Report Card vs Hamilton

QUARTERBACK - B

Not a huge stat night but no interceptions or turnovers from MBT and he made the money throws when he needed to. The touchdown after avoiding a tackle was terrific as he kept his eyes downfield despite a very large lineman looking to crush him and he made a pretty good 2pt throw as well, almost too much loft, but worked. I loved his 4th quarter quarterback keeper run. A play like that shows a team how much a win matters to you and that matters as a leader.

WIDE RECEIVERS - B+

MUCH more consistent work from the unit tonight. Daniels had two monster clutch catches and Cam Phillips showed he can be an elite weapon for the team with a game high 85 yards and a TD. His cutback run in the endzone when he saw his quarterback scrambling was a vet move. The only knock on the unit tonight was Rogers dropping the ball in the redzone at the end of the first half. Having said that, it was great to have him back in the lineup. The drops were otherwise cleaned up and a few games in a row for this unit will really help.

RUNNING BACKS - C

Harris is still giving everything but there are just not a lot of gaps and very little time to get going before first contact for him. The team desperately needs a lighting back to go with his thunder, as that would prevent teams from loading the middle of the line. PLEASE DON’T HAVE A BROKEN WRIST!

OFFENSIVE LINE - C+

It was a tale of two halves for the unit. First half grade was dismal. Hamilton was meeting at the quarterback for group sacks, a blown-up short yardage fail, pressure from 3 man lines and Richards was really testing MBT’s desire to get hit to get his heart pumping. BUT in the money half, the group eliminated sacks and played good pass pro, the run game was not there but I will take what I can get.

DEFENSIVE LINE - B

No sacks and some up the gut runs-against but nothing consistent. The line was better at setting edge and not letting Evans get outside, still a skill they need to keep working on. Shoutout Ja’Gared Davis for his down the field deep coverage in the first half and an explosive second half from Shane Ray. The pressure on the qb was there all night and they kept Hamilton from getting in a rhythm. Hendrix had a HUGE pass knockdown, after being cut-blocked, to react and get his hands up so quickly was impressive.

LINEBACKERS - B+

First half was a little rough but when the game needed to be locked down, the doom patrol came up huge. McManis was flying tonight, and he punished those stupid screens and short running back plays. I don’t know who had Jackson on the first quarter TD, but it felt like a linebacker assignment. Edwards sealed the game with the pick and Muamba kept the car on the road the entire game.

DEFENSIVE BACKS - B

I know that Evans threw for 300 yards, but I'll be damned if any of them mean anything. I thought the unit took away his looks on second and long downs, kept the deep pass from being tempting and generally kept everything in front of them. Priester did a fine job coming in for Shaq who hopefully is not out long. Quiet game for the Peters blitz. Not perfect but an improvement on in-space tackling. Metchie was, however given in a lesson in the consequences of high tackling as Jackson took him for a ride for a few yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS - A

After a terrible first quarter punt, Haggerty had his best game as an Argo and showed why they have given up a roster spot for him. He can absolutely be a game changer with his punts. He averaged 54 yards which is fantastic and had a momentum shifting punt down to the Hamilton 3. Bede was 3 for 4 but his miss was a poor snap from a backup long-snapper. PUNT BLOCK!!!! For so long I thought they only happened against the Argos, but the right-side overload worked, and it locked up the game. Great to see Cassar back and wreaking havoc on specials. He is going to become a fan fav on that unit.

COACHING - B+

The team rebounded from the lack luster Ottawa disaster…eventually and registered a decisive win against their dopplehammer and I give a lot of credit to the staff. To start slowly after such a terrible game had me concerned but this staff has shown an ability to make adjustments and kick things into gear in the second half. Better first quarters will be needed in the future. And I still hate 2nd and short out of shotgun.