Hamilton’s woes continue: Tiger-Cats lose 30-20 at home to Calgary, drop to 1-6 on the season

It's been an annus horribilis for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats so far, with just about everything imaginable going wrong, and it's not getting any better. A year after a Grey Cup appearance, everything appears to be going wrong for them. The Tiger-Cats were 1-5 heading into Saturday's clash against Calgary, and not only did they lose 30-20 to the Stampeders, they also lost quarterback Dan LeFevour with a serious-looking knee injury. Beyond that, there are ongoing stadium construction issues that have forced them to play their first three home games at McMaster's tiny Ron Joyce Stadium (capacity: 6,500), plus they've had poor attendance there, and there are some reports circulating that their new field still might not be ready for Labour Day. There are plenty of problems in Hamilton, but very few solutions visible right now.

Saturday's game looked somewhat promising for the Tiger-Cats at the start. While Calgary took an early lead on a Bo Levi Mitchell touchdown scramble, Hamilton roared right back, with LeFevour finding linebacker Erik Harris (lined up as a tight end) for a 55-yard game-tying touchdown. The Tiger-Cats' offence went into a slump after that, though, and their defence wasn't able to step up enough; Calgary took a 17-7 lead into the break. Hamilton did attempt a comeback in the second half, but they didn't get too far, and they lost LeFevour along the way when he appeared to suffer a hamstring injury running towards the sideline. That could be particularly troubling.

What offence the Tiger-Cats did produce Saturday was largely thanks to LeFevour, who's been quite good in the absence of injured starter Zach Collaros. Before getting hurt, he threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns with a 70 per cent completion mark and one interception, and he also showed off the dual-threat skills that made him an NCAA star at Central Michigan, running eight times for 42 yards. Backup Jeremiah Masoli has shown some potential, but he has much less CFL experience, and that was shown on the late-game drives he led after replacing LeFevour. He completed seven of 10 passes for 68 yards, but threw a back-breaking interception that allowed Calgary to drive for the game-clinching touchdown (off a scramble by backup QB Drew Tate). If LeFevour's out for any length of time, Masoli has potential, but he's very risky as a starter. Of course, Collaros could potentially return soon, which could help alleviate the quarterback woes. Still, losing LeFevour could be a big blow for this team.

It's worth noting that the Tiger-Cats' woes haven't been all about their offence, either. Their defence has been problematic this year, and that was also evident Saturday. They particularly couldn't stop the run. Calgary was using recent acquisition Hugh Charles at RB thanks to injuries to Jon Cornish, Matt Walter and Martell Mallett, but Hamilton made Charles look like an all-star rather than a fourth-stringer; he collected 102 rushing yards on 14 carries (7.3 yards per carry). Mitchell also picked up 33 rushing yards and a touchdown on four scrambles, and he threw for 271 yards and a touchdown with a 70.4 per cent completion rate and one interception. If the Hamilton defence doesn't get better, it may not matter who their quarterback is.

The Tiger-Cats still have time to turn this around. It's worth mentioning that they've only played three home games so far, and that those have been before tiny crowds at Ron Joyce rather than true home games that would give them the support of 20,000 plus fans. It's also notable that the rest of the East has been terrible; the only East team with more than one win to date is 3-4 Toronto. Moreover, Hamilton's problems seem less severe than those in Montreal or Ottawa. Still, there are a lot of issues with the Tiger-Cats at the moment, and it's remarkable to see how far they've fallen in just a year.

(Update: This post initially had Erik Harris' name wrong. In addition to his touchdown, he also recorded an interception and a sack.)