O'Leary: 5 things I'm watching for in the Week 2 finale

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06/16/2024 10:00 AM

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are at home, ready to play in front of their fans for the first time this season and have a healthy Bo Levi Mitchell at quarterback. That’s something that the fans at Tim Hortons Field didn’t see a lot of last season, so there’s plenty of reason for excitement for Sunday night’s game.

The fact that the Saskatchewan Roughriders have made their way to Steeltown as their Week 2 opponents should add a little sizzle to the game. We all know that no fan base in the CFL travels better than Rider Nation. As much as the Black and Gold is beloved in Hamilton, you can expect to see a lot of Green and White sprinkled into the mix as the stadium fills up.

If you were looking for five reasons to be excited about the Week 2 finale, you’ve come to the right place. Check them out below.

AJ Ouellette is fuelled by an almost unhealthy dislike of Hamilton

You see a headline like that and you probably think it’s hyperbole. I am here to tell you that it’s written based on the admittedly limited time I’ve spent around Ouellete in the last year, but I believe it to be true.

Maybe it’s as simple as you can’t be a committed Toronto Argonaut for five seasons and not come away with some disdain for your rivals down the road. Through Ouellette’s career, he’s seen the Ticats go into BMO Field and push them out of a Grey Cup appearance in the 2021 Eastern Final. On the other side of it, he’s been a part of the 2022 Grey Cup-winning squad and last year’s 16-2 team that quite honestly dominated the Ticats in their regular-season series and went 7-1 against them over the last two years.

Ouellette has thrown a touchdown pass against the Ticats and debuted his Thor persona against them; in the same game!

“That whole game was probably the one I remember the most,” he told me in April at the CFL’s content capture in Hamilton. “Just a good little ‘Shut up’ to their fans and to their team.”

With players telling TSN which fan base talked the most trash, Ouellette had some choice words for those in Hamilton (though he does say it’s all love before the clip ends).

He’s in new colours now, but Ouellette’s first big game for the Riders could come on Sunday on some familiar stomping grounds.

Did a week in the lab help the Ticats’ receiver chemistry?

First, the encouraging news: Bo Levi Mitchell looked good in his 2024 debut, dealing certainly with an emotional aspect as well in his first game back at McMahon Stadium since his rights were traded to the Ticats at the end of the 2022 season. Mitchell was 27-38 for 300 yards, a late fourth quarter touchdown and one interception. Were it not for a handful of drops from his receivers — including one would-be TD — we might have been looking at a different game last week. These kinds of hiccups, while unfortunate and costly will come with some new faces in the receiving corps, along with Mitchell only playing in six games last year.

In the early days of the 2024 season, the health issues appear to be with the players catching the ball, not the one throwing it. The Ticats will be without Brendan O’Leary-Orange and Luther Hakunavanhu, as both players have been moved to the six-game injured list. That brings Tyler Ternowski and Dezmon Patmon into the lineup.

The only way to develop that QB-receiver chemistry is to be blessed with health and to maximize the time that Mitchell and his targets get together in practice. Even with some roster movement, that in-game timing should develop as we move along in this season. If it does, the Ticats will be a dangerous offensive team and the wins should start to find them.

Riders’ receiving corps: What else you got?

Shawn Bane Jr. got out to a tremendous start in his 2024 season with a franchise record hat trick of receiving touchdowns in the Riders’ win last week over the Elks. As much as CFL Fantasy users would love for him to duplicate the three TDs and the 125 receiving yards he had (that’s 35.5 points; imagine if you’d made him your captain in Week 1?), it’s not a realistic expectation. Moreover, the Ticats’ defence will be intent on not letting that happen again.

So, in our best Erin Hannon voice, we ask the Riders’ receiving corps: what else you got??

Trevor Harris may have to go to his second, third or fourth read if Bane is bottled up this week. That means there could be plenty of opportunity for Kian Schaffer-Baker, Jerreth Sterns, Samuel Emilus or KeeSean Johnson. It could also mean some short passes with hopes of big gains for our resident Hamilton hater, Ouellette. The Riders had 305 passing yards last week. It’ll be interesting to see just how much Harris might have to spread some of that around this week.

James Butler, meet Jameer Thurman

Butler was an offensive highlight in the Ticats’ Week 1 loss, going for 119 yards on the ground and taking one catch for 12 yards. The Riders come into Sunday’s game with an impressive showing against one of the league’s top running backs, as they held Kevin Brown — who went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark last year — to 23 yards on seven carries. It will be an interesting assignment for Jameer Thurman, who is available to play this week after dealing with a chest issue in practice. After spending the 2023 season in Hamilton, Thurman signed with the Riders as a free agent. He and Butler likely came face-to-face in practice when there was no contact. Sunday will be the opposite, with one of the league’s top linebackers seeing how he can fare against an elite running back that he knows well. Stifling the run game would put more pressure on Mitchell and his Ticat receivers, after they had their share of Week 1 misses.

He’s still Super Mario Alford

If you’re of the mind that the sports clock ticks louder for you after 30, Mario Alford might have some NSFW words for you.

The 32-year-old return specialist had 123 return yards and what would have been a 91-yard return TD wiped out thanks to two holding penalties. That didn’t stop him from being PFF’s top-graded returner last week. Alford returned two kickoffs for 62 yards and five punts for 22 yards, along with a missed field goal that he took back 48 yards.

As Riderville.com’s Rob Vanstone points out, Alford has only played 32 games since he was acquired on July 3, 2022. He’s still the team’s all-time leader in special teams return touchdowns, with seven.

As he settles in under an airborne kickoff or punt, Alford is the type of player that should strike fear into the hearts of opposing fans. There are a select few returners in the CFL that are true game-changing difference makers. Alford will set out this season to make you put him at the top of that list.