Sep
Sleepless in Hamilton
Courtesy Hamilton Spectator:
Ticat head coach Marcel Bellefeuille often says that his team has 24 hours after a game to either savour a win or lament a loss before turning their focus to the next game. But after the 42-8 shellacking at the hands of the Alouettes last week, Bellefeuille seems to have broken his own rule.
“I didn’t sleep well Friday night and I was up early watching film on Saturday. No, it wasn’t a great weekend,” said Bellefeuille yesterday.
“Was it wake-up call? No question.”
Having now broken down the film and analyzed his teams’ play, Bellefeuille said he found a number of issues that he felt were “correctable.” He credited a strong Montreal squad with playing a near-flawless game but said his charges didn’t play to their potential.
“We have to be a lot better and continue to improve if we’re going to compete with those guys. But was it a true representation as to where we’re at? No, it probably wasn’t that either,” he said.
While Bellefeuille said there were breakdowns in a number of areas — he declined to go into specifics — he refused to lay the blame on the shoulders of quarterback Quinton Porter, who was pulled after one half of play in favour of veteran Kevin Glenn.
“I didn’t think he struggled. On the contrary, he was four of six and had a deep ball dropped and ran twice for first downs,” Bellefeuille said. “I told him at halftime, ‘it wasn’t your fault, I just have to do something to try and spark the team.’ Obviously, that didn’t work either, but I had to try something.”
Bellefeuille said he hasn’t settled on a starter for Saturday’s tilt against Calgary but it sounds like Porter will get the nod.
“We have to finalize our decision, but there’d be no reason not to. He beat Calgary last time and this was one game you can’t put on the quarterback,” he said.
The team will also get four players back from injury: defensive linemen Darrell Adams and Garrett McIntyre, wide receiver Prechae Rodriguez and defensive back Geoff Tisdale have all been cleared to practice.
“We’re getting healthier. Everyone has the potential to play this week,” Bellefeuille said.
Offensive lineman Marwan Hage said he doesn’t think the loss to Montreal will impact the team’s confidence going into Saturday’s game against Calgary.
“You never expect to go 18-0. Whether we lost that game by one point or 40 points, it’s the same result. It won’t affect us in the future — you just move on. It’s a setback, but it doesn’t prevent us from reaching our goals this year, which is to make the playoffs.”
With six games remaining in the regular Canadian Football League season, the Cats are still two games clear of third place Winnipeg in the East Division and control their own destiny when it comes to making the post-season. They travel to Calgary this week — a team they beat 24-17 on Sept. 18 — before returning home for a key matchup against the Blue Bombers.
“We just played Montreal and Calgary back-to-back and got a split. I think part of that gets lost because we got beaten so badly,” Bellefeuille said.
The final impact of the Montreal game has yet to be determined, Bellefeuille said.
“It can refocus you, it can rejuvenate you. It can also go the other way, demoralize you. It all depends on the character of the people.
“The sky is not falling. As soon as you say it is, it will.”
