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.