In Week 11 the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes will battle one another for sole possession of 2nd place in the East division and will have the advantage with regards to earning a playoff spot. Both teams are 3-6, and the Tiger-Cats and Alouettes are coming into Week 11 after earning key wins in Week 10. Last week the Tiger-Cats were able to play one of their most complete games of the season, and secure a home win against the Toronto Argonauts.

The Alouettes also are coming off of a big win, they were able to travel to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and give them their first loss of the season in overtime. The last time Hamilton and Montreal played one another, the Tiger-Cats narrowly escaped with a controversial win that ended with Trevor Harris being removed from the game due to an injury review on the 2nd to last play of the game.

That first game against Montreal in Week 8 was an important win for the Tiger-Cats but was a microcosm of the team that they had been for the first 10 weeks of the season. Hamilton spent the first 10 weeks jumping out to first-half leads, and then falling apart in the 2nd half and setting opponents up for wild 2nd half comebacks. That was until Week 10, coming into last week’s game against the Argonauts, the Tiger-Cats were a team that had been decimated with injuries.

The injury list included a large number of receivers and linebackers, and also included quarterback Dane Evans. Surprisingly, the role players that were called into active duty because of these injuries went on to play the Tiger-Cat’s most complete game of the season.

They could run the ball effectively, made key plays on defence, converted first downs, scored in the red zone, and did not make critical mistakes in the 2nd half. This week many of the injured Tiger-Cats appear to be returning to the lineup.

Will the Tiger-Cats be able to build off of last week’s success, or will the return of the injured players also signal the return of the Tiger-Cats team that struggled to play a complete game?

Mid-Week Injury Report

It appears that many of the injured Tiger-Cats from last week will be returning this week to potentially give the Tiger-Cats a boost as they fight to take control of 2nd place in the East.

Several players have been unable to practice this week: DL Anthony Federico (head), LB Simoni Lawrence (knee), DB Jumal Rolle (hamstring), DB Ciante Evans (hand), and LB Bailey Feltmate (quad). Quarterback Dane Evans (right shoulder) has been available to practice on a limited basis.

Several players have listed injuries but have been able to fully participate in practice: DL Mason Bennett (knee), DL Malik Carney (back), LB Kyle Wilson (ankle), and WR Papi White (ankle).

The Tiger-Cats will need to make some difficult personnel decisions this week with injured players returning after their backups ended up playing a great game against Toronto.

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