Playoff Preview: Can Masoli lead the Tiger-Cats past Burris and the Redblacks?

Moving on with our Playoff Preview series, here's an analytical breakdown of each unit involved in Sunday's East Division final between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Ottawa Redblacks (1 p.m. Eastern, TSN/ESPN News/YouTube outside areas with broadcast agreements).

Hamilton offence: Three mobile quarterbacks: The Tiger-Cats entered last week's semifinal game against Toronto with impressive season-long offensive stats (including league highs in points per game and yards per pass), but most of those were achieved with now-injured quarterbacks Zach Collaros and Jeff Mathews, and there were questions about how far they'd get with replacement Jeremiah Masoli. At the start, the answer was "Not far": Masoli was pulled in the third quarter for Jacory Harris with Hamilton down 18-6 following a bad interception and a subsequent touchdown drive for Toronto. After Harris himself struggled, though, Masoli came back in and found a way to lead the Tiger-Cats to a remarkable comeback and a 25-22 win. He only threw for 141 yards on the day with one touchdown and one interception, but did complete 12 of his 18 passes (66.7 per cent) and also used his legs to his advantage, scrambling to set up throws and picking up 58 rushing yards and a touchdown of his own on 12 attempts. Hamilton also has an impressive RB in C.J. Gable, who had 89 rushing yards on 15 carries last week. Their success, or lack thereof, on the ground may be key Sunday. The Redblacks' defensive line is preparing for Masoli's scrambling, though, so it won't be easy.

Hamilton defence: Five 106-yard fumble returns: The Tiger-Cats' defence has been quite good this season, recording league-lows in yards allowed per pass (6.8), completion percentage (61.2 per cent) and opposing passer rating (78.8). They were also third in points allowed (21.7 per game) and fourth in yards allowed (323.6 per game). Their best attribute may be how they helped the offence, though; the Hamilton defence racked up a league-high 52 turnovers, which led to a CFL-high 184 points off turnovers.

Hamilton special teams: Five star returners: The Tiger-Cats have one of the CFL's most feared returners in Brandon Banks, who recorded 1,766 combined return yards this year and four punt return touchdowns. They also have a great punter/kicker in Justin Medlock (who nailed a walk-off field goal last week), a good coverage team, and some smart trick plays; they twice recovered onside punts for touchdowns this year. It is notable that they weren't as good on kickoff returns, though; their 16.3 yard average was last in the league.

Ottawa offence: Five 40-year-old QBs: Most Outstanding Player candidate Henry Burris has played so well this year that he's renewed the case he's one of the CFL's top 10 quarterbacks ever, and he's led the Redblacks to incredible offensive stats that topped the league in most categories. It also helps that he was given a great, retooled receiver corps this year, plus an impressive offensive line that managed to stay healthy: Ottawa started the same five linemen all season long, remarkable compared to the 9.5 average across the league. The Redblacks only gave up 43 sacks, fourth-lowest in the CFL. Burris will be motivated this week, too; he's still upset about a Simoni Lawrence hit two weeks ago and wasn't thrilled with Lawrence's comments afterwards either. If he can channel that motivation effectively, the Redblacks may be in good shape. There are some concerns about their ground game (they averaged a league-low 4.5 yards per rush and picked up a middling 85.3 rushing yards per game), but their passing offence has been impressive all season long.

Ottawa defence: Five top defensive ends: The Redblacks did a great job defensively this year, especially on the yards-allowed front; they conceded 297.6 per game, best in the league. They were strong against the run (allowing a CFL-low 70.8 rushing yards per game and just 4.7 yards per rush) and the pass (allowing a league-low 20.2 completions per game), and their defensive line was key to that success, recording a CFL-high 62 sacks. That line survived the mid-year loss of then-sack leader Aston Whiteside, and did well to sign CFL and NFL veteran Shawn Lemon shortly thereafter. Lemon has fit in well on that defence, which is a formidable group overall. They do allow more points than some (25.2 per game on the year, fifth in the league), but some of that came from a few bad games, and their overall yardage numbers suggest they're a very strong group indeed.

Ottawa special teams: Two mid-year signings: The Redblacks went through several changes at punter and kicker this year, but appear to have found a couple of decent options in K Chris Milo (good on 88.9 per cent of his attempts this year) and P Ronnie Pfeffer (a 43.2 yard average). The return game has not been good, though; Ottawa averaged a league-low 6.3 yards per punt return and 19.8 yards per kickoff return (seventh in the league). Jamill Smith and Chris Williams have largely handled the return duties recently; we'll see if they can find a spark Sunday.

Add them up: Hamilton 13, Ottawa 12.

X-Factor: Quarterback experience. Burris has seen so much through his 15 CFL seasons, and he seems to be using that experience to his advantage. His last several seasons have been very good. He and the Redblacks also won the right to host this final with back-to-back wins against Hamilton in the season's final weeks. Masoli has some CFL experience over the last four seasons (first with the Eskimos, then with the Tiger-Cats), but hasn't played much; he has 453 regular-season passing yards. How he handles a tough road environment may matter here, as well as how well he can keep pace with the veteran Burris.

Prediction: Ottawa 24, Hamilton 21.