant.
The ability to pressure the opposing teams quarterback is the key to success in the CFL and with the players that Hamilton now has on it’s roster, theres no telling how good this unit can be.
