Ticats’ 4th quarter litmus test

They aren’t the same Hamilton Tiger-Cats. But they aren’t different either.

Over the past six weeks, the club has been on a steady incline — statistically and in the standings. It’s won three straight going into Saturday’s visit from the Calgary Stampeders and is tied for first place in the East.

There’s no one reason why this is, but the fact that the Tiger-Cats have gotten better beyond the 45-minute mark is part of it. It was also a big problem when they faced the Stampeders the first time around.

In their season opener in Calgary, they were up 12-9 after three quarters. Then they were outscored 19-3 over the final 15 minutes en route to a 28-14 loss.

That isn’t the only game that went sideways late early in the campaign. The numbers help tell the story.

In each of their first five outings this season, the Tiger-Cats were either outscored in the fourth quarter or drew even. Their differential in Q4 was minus-31 and their record 2-3.

In the six games since, they have outscored their opponents in the final 15 minutes on every occasion for a plus-35 differential. Their win-to-loss ratio is 4-2.

So what’s changed? Nothing, it seems — at least according to the players.

“Even those games we lost we always felt like we played a good, decent game,” said defensive tackle Ted Laurent.

“We kept saying ‘no panicking, don’t worry about it, it’s going to fall our way.’ We just kept doing the same thing and right now it’s working.”

That also holds on the opposite side of the ball.

“You have the ups and downs of the game and things go your way and don’t go your way,” explained centre Mike Filer.

“We’re just battling through that and continuing to play our game and stick to our game plan even when the score gets onesided or doesn’t go our way.

“I think it’s just everyone has bought in, everyone is playing, and we’re starting to see good things happen.”

Late game performance is especially important against the

Stampeders, who have won 14 of their last 15 outings against the Tiger-Cats, including nine in the last three minutes.

Calgary coach Dave Dickenson said the best teams are those that can win in the fourth quarter, and lately that’s when Hamilton has been doing a lot of its winning.

But he hasn’t noticed any significant changes, either.

“They’re just making a few more plays, and sometimes you’ve got good fortune,” he said. “Sometimes you feel like you should have won but you didn’t, and other times you feel like you got lucky.”

If these explanations seem a little abstract, well, they are. But that doesn’t mean they’re offbase. Think back to where the Tiger-Cats started.

At the outset of the campaign, they were down an all-star on their offensive line (Ryan Bomben was dealt to Montreal just before the 2018 draft) and installing some newcomers in the rotation.

Jeremiah Masoli was also entering his first full season as starting quarterback, the defensive backfield was undergoing a complete overhaul and there was a lack of clarity around who would start at strong side linebacker.

There were new tendencies to adapt to all over the field. Not to mention new roles.

That’s why June Jones, too, disputes that anything is different with respect to fourth quarter schemes or strategies.

“I think it’s more playing together and learning and understanding,” said the Tiger-Cats coach. “That’s what happens in football, you get better as a team the more you play together.”

Filer agreed, saying he and teammates, specifically the guys on the O line, are getting more comfortable with each other and gaining confidence.

And that sort of thing just takes time.

“We’ve got a couple of new guys in there and how we’re rolling up front, we’re all getting used to it and used to each others’ game plan and how we do things,” he said.

“I don’t think a lot has changed, it’s more that we’re sticking with what we do, and again, when those flows of the game don’t go our way, we’ve got to come back and continue playing our game and not get too down.”

Notes: The Tiger-Cats have partnered with Telus on a new initiative to teach Grade 4 to 6 students about online safety. Players will visit local schools to help deliver the Earn Your Stripes program, which officially launches at Ryerson Elementary on Monday.