Eskimos, elements rain on Ticats’ Guelph parade

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats' high hopes for their season in Guelph were drenched at the start Sunday, as they fell 30-20 to the Edmonton Eskimos in a rain-drenched game at the University of Guelph's Alumni Stadium. This was an extremely disappointing showing for the Tiger-Cats in a game so full of promise, and it represented a step back from last week's 39-34 road loss to the Toronto Argonauts. Last week, at least Hamilton looked like last year's problematic squad featuring all offence and no defence, and they almost pulled off an upset of the defending Grey Cup champions. This week, the Tiger-Cats didn't have the offence or the defence working, and they came up extremely short against an Edmonton team with plenty of its ownissues.

In particular, Hamilton just got run over by the Eskimos' offence. Edmonton running back Hugh Charles started the game on a poor note, fumbling the opening kickoff, but after that, he kicked into gear. Charles finished the day with 11 rushes for 119 yards (10.8 yards per carry) and a touchdown, with a particular highlight coming on a 70-yard touchdown dash. (If you exclude that one, he only had 49 yards on 10 carries, a much more pedestrian average of 4.9 yards per carry, but Charles is perhaps more about big-play ability than consistently grinding out yards, so it seems fair to leave it in.)

This wasn't all about Charles alone, though, as the Eskimos' offensive line also delivered yeoman's work in the trenches, a critical improvement from the flaws they demonstrated in Week One's loss to Saskatchewan. There was always talent on the Edmonton line, but they lacked synergy last week: on Sunday, they proved effective both in run-blocking and pass-blocking, helping quarterback Mike Reilly to complete 14 of 22 passes (63.6 per cent) for 130 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions and collect another 54 yards and a touchdown on six rushing attempts. Of course, Hamilton's defensive issues may mean the Eskimos' offensive problems aren't entirely solved, but Edmonton sure looked better this week than they did last week.

The Eskimos' offensive success also eliminates the Tiger-Cats' ability to blame the torrential downpour for their offensive struggles. Yes, the conditions were miserable, with the field being particularly soaked in the second quarter and with receivers and rushers often slipping. Edmonton managed to find a way to produce on offence throughout the game, though, while Hamilton didn't. Most critically, the Tiger-Cats couldn't run the ball effectively: Lindsey Lamar and C.J. Gable combined for just 36 yards on their 11 carries. They couldn't pass either, though, as Henry Burris had one of his worst days in a long time, tossing two interceptions against just one touchdown and throwing for just 229 yards. When you combine terrible defence with poor offence, you get the mess of an effort Hamilton submitted Sunday, one that served as a lousy way to inaugurate their 2013 home and didn't please many of their fans. If they don't find a way to improve on both sides
of the ball, it could be a very long season in Guelph for the Tiger-Cats.