The final part of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Deep Dive series brings us to the specialists. Traditionally, the kickers, punters, long snappers, and kick/punt returners are forgotten men on most professional football teams. Forgotten until a mistake occurs, often these mistakes cost teams valuable points and are the difference between a team winning and losing. The 2022 specialists will be especially important for the Tiger-Cats and will be expected to score significant points and control field position.
Kicker
Michael Domagala will be the kicker for the Tiger-Cats. Domagala was very successful in both preseason games this year. There was a considerable amount of competition to be the kicker for the 2022 Tiger-Cats. In the past, Domagala has been criticized for missing field goals and extra points. Domagala needs to be focused on doing his part to score as many points as possible for the Tiger-Cats especially early in the 2022 season.
Punter
The projected punter for the Tiger-Cats to start the 2022 season will be Global player Joel Whitford. Whitford is an experienced and consistent punter. In the preseason, Whitford at times did not show the ability to keep the ball out of the end zone when attempting to pin the opponent’s offense on their end of the field. While a rouge gives the Tiger-Cats a point is done now results in the opponent’s offense getting the ball at their 40-yard line. This is a significant rule change, up until this year a rouge would have resulted in the opponent starting at the 35-yard line. Losing field position each time the Tiger-Cats punt would put the Tiger-Cats defence at a significant disadvantage.
Long Snapper
Canadian Gordon Whyte is expected to be the long snapper for all punts, field goals, and extra points for the Tiger-Cats in 2022. The long snapper is the epitome of a forgotten player that suddenly is under extreme scrutiny if a mistake is made. Whyte has a reputation for being a consistent long snapper. Experience for long snappers is very important, and Whyte is a proven long snapper in the CFL.
Kick and Punt Returners
The Tiger-Cats kick and punt returners were very successful in the preseason. Most memorably is the 99-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Argonauts by Lawrence Woods. Woods is expected to serve time as a kick returner and punt returner, but he will also be joined by a rotating mix of athletes from the Tiger-Cats wide receiver and defensive backs units. The ability for the Tiger-Cats to score points in special teams could be an effective method to take control of the momentum if the Tiger-Cats offence struggles to produce points consistently.
The 2022 Hamilton Tiger-Cats have a good mix of experienced athletes and young players that will need to learn to compete together. Coming into the season that Tiger-Cats have significant areas of strength, but also some significant weaknesses. If the Tiger-Cats would like to have to opportunity to win games and compete for a playoff spot in the 2022 season, the defence and special teams will need to excel to give the offence time to get into a successful rhythm.
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