‘We all feel comfortable right now’: Ticats’ offence puts together strong performance
Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca
EDMONTON — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats had a remarkable offensive performance in Week 2, piling up 528 yards of total offence en route to a 38-21 road victory against the Edmonton Eskimos. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli led the way by throwing for 332 yards and three touchdown passes, while also adding 59 yards on the ground.
The Titcats put in a truly complete effort on offence, as receivers Luke Tasker and Brandon Banks each went over 100 yards while combining for three scores. Running back Mercer Timmis rushed for an impressive 133 yards and two touchdowns of his own.
“I think we all feel comfortable right now in the offence,” Masoli told TSN’s Farhan Lalji after the win. “We’re still continuing to get better; there’s still a lot of things we need to work on. We’ll just continue to grow and develop, and we got a lot of smart people that we can do that with.”
Masoli found a way to consistently thread the needle against the Esks’ secondary, and he was a threat to make a play every time he dropped back to survey the field. The 29-year-old quarterback had put together a 344-yard passing performance in the Ticats’ Week 1 loss to Calgary, but Masoli was able to make the most of every play on Friday to come out on top in Edmonton.
“We definitely love playing here, man. It’s been a good environment.” Masoli said. “It’s always been a hard-fought game, so I just got to tip our hats to Edmonton. But it was a great team effort tonight for us.”
Masoli’s receivers were equally as impressive, and Edmonton’s defensive backs were left scrambling all night to find an answer. Whether it was the breakaway speed of Banks or Tasker’s ability to gain big yards after the catch, Hamilton’s passing game was firing on all cylinders against the Eskimos.
“Our receivers are just playmakers,” Masoli said. “So any time something breaks down or the defence covers well and they got us out schemed or whatever, I know they’re going to bust open or be able to feel the hole in the defence, and I’m going to get it to them.”
The Ticats’ offence will look to keep things moving forward when they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers next Friday in Week 3 action.
