The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have a new-look depth chart as they attempt to halt their season-opening five-game losing streak Friday night in Edmonton.
After the game, listen to The 5th Quarter on AM900 CHML, 900chml.com, or the CHML App and Radioplayer Canada App.
Linebacker Simoni Lawrence is returning after a one-game absence with a leg injury, moving Larry Dean back to his usual spot in the middle of the linebacking corps while being flanked by recent returnee Dominique Ellis.
Hamilton’s much-maligned secondary has also been altered. Will Hill replaces Canadian Courtney Stephen as the starting safety while Don Unamba, who joined the Cats’ practice roster on Monday, will suit up at boundary corner. Unamba has stepped in for defensive back Abdul Kanneh who was injured in last Saturday’s 60-1 loss in Calgary and has landed back on the six-game injured list.
Hamilton now has 13 players on the six-game injured list. Only the 5-0 Eskimos (18) have more players on the six-game injured list.
Number of players on each CFL team’s six-game injured list:
Edmonton 18
Hamilton 13
Calgary 11
Toronto 9
Ottawa 8
Saskatchewan 8
Montreal 6
Winnipeg 5
B.C. 3
The only other change to the Tiger-Cats lineup this week is on the offensive side of the ball where speedy receiver Daman Aultman takes over for Kevin Elliott.
The Cats enter the game with an altered coaching staff as well, following Wednesday’s hiring of assistant head coach June Jones. Jones, 64, is a former NFL head coach with the Atlanta Falcons and turned around the University of Hawaii’s football program in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He also brought his “run-and-shoot” offence to Southern Methodist University.
The last time Hamilton started a season 0-6 was in 2005 when the club stumbled to a 5-13 record and a last place finish in the CFL’s East Division. Since 1948, only four of the 32 teams (12%) that have started 0-5 have made the playoffs:
- 1955 Winnipeg Blue Bombers – won seven of their last 11 games to finish 7-9.
- 1959 Ottawa Rough Riders – went 8-1 after an 0-5 start.
- 1969 B.C. Lions – started 0-5, finished 5-11, and still made the playoffs after edging out Edmonton (5-11) and Winnipeg (3-12-1).
- 2011 B.C. Lions – went from 0-5 to a Grey Cup championship.
There is one encouraging stat for 0-5 clubs. 15 of those 32 teams (46%) managed to win their sixth game of the season.
On the flip side, Edmonton is the 25th team in league history to start a campaign with five straight wins. No 5-0 team has ever missed the playoffs, and eight of those 25 teams (32%) have gone on to raise the Grey Cup. Hamilton, by the way, has only started 5-0 twice in franchise history (1958, 1961).
The unbeaten Eskimos rallied to beat the Ticats 31-28 thanks to a last-minute touchdown in their meeting on July 20 at Tim Hortons Field. The Esks have won three of their last four games against Hamilton.
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