Revamped defence a test for Ticats

Chris Van Zeyl returns to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats just in time to deal with the challenge that is a Chris Jones defence.

Van Zeyl will come off the sixgame injured list and make just his second start of the season at right tackle when Hamilton hosts the Toronto Argonauts on Monday afternoon. It will be the third of four meetings between the longtime rivals and second this year at Tim Hortons Field, where the Ticats won 32-19 on Labour Day.

But this game will be Hamilton’s first against the Argos since Toronto hired Jones, the veteran CFL coach, as a defensive consultant on Sept. 21. Toronto is 2-0 since his arrival, posting a 30-27 win over Montreal on Sept. 24 and a 35-16 victory over Ottawa on Wednesday.

Montreal had 560 offensive yards — including 178 rushing — and possessed the ball for over 36 minutes, but Toronto forced three turnovers. And against Ottawa, the defence had three interceptions, with Dexter McCoil Sr. and Chris Edwards returning theirs for TDs.

Jones is in his 18th CFL season, having been a part of four Grey Cup-winning squads, including in 2015 with Edmonton as head coach. He has a wellearned reputation as a defensive guru and innovative when it comes to blitz and coverage schemes.

“Expect the unexpected,” Van Zeyl, recovered from a thumb injury, said of facing a Jones defence. “I played against that defence every day for several years when I was an Argo ... You’ve got so many moving parts and so many guys moving around that you really have to stay true to your rules and that’s going to get you through.”

Hamilton head coach Orlondo Steinauer also has a history with Jones. Steinauer served as a defensive backs coach with Toronto in 2012, when Jones was the defensive co-ordinator and Toronto won the 100th Grey Cup game at the Rogers Centre.

“What I love about Chris Jones is, he’s authentically passionate about football,” Steinauer said. “He’s uber competitive and he wants to win, and that’s never wavered from the day I met him and we were able to coach together and be cham- pions together in Toronto.