The 107th Grey Cup

By: Adamo Marinelli

November 20th, 2019

     On Sunday, November 24th, 2019, the Eastern Division champion Hamilton Tiger-Cats will meet the Western Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers for a chance to be CFL champions.

     The Tiger-Cats boasted a league-best 15-3 record, finishing undefeated, 9-0, at home, easily clinching first place in the East division, 5 games ahead of Montreal. The Blue Bombers finished with an 11-7 record, good enough for third place in the West division. 

     In the East final, the Tiger-Cats dominated the Eskimos who snuck by the Alouettes in the East semifinal on a crossover. The Blue Bombers dominated the Stampeders in the West semifinal before edging the West division champion Saskatchewan Roughriders on a huge defensive stop as time expired.

     This matchup will end the longest Grey Cup drought for both teams in the CFL. The last time the Bombers won the Grey Cup was in 1990. The last time the Tiger-Cats won it was in 1999.

     Hamilton comes into this game with the best offense in the CFL, averaging just over 26 points a game and finishing with nearly 394 yards of offense per game and almost 7100 yards of total offense all season. Hamilton’s QB, Dane Evans, finished third in the CFL in passing TDs, with 21 despite only taking over for the injured Jeremiah Masoli on July 26th, in a 23-15 win against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Hamilton would end up sweeping the season series against the Blue Bombers in a blowout 33-13 win. For a little over a half of a season, those numbers are extremely impressive. 

     Their receiving core is scary and the dynamic duo consisting of Brandon Banks and Bralon Addison, who were both in the top 5 list of best receivers this season combining for 20 touchdowns through the air is a nightmare for secondaries. They will beat you with the deep-ball. The reason why their pass game was so good results partially because of the talent they have at running back. David Watford had only 16 carries for 40 yards but 6 TDs, and both Hamilton QBs would run the ball fearlessly. 

     Hamilton’s defense isn’t too was pretty amazing as well. They have the best pass defense in the CFL only giving up 102 points or 5.7 per game. They allowed the fewest passing touchdowns in the league with 17 and had 22 interceptions, 3rd most in the league. They also finished with 54 sacks, a league-best. Against the run, they are a little worse off. They are the fifth-best run defense in the league giving up 84 points or 4.7 points a game. They allowed 14 rush TDs, tied for 4th with Calgary and forced 12 fumbles. Overall, they have the best defense in the CFL. But their offense is what they are known for. 

     Winnipeg’s offense is also very good. They finished third in the CFL in total offense, averaging 24.2 points for game which is tied with Montreal for 2nd in the league. They averaged 356 yards a game and finished the season with over 6400 yards of total offense. Their passing attack is mediocre, about right in the middle of the league. Their QB, Matt Nichols had an average campaign with 1936 yards and 15 passing TDs, especially considering he suffered a season-ending injury halfway through the year on August 15th in a win against the BC Lions. Backup QB Chris Streveler finished off the year with 8 TDs and 1564 yards. Zach Collaros, who started the season as Saskatchewan’s QB and got injured early in the season as a result of a hit from Tiger-Cats’ linebacker Simoni Lawrence, will have a chance at revenge when he starts under center on Sunday.  Where the Blue Bombers really dominated on offense was their run game. They had a CFL best 2663 yards on the ground and tied with Hamilton for third-most rush TDs with 20. Their main man, Andrew Harris led the league in rush yards with 1380 yards and 8 TDs. Streveler, a very mobile QB added another 12 rush TDs with 726 yards. They really stuffed the ball down the defense’s throat and it paid off all season long. It also did wonders in opening up option plays and play action plays downfield. On a cold late November night in Calgary, teams will be running the ball a lot more than passing. The team that runs better will win. 

     Winnipeg’s defense also deserves a lot of credit, especially because they might not have had a chance to win the Grey Cup if it weren’t for a crucial 3rd down stop against the Roughriders in the West final. Against the run, they are in a three-way tie with Edmonton and Saskatchewan for the best defense in the CFL only giving up nine rush touchdowns and a mere 54 points on the ground on the season, which equates to 3 points a game. They gave up only 1156 rush yards, with an average of 4.5 yards per carry, the fewest allowed in the league and had a league-high 26 fumbles. Against the pass, they struggled a bit more, finishing 7th overall. They gave up 162 points through the air, equating to 9 points a game. They gave up the 6th most yards with 5690 and the 7th most TD passes with 27. They finished 2nd in interceptions with 24 and had 48 sacks. This defense knows how to cause turnovers and they caused more than the Tiger-Cats did. Overall, they are the 3rd best defense in the CFL. 

     Some significant injuries to note as of today. Hamilton’s best wide receiver, Brandon Banks is questionable for Sunday with a calf injury suffered in the East final win against Edmonton. Also, both defensive back Tevin Mitchell - an important piece in their secondary - and wide receiver David Ungerer is questionable with an undisclosed injury suffered in East Final. 

     For the Blue Bombers, defensive back Jeff Hecht - a talented outside cornerback, wide receiver Lucky Whitehead and linebacker Brandon Calver are all questionable for the Grey Cup with undisclosed injuries suffered in the West final. Overall, Hamilton will be more affected by injuries on Sunday, if the injury list stays the same.

     Both head coaches, Orlondo Steinauer for Hamilton and Mike O’Shea for Winnipeg will be in a Grey Cup game for the first time as head coaches. Both won several Grey Cups as players and were both on the Toronto Argonauts’ 2012 Grey Cup-winning team.  

     As I am writing this article, Hamilton is 4 point favorites to win with an over/under of 52 points scored. This marks the ninth time these two teams will meet in the Grey Cup, Winnipeg leads the series 5-3. In my mind, I believe Winnipeg will win a close game, by a score of 31-27, and that would cover the spread. The reason is, in the cold of winter, whoever runs the ball better will win the game. Winnipeg has a slight edge in the run game, but Hamilton in the pass game. Whatever the outcome is, this a game between the two best teams in the CFL on paper. It will be a good one. Catch it on TSN on November 24th at 6:00 pm EST. The pre-game show starts at 1:00 pm EST. Don’t miss it!