HAMILTON - Marcel Bellefeuille wants the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to take Casey Printers' legs out from underneath him.

Keeping the elusive quarterback in the pocket and taking away his running lanes will be the plan of attack Sunday when Hamilton takes on Printers and the B.C. Lions in the East Division semifinal game Sunday (TSN, 1 p.m., ET) at Ivor Wynne Stadium.

"It's his big-play capability that we have to be aware of," Bellefeuille said. "If he leaves the pocket … whether he's going right or left he's a strong-armed quarterback. He can make those throws going left deep down the field.

"We have to keep him inside the pocket best we can because when he gets out there he's dangerous. The second part of it is we have to have good rush lanes when we're rushing four so we don't give him escape routes so he can't get out and hurt us with his legs."

Printers' ability to scramble presents a double threat to a defence. He's not only fast enough to elude defensive linemen and blitzing linebackers, but he can either run to daylight for a huge gain or get outside to look downfield and buy his receivers more time to get open. And a receiving corps anchored by the likes of Geroy Simon (79 catches, 1,239 yards, six TDs) and Paris Jackson (76 catches, 1,042 yards, eight TDs) puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defence.

The game will be the first CFL home playoff contest for the Ticats since 2001. Indications are that all 29,600 seats at Ivor Wynne Stadium will be sold as over 25,000 tickets had been purchased as of Saturday.

Printers will be the focal point of the game.

The 28-year-old will make his first appearance in Hamilton after being released by the CFL club last February. Printers joined the Ticats amid much fanfare during the '07 season, signing a three-year deal that was reportedly worth $1.5 million and made him the league's highest-paid player.

Expectations were high for Printers, who was the CFL's outstanding player in '04 with B.C. before leaving to sign with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. But Printers didn't recapture the magic that saw him throw for 5,088 yards and 35 touchdowns en route to being named MOP.

Printers completed 68-of-133 passes for 774 yards and one touchdown with four interceptions in limited action in his first season with the Tiger-Cats (league-worst 3-15 record) before completing just 55.6 per cent of his passes for 1,693 yards and five TDs with 10 interceptions as Hamilton posted a second straight 3-15 mark in 2008. Over the two seasons, Printers managed to make 13 starts.

Printers returned to B.C. last month as a free agent. He drew the start in a 28-26 loss to Calgary on Oct. 31, completing 22-of-35 passes for 337 yards with a touchdown and an interception.  He also led the team to an overtime loss in Saskatchewan, throwing a crucial pick that sealed the deal for the Riders. Printers was under centre to open the Lions' 45-13 loss to Edmonton but went 2-of-3 passing for 10 yards before leaving with a thumb injury.

There's little doubt that when Printers steps on to the field at Ivor Wynne Stadium, he will be greeted by a rousing chorus of boos from the Ticats' faithful. But Printers says he doesn't have an overwhelming urge to stick it to either the Hamilton organization of its supporters.

"It's not about that, it's about trying to win a football game," Printers said. "The Hamilton Tiger-Cats did not do anything to me to degrade me or abuse me of any kind.

"They always welcomed me with open arms and for that I was so thankful."

Printers said there were a number of factors that contributed to the Ticats' being unsuccessful during his tenure.

"We just didn't have the personnel and last year we had a coaching change in the middle of the year," he said. "You just can't win with that stuff going on.

"It's just too hard, this league is too competitive and the coaching is too good. You have to be a cohesive unit from top to bottom and we just didn't have that cohesiveness till about the latter part of the year. That's when we knew even if I would've been here another year this program would've turned around."

Wally Buono, the Lions head coach/GM, said it's unfair to make Printers shoulder the blame for Hamilton's woes during his time with the Ticats. He added that being booed on the road during the playoffs is simply a fact of life in pro sports.

"Casey came here to try and help an organization get revitalized and maybe what was expected of him wasn't possible," Buono said. "Maybe the surrounding cast around him wasn't strong enough to create the environment it would take for him to win. That's changed.

"Casey has learned, hopefully, that when he steps on to the field the reaction he's going to get is just normal. He's the opposing quarterback and they're going to get all over him. That's just the way it is here. It's no big deal."

Printers isn't the only player who will be facing his former team.

Ticats linebackers Jamall Johnson, Otis Floyd and Markeith Knowlton are former Lions. All were members of B.C.'s Grey Cup-winning team in 2006. Johnson and Floyd came to Hamilton via free agency while Knowlton was acquired in a trade.

And Hamilton GM Bob O'Billovich served previously as the Lions' player-personnel director.

"Jamall was given an opportunity at the time that we couldn't. I don't believe money was the issue as much as he wanted to play. Had it be a month later it might've been different," Buono said. "Otis, God bless him, probably the change of scenery has done him wonders and Markeith Knowlton was an opportunity we had to get (fullback) Rolly Lambala for so I thought at that time it was a good trade.

"Bob is a sharp guy. He saw the value in these players."

O'Billovich also saw value in Kevin Glenn and Arland Bruce III, signing Glenn after he was released by Winnipeg, then acquiring Bruce in a trade from Toronto.

Glenn, the '07 East Division outstanding player, has been solid, completing 62 per cent of his passes for 3,077 yards with 18 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. Bruce has emerged as his favourite target, registering 88 catches for 1,242 yards and 10 touchdowns, all team highs.

Hamilton swept the season series 2-0. Their last meeting was a 30-18 home win on July 31.