2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season

2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season
General manager	Bob O'Billovich
Head coach	Charlie Taaffe Marcel Bellefeuille (Interim)
Home field	Ivor Wynne Stadium
Results
Record	3–15
Division place	4th, East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Team MOP	Chris Thompson
Team MOC	Ray Mariuz
Team MOR	Prechae Rodriguez
Uniform

The 2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 59th overall. The Tiger-Cats attempted to win their ninth Grey Cup championship, but they failed to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, which is the longest playoff drought in franchise history.

Offseason

Jamacia Jackson

Ticats linebacker Jamacia Jackson died on April 16, 2008. Jackson was found unresponsive on Monday morning at a home in Sumter, South Carolina. He was later pronounced dead at a local area hospital. Jamacia was 26 years old. Jackson's stepmother, Cleo Jackson, advised The Associated Press that he was in good health and had lifted weights Saturday. Jackson had played 12 games with the Ticats last season after signing with the club as a free agent Jan. 11, 2007. Jackson spent his college career at the University of South Carolina and played in 43 games over four seasons, including 21 as a starting strong safety. His career stats include 159 career tackles for the Gamecocks along with two interceptions, returning one 98 yards for a touchdown. He also forced three fumbles and recovered two others. Jackson was named Most Valuable Defensive Player of the 1999 Shrine Bowl. Jackson was signed by the NFL's Tennessee Titans on April 29, 2005, and was waived by the Titans on July 27. After being cut by the Titans, he signed with the Montreal Alouettes and was assigned to their practice roster. Before coming to the CFL, he signed with the NFL's New York Giants in 2006 but was allocated to NFL Europe. He was selected in the 16th round by the Berlin Thunder. Despite attending Berlin's training camp, he was released March 5, 2006 and subsequently cut loose by the Giants two weeks later. Jackson is the second Ticats' player to die during a recent off-season. Offensive lineman Travis Claridge died on February 28, 2006, after being found unconscious in his Las Vegas home. Claridge was 27 at the time and his death was later ruled accidental. An autopsy revealed that Jackson died from an irregular heartbeat caused by an enlarged heart. Sumter County coroner Verna Moore stated on Tuesday April 16 that the autopsy revealed Jackson likely had an enlarged heart for years.

Transactions

• December 5, 2007: Bob O'Billovich was hired as the general manager for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The former B.C. Lions player-personnel director took over as general manager of the Ticats with an emphasis on tough, rugged play — especially on defence.
• January 30, 2008: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats re-signed defensive back Lawrence Gordon on Wednesday to a two-year contract.
• January 13, 2008: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced Sunday that Charlie Taaffe will remain the CFL club's head coach despite published reports last week that he was heading to the West Virginia University to become the Mountaineer's offensive co-ordinator.
• February 13, 2008: The Edmonton Eskimos acquired wide receiver Brock Ralph from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Wednesday in exchange for linebacker Michael Botterill and defensive back Chris Thompson.
• February 14, 2008: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats re-signed defensive back Jykine Bradley on Thursday.
• February 14, 2008: The Ticats released defensive back Richard Karikari and offensive lineman Ryan Donnelly.
• April 18, 2008: The Tiger-Cats signed centre Marwan Hage to a contract extension Friday that will keep him with the Ticats through the 2010 season.

CFL draft

In the 2008 CFL Draft, 48 players were chosen from among 752 eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The first two rounds were broadcast on TSN.ca with host Rod Black. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, with the league-worst 3–15 record in the 2007 CFL season had several offers for their first-overall selection but kept their pick and chose Saskatchewan Huskies safety Dylan Barker. Barker, a native of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan is a two-time Canadian Interuniversity Sport first-team all-Canadian. He led the Huskies with 53 tackles, three interceptions, and four breakups last season. It is expected that he will be able to help the Tiger-Cats in the 2008 CFL season.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	1	Dylan Barker	DB	Saskatchewan
3	17	Michael Giffin	RB/FB	Queen's
5	33	Laurent Lavigne Masse	REC	Laval

Preseason

Roster

2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats preseason roster
Quarterbacks   1—Casey Printers, QB   7—Timmy Chang, QB   17—Richie Williams, QB Running backs   0—Kori Dickerson, FB   28—Jesse Lumsden, RB   33—Julian Radlein, FB Wide receivers   15—Jason French, WR   77—Jo Jo Walker, WR   80—Brock Ralph, WR   83—Talman Gardner, WR   88—Jason Armstead, WR		Offensive linemen   53—Cedric Gagne-Marcoux, C   62—Marwan Hage, C   64—Ryan Donnelly, G   66—Pascal Cheron, OL   67—Peter Dyakowski, OL   69—Jonta Woodard, T   52—George Hudson, C Defensive linemen   9—Nautyn McKay-Loescher DL   70—Roger Dunbrack, DT   90—Clinton Wayne, DT   96—J.P. Bekasiak, DL		Linebackers   16—Zeke Moreno, LB   24—Renard Cox, LB   32—JoJuan Armour, LB   38—Matt Robichaud, LB   39—Agustin Barrenchea, LB   44—Ray Mariuz, LB   47—Sasha Glavic, LB Defensive backs   12—Richard Karikari, DB   19—Sandy Beveridge, S   20—Dwight Anderson, DB   21—Sir James Delgardo, DB   22—Phillip Gauthier, DB   27—Michael Roberts, DB   29—Lawrence Gordon, DB   40—Ryan Glasper, DB Special teams   13—Nick Setta, K rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Attendance	Record
A	June 12	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	12–10	Win	15,231	1–0
B	June 19	at Toronto Argonauts	28–21	Win	21,422	2–0

Regular season

The game on September 19 was the first game since the death of former Tiger Cats coach Ron Lancaster. The Ticats wore decals on their helmets for the game with a green number 23. It was Lancaster's number as a player. The stadium stood for a video tribute and a moment of silence before the game began, with his family standing near the sidelines. This was also the Canadian Football Hall of Fame game. This year's inductees included Doug Flutie, Mike (Pinball) Clemons, Mike Pringle, John Bonk and builder Tom Shepherd. The inductees received their jackets and unveiled their bronzed busts during the halftime.

Season standings

East Division
Team	GP	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts
Montreal Alouettes	18	11	7	0	610	443	22	Details
Winnipeg Blue Bombers	18	8	10	0	435	490	16	Details
Toronto Argonauts	18	4	14	0	397	627	8	Details
Hamilton Tiger-Cats	18	3	15	0	441	593	6	Details

Transactions

• September 8: the Tiger-Cats fired Taaffe and replaced him with offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille.
• September 9: Winnipeg acquired middle linebacker Zeke (And Destroy) Moreno and a conditional draft pick from Hamilton for its first-round draft pick in 2009 and the rights to Canadian defensive lineman Corey Mace.

Season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Attendance	Record
1	June 26	Montreal Alouettes	33–10	Loss	20,589	0–1
2	July 3	at Toronto Argonauts	32–13	Win	30,822	1–1
3	July 12	Saskatchewan Roughriders	33–28	Loss	20,874	1–2
4	July 17	at Calgary Stampeders	43–16	Loss	31,116	1–3
5	July 24	Edmonton Eskimos	19–13	Loss	21,402	1–4
6	July 31	at Montreal Alouettes	40–33	Loss	20,202	1–5
7	Aug 7	Toronto Argonauts	45–21	Win	19,423	2–5
8	Aug 14	at Winnipeg Blue Bombers	37–24	Loss	25,484	2–6
9	Bye
10	Sept 1	Toronto Argonauts	34–31	Loss	25,911	2–7
11	Sept 6	BC Lions	35–12	Loss	18,723	2–8
12	Sept 13	at Edmonton Eskimos	38–33	Loss	37,500	2–9
13	Sept 19	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	25–23	Loss	19,102	2–10
14	Sept 27	at BC Lions	40–10	Loss	31,161	2–11
15	Oct 4	Montreal Alouettes	44–36	Win	20,423	3–11
16	Oct 13	at Montreal Alouettes	42–11	Loss	20,202	3–12
17	Oct 19	at Saskatchewan Roughriders	30–29	Loss	30,945	3–13
18	Oct 24	Calgary Stampeders	28–17	Loss	20,614	3–14
19	Nov 1	at Winnipeg Blue Bombers	44–30	Loss	24,595	3–15

Ron Lancaster

On Thursday, September 18, Ron Lancaster, 69, died from an apparent heart attack, less than two months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Lancaster resigned as the Eskimos' head coach after the 1997 season to become the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' head coach and director of football operations. The Tiger-Cats reached the Grey Cup in their first season under Lancaster and won the title the following year. The Tiger-Cats were coached by Lancaster from 1998 to 2003, and again in 2006. The two-time CFL coach-of-the-year won 142 regular-season games on the sideline, placing him fourth all-time.

Roster

As of Week 1

2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats roster
Quarterbacks   1-Casey Printers, QB   12-Quinton Porter, QB   17—Richie Williams, QB Running backs   0-Kori Dickerson, FB   23-John Williams, RB   28—Jesse Lumsden, RB   30-Terry Caulley, RB   32-Tre Smith, RB   34-Jeff Piercy, FB   49-Robert Pavlovic, FB Wide receivers   2-Tony Miles, WR   5-Pat Woodcock, WR   15—Jason French, WR   35-Mike Maciejewski, WR   77—Jo Jo Walker, WR   83—Eddie Cohen, WR   89-Scott Mitchell, WR   87—Chris Bauman, WR		Offensive linemen   52-George Hudson, OL   53—Cedric Gagne-Marcoux, C   60-Marko Cavka, OL   62—Marwan Hage, C   65—Charles Thomas, OL   67—Peter Dyakowski, OL   69—Jonta Woodard, T Defensive linemen   0—Kori Dickerson, DE   9—Nautyn McKay-Loescher, DL   55-Charlton Keith, DE   90—Clinton Wayne, DT   91-Dominic Lewis, DL   97-Darrell Adams, DT		Linebackers   16—Zeke Moreno, LB   38—Matt Robichaud, LB   44—Ray Mariuz, LB   51—Jordan Matechuk, LB   54-Michael Botterill, LB Defensive backs   4-Jermaine Mays, DB   8-Ryan Glasper, DB   18-Rontarius Robinson, DB   19—Sandy Beveridge, S   24—Jason Nedd, DB   25-Markeith Knowlton, DB   26-Chris Thompson, DB   27—Michael Roberts, DB   29—Lawrence Gordon, DB   31-Jykine Bradley, DB   41-Nick Kordic, DB   47—Sasha Glavic, DB Special teams   13—Nick Setta, K Injured roster   7—Timmy Chang, QB   20-Dylan Barker, S   52—Roger Dunbrack, DT   68—J.P. Bekasiak, OL   95-Marcus Thomas, DT   99-Jermaine Reid, DE Practice squad   3-Geoff Tisdale, DB   25—Shannon Fitzhugh, DB   37-Bo Smith, DB   40—Cameron Siskowic, OL   61—Jordan Rempel, LB   63—Gerald Davis, OL   85-Prechae Rodriguez, WR   86-Laurent Lavigne-Masse, WR rookies in italics

Statistics

= Indicates team leader

Offence

Passing

Player	Att	Comp	%	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Casey Printers	223	124	55.6	1693	5	10	68.8
Quinton Porter	177	118	66.7	1496	10	4	102.3
Richie Williams	100	60	60.0	984	3	5	82.3
Adam Tafralis	39	20	51.3	268	3	1	88.4
Nicholas Setta	2	2	100.0	33	0	0	154.2

Rushing

Despite leading the team in rushing yards, Jesse Lumsden was plagued by several injuries. On July 12, in a game against Saskatchewan, stretched knee ligaments sidelined him. Against Montreal on July 31, a tackler fell on his right ankle and injured him. In a game against Edmonton, played on September 13, Lumsden injured his surgically repaired shoulder.

Player	Att	Yards	Avg.	TD	Fumbles
Jesse Lumsden	87	584	6.7	5	1
Terry Caulley	66	448	6.8	6	0
Tre Smith	65	430	6.6	2	6
Casey Printers	48	386	8.0	6	7
Richie Williams	43	307	7.1	2	2
Kenton Keith	58	204	3.5	0	0
Quinton Porter	33	203	6.2	1	7
Jeff Piercy	14	48	3.4	0	0
John Williams	5	29	5.8	0	0

Receiving

Player	Receptions	Yards	Touchdowns
Scott Mitchell	24	463	0
Pat Woodcock	15	304	0
Jesse Lumsden	5	504	0
Chad Rempel	1	15	0

Defence

Player	Tackles	Sacks	Interceptions	Fumbles	Touchdowns
Markeith Knowlton	14	0	0	0	0
Nautyn McKay-Loescher	0	1	0	0	0
Zeke Moreno	7	0	0	0	0

Awards and records

• Markeith Knowlton, CFL Eastern All-Star, Defence
• Nick Setta, CFL Eastern All-Star, Special Teams
• Chris Thompson, CFL Eastern All-Star, Defence