As a team that really fell on some hard times during the 2000s and hasn\u2019t won the Grey Cup since 1999, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have potential to be a nice redemption story in 2011. They quietly started last season 1-4 before rallying to go 8-5 over their final 13 games. <\/p>\n
2010 record: 9-9<\/strong> The potential for growth in Hamilton seemed high at the end of 2010 and some new faces could take the Ti-Cats to a new level this season.<\/p>\n It\u2019s nice to see some stability under center in Steeltown Canada right now. Kevin Glenn, fresh off a contract extension, was second in the CFL with 5,102 passing yards and set a career high with 33 touchdown passes. Glenn\u2019s top target this season should be Dave Stala, who went over 1,000 yards last season. He could be relied upon even more this year now that Hamilton let Chris Bauman walk. The former first-rounder wanted a big raise and the Ti-Cats didn\u2019t think he was worth it.<\/p>\n To compensate for a possible downgrade in Glenn\u2019s receiving corps, Hamilton pulled a major move in the backfield this offseason. It released DeAndra Cobb and made a big free-agent splash by luring Avon Cobourne away from the champion Montreal Alouettes. His style is more bulldozing than Cobb\u2019s and he\u2019s a better pass protector. He\u2019s also a great pass-catcher; he\u2019s had 950-plus rushing yards in three straight seasons but he\u2019s also caught 56 or more passes in each of those campaigns.<\/p>\n On paper, Hamilton\u2019s defense was a disaster last season. It ranked dead last in total yards allowed and in pass defense. But the rankings were a bit deceiving, as Hamilton improved throughout the season. [ad-4437448]<\/p>\n The big catalyst was Stevie Baggs, who joined the team as a free agent last September. He had five sacks in seven games. He had 12 with Saskatchewan last year so that may not have been a fluke. Many people around the Tiger-Cats camp feel that Baggs has emerged as the emotional leader of this defense.<\/p>\n Baggs should have some help, too. They plucked two more guys from the Roughriders\u2019 defense: middle linebacker Renaud Williams and defensive back Daniel Francis. They also have another rising star at rush end in Justin Hickman. He\u2019s had seven sacks in each of his first two seasons and should keep getting better.<\/p>\n Things are finally looking up in Hamilton. The Ti-Cats offense was above-average last season and Cobourne should only make it better. Their defense isn\u2019t championship-caliber yet but, on paper, it looks improved from last season\u2019s group.<\/p>\n Hamilton seems a virtual lock to at least match last year\u2019s nine-wins. Take the same team that went 8-5 down the stretch, add one of the league\u2019s better running backs and tinker with its defense and you have a team that looks like it\u2019s on the rise.<\/p>\n I\u2019d expect Hamilton to be a 10-win team this season. If a few things break their way and Montreal\u2019s question marks come back to bite them, it wouldn\u2019t be unfathomable to see the Ti-Cats win the East.<\/p>\n
\nATS: 10-8<\/strong><\/p>\nTiger-Cats 2011 Outlook<\/h3>\n