Five thoughts from the Ticats pre-season loss to the Argos

1. Going into the game, there was a growing sense that Jeremiah Masoli was the leading candidate to hold the starting job while Zach Collaros recovers from injury and though he wasn’t spectacular, I don’t think Masoli did anything on Saturday to hurt his chances.

Jeff Mathews, on the other hand, didn’t do himself any favours with the two picks.

Coach Kent Austin consistently emphasizes the importance of decision-making and ball security from his quarterbacks. Mathews made some spectacular throws, but he looked hesitant in the pocket at times (something that plagued him last year) which contributed to his taking three sacks.

For Masoli, the biggest concern is accuracy (he has a career completion percentage of 45.5 per cent.) While he missed some throws, his six-for-nine (for 43 yards) will be fine if he can maintain it. And don’t forget, he was missing C.J. Gable (one of his incompletions was a catchable ball thrown to running back Michael Ford), and two sure-handed targets in Luke Tasker and Andy Fantuz.

2. Brett Maher looks very solid. Not only was he two-for-two on field goals but his punts were well-placed and his kickoffs were deep. Cody Mandell, meanwhile, looked shaky on the first long field goal attempt and one of his kickoffs was a short line drive that led to long return.

My impression has been that Mandell has the better leg but Maher hit a 67 yarder in warm up and was more than willing to try a 62-yarder during the game, so… He’s definitely got a smoother place kicking stroke and he’s been the more consistent kicker by far.

3. The Argos put together two long drives to open the game against a Ticats defence that featured a number of players that project to be starters. But the absence of linebacker Simoni Lawrence and defensive tackle Ted Laurent – both elite-level guys – is obviously significant.

That said, this defence features a number of new pieces or guys playing in new positions and it may take some time to round in to form.

I’ve also got some concerns about the secondary, where the team is already a little banged up. The injury to Chase Minnifield, who started at the boundary corner on Saturday and was having a great camp, is significant and he may be done for the year.

4. The Ticats are going to have some tough decisions to make a receiver. With Fantuz, Tasker and Chad Owens all sitting out against Toronto, Hamilton got strong performances from Tiquan Underwood (four catches, 82 yards), Kealoha Pilares (four catches on four targets) and spectacular grabs from Canadian Matt Coates and rookie Anthony McClung. Junior Collins had three punt returns for 54 yards (an 18 yard average) and a long of 36.

With the Ticats planning to play two Canadian receivers among their seven national starters, that’s going to limit the number of roster spots available to American guys. Tasker is a lock and Brandon Banks is going to be extra guy. So that means two starting spots between Owens, Underwood, Tolliver, Pilares, Collins and everyone else.

5. Even though it was pre-season game and the stands were less than half full, the atmosphere at BMO Field was still better than most of the Rogers Centre games I’ve been to over the past seven seasons. A couple of players I talked to noticed it, too.

I think the Argos have a lot of work to do to build up a sustainable, long-term fan base and the stadium is only one piece of that puzzle. Putting a good team on the field – and I think the Argos could be very good this year – would certainly help. But there’s a level of optimism around the Double Blue that I haven’t felt in my time covering the league and that’s a good sign.

Some other quick notes: Banks was at the game Saturday and will practice on Monday when the team returns to the field… the team is holding an open house today between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. with tickets available here… up next, the first round of cuts to 65 players plus non-counters which must be done by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. ET