Five early storylines ahead of the East Final

Thanks to Hamilton's narrow 19-16 East Division semifinal win over Montreal Sunday, we have a historic East Final matchup this coming Sunday, featuring the first East Division championship clash between the Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts since 1986. Both of those teams have had great spells since then, with the Argonauts winning Grey Cups in 1991, 1996, 1997, 2004 and 2012 and the Tiger-Cats winning in 1986 and 1999, and they have met in the playoffs (most recently in a 16-13 Toronto win on the road in 2010) but they've rarely been good at the same time. Seeing these fierce rivals face off for the right to go to the Grey Cup should be fun, and there are plenty of interesting dimensions to this game. Here are five early storylines to keep in mind ahead of this one.

1. The Argos' ground game: With Chad Kackert confirmed as out for the rest of the season thanks to a broken ankle suffered in Friday's practice, there's going to be a spotlight on Toronto backups Jerious Norwood and Curtis Steele all week. The Argonauts don't necessarily need huge production from either to win, as they ran the ball less (and threw it more) than any other team this year, but they do need at least some rushing production to keep the defence honest, and their running backs do need to produce yardage efficiently on the touches they get. Fortunately, Hamilton's rushing defence wasn't great this year, conceding 5.7 yards per carry (third-worst in the league), so there is some hope for the Toronto ground game. A lot depends on how well Norwood and Steele step into Kackert's shoes, though.

2. The Tiger-Cats' dual quarterbacks: Hamilton has been using both Henry Burris and Dan LeFevour in games this year, and that tandem worked out well down the stretch Sunday, with Burris making critical throws and LeFevour mostly picking up yardage on the ground (including the game-sealing touchdown in overtime). This switch isn't usually about Burris struggling; the Tiger-Cats just often decide to put in LeFevour, and that can be useful, as it gives the defence something else to worry about (especially considering that Hamilton's traditional rushing game has struggled recently). Burris is the better passer, but LeFevour's arm is good enough that he can't be seen as just a runner, and his rushing ability can also be a useful decoy (as it was for this Chevon Walker run in Week 19). In general, this is a useful pairing that can emphasize each player's strengths and confuse defences. Using two quarterbacks like this requires a deft touch to keep them both happy and make sure the right guy's in at the right time, though. We'll see if Hamilton head coach Kent Austin can keep doing that Sunday.

3. Good Hank versus Bad Hank: Speaking of Burris, he's been known for years to have great moments and bad ones. On the whole, his stats this year are very good, as he led the league with 4,925 passing yards while posting a 65.8 per cent completion rate and 24 touchdowns against 19 interceptions. However, there are still definitely "Bad Hank" moments where he'll make incredibly ill-advised throws that are picked off for big plays, and there are games in where you get more of the bad than the good from him. Burris' play, good or bad, may be critical to the result here.

4. The Rayzor's Edge: The Argonauts have an intriguing quarterback situation of their own with Ricky Ray. When he's been healthy this year, Ray's played at an outstanding level, completing 77.2 per cent of his passes for 2,878 yards while throwing 21 touchdowns and just two interceptions. However, he only played in 11 games thanks to injuries, and he sat out the team's final game before the playoffs thanks to its irrelevance to the standings. Will he be sharp in the East Final, or rusty?

5. The Argos' defence bending versus breaking: On the season, the Toronto defence wasn't overly impressive, giving up the league's most yards (389.7 per game), its worst gain per pass (8.7 yards), its second-worst first downs both rushing (129) and passing (224) and recording the CFL's second-lowest number of sacks (38). However, the Argos did well from a points-allowed perspective, conceding just 25.4 per game (third-best in the league), which speaks to their ability to buckle down in the red zone. Will defensive coordinator Chris Jones be able to get his team to maintain that trend Sunday, or will giving up all those yards come back to bite them?