Winless Tiger-Cats ‘dangerous’: Elimimian

HAMILTON If the Hamilton TigerCats hope to get their sputtering offence turned around Saturday, they’re going to have to do it against one of the league’s top defences.

Hamilton is winless in its first two games, has yet to record a first down in the first quarter, and has scored only one offensive touchdown. It sits in the league basement with an average time of possession of 25:13.

Meanwhile, the B.C. Lions (2-1) enter Tim Hortons Field on a twogame win streak boasting a middle linebacker (Solomon Elimimian) coming off a team-record 15 tackles in last week’s win against Montreal, and a defence that leads the league in fewest points allowed (20.3 average per game).

“They’ve got good personnel, they’re good up front,” Hamilton head coach Kent Austin said. “They play their schemes very, very well. They’re well coached. They play hard.

“It’s a good challenge for us. Listen, teams are all going to get better as the season goes along. We’re no exception, we need to get better. And so, it’s a good challenge for us. It’s a good football team. But our guys are ready to accept the challenge.”

This is Hamilton’s home opener, four weeks into the season (they’ve played two away games and already had a bye week). And they’re in the middle of a tough six-game stretch against West Division teams.

Austin said protecting the quarterback will be an area of focus. The Ticats have allowed six sacks, but quarterback Zach Collaros has been under constant pressure.

Collaros admits to the frustration of being outscored this season 69-35, but he says there will be no tweaks this week, just the normal focus on executing the plays.

The Lions may be on a roll, but Elimimian is wary of the Ticats.

“You always want to understand your opponent’s mindset, and them being 0-2, it’s a dangerous mindset,” he said.