2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season
General managerBob O'Billovich
Head coachCharlie Taaffe
Marcel Bellefeuille (Interim)
Home fieldIvor Wynne Stadium
Results
Record3–15
Division place4th, East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Team MOPChris Thompson
Team MOCRay Mariuz
Team MORPrechae 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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[2] 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.[2] 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.[4]

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.[5]
  • January 30, 2008: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats re-signed defensive back Lawrence Gordon on Wednesday to a two-year contract.[6]
  • 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.[7]
  • 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.[8]
  • February 14, 2008: The Hamilton Tiger-Cats re-signed defensive back Jykine Bradley on Thursday.[9]
  • February 14, 2008: The Ticats released defensive back Richard Karikari and offensive lineman Ryan Donnelly.[9]
  • 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.[10]

CFL draft

In the 2008 CFL Draft, 48 players were chosen from among 752 eligible players[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team
11Dylan BarkerDBSaskatchewan
317Michael GiffinRB/FBQueen's
533Laurent Lavigne MasseRECLaval

Preseason

Roster

2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats preseason roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Score Result Attendance Record
A June 12 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 12–10 Win [14] 15,231 1–0
B June 19 at Toronto Argonauts 28–21 Win [14] 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.[15] 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.[15]

Season standings

East Division
Team GP W L T PF PA Pts
Montreal Alouettes18117061044322Details
Winnipeg Blue Bombers18810043549016Details
Toronto Argonauts1841403976278Details
Hamilton Tiger-Cats1831504415936Details

Transactions

  • September 8: the Tiger-Cats fired Taaffe and replaced him with offensive co-ordinator Marcel Bellefeuille.[16]
  • 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.[17]

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.[18] 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.[19] 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 [20]

2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Injured roster

Practice squad

rookies in italics

Statistics

= Indicates team leader

Offence

Passing

Player Att Comp  % Yards TD INT Rating
Casey Printers22312455.6169351068.8
Quinton Porter17711866.71496104102.3
Richie Williams1006060.09843582.3
Adam Tafralis392051.32683188.4
Nicholas Setta22100.03300154.2

[21]

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 Lumsden875846.751
Terry Caulley664486.860
Tre Smith654306.626
Casey Printers483868.067
Richie Williams433077.122
Kenton Keith582043.500
Quinton Porter332036.217
Jeff Piercy14483.400
John Williams5295.800

[22]

Receiving

Player Receptions Yards Touchdowns
Scott Mitchell[23] 24 463 0
Pat Woodcock[24] 15 304 0
Jesse Lumsden[25] 5 504 0
Chad Rempel[26] 1 15 0

Defence

Player Tackles Sacks Interceptions Fumbles Touchdowns
Markeith Knowlton[27] 14 0 0 0 0
Nautyn McKay-Loescher[28] 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

[29]

References

  1. ↑ Hamilton Tiger-Cats :: Official Site of the Tiger-Cats
  2. 1 2 3 4 TheSpec.com – Sports – Ticat Jamacia Jackson, 26, found dead this morning
  3. ↑ Jamacia Jackson, SS, South Carolina – 2005 NFL Draft Scout Profile, Powered by The SportsXchange Archived September 30, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ globesports.com: Coroner: Jamacia Jackson had irregular heartbeat
  5. ↑ CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Hamilton: New GM for Hamilton Archived November 7, 2007, at archive.today
  6. ↑ CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Hamilton: Ticats re-sign Gordon
  7. ↑ CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Hamilton: Ticats to issue statement regarding future of head coach Taaffe
  8. ↑ CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Hamilton: Eskimos acquire receiver Ralph from Ticats for Botterill and Thompson Archived February 17, 2008, at archive.today
  9. 1 2 CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Hamilton: Hamilton Tiger-Cats re-sign defensive back Jykin Bradley to new contract
  10. ↑ CANOE – SLAM! Sports – CFL – Hamilton: Cats sign Hage to extension
  11. ↑ "Draft List for Year 2008" (PDF). Canadian Football League. 2008-01-28. Retrieved 6 May 2008.
  12. ↑ "Ticats select Saskatchewan safety Dylan Barker first overall in CFL draft". Canadian Press. 2008-04-30. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  13. ↑ Bray, Jim (2008-04-30). "CFL: Ticats take safety Barker No. 1". National Post. Retrieved 2008-04-30.
  14. 1 2 CFL.ca Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine
  15. 1 2 "CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - CFL - CFL Games: Blue Bombers defeat Tiger-Cats: 25-23". Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  16. ↑ http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gzG5psvoULlVPfsDzT0c5RGryAuQ%5B%5D
  17. ↑ http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/CFL/Winnipeg/2008/09/10/6722231-sun.html
  18. ↑ "CFL fans remember Ron Lancaster". CBC News. September 19, 2008. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  19. ↑ "CFL legend Ron Lancaster dies at 69". Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
  20. ↑ Hamilton Tiger-Cats :: Official Site of the Tiger-Cats
  21. ↑ "CFL.ca". Archived from the original on 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  22. ↑ "Rushing 2008 | Statistics | CFL.ca | Official Site of the Canadian Football League". Archived from the original on 2015-10-22. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  23. ↑ http://www.ticats.ca/roster/show/id/1615%5B%5D
  24. ↑ Hamilton Tiger-Cats :: Official Site of the Tiger-Cats
  25. ↑ Hamilton Tiger-Cats :: Official Site of the Tiger-Cats
  26. ↑ "Hamilton Tiger-Cats :: Official Site of the Tiger-Cats ::". www.ticats.ca. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  27. ↑ Hamilton Tiger-Cats :: Official Site of the Tiger-Cats
  28. ↑ Hamilton Tiger-Cats :: Official Site of the Tiger-Cats
  29. ↑ "CFL.ca - 2008 East & West Division All-Stars". Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
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