Bit of a busy day yesterday so I didn't manage an update from practice. I've got a story on what's likely the biggest change - Dave Stala returning from injury – but there are a few more worth noting.

C.J. Gable will start at running back (Steve's got that covered in a column about the woeful running game below) and Onrea Jones returns to the starting line up at receiver.

Jones and Stala should be upgrade over Justin Hilton (who was released yesterday) and Glenn MacKay, both of whom were thrown into starting roles last week with little practice time - neither guy was on the roster nine days before the Saskatchewan game.

On defence, Nate Bussey is going to start at the WILL linebacker spot in place of the released Markeith Knowlton. I thought it was going to be Simoni Lawrence, who practiced there day one, but he re-aggravated an injury and didn't practice yesterday. I think Rico Murray will start at the SAM while newly acquiired Brandon Isaac will be on the roster and will play special teams and perhaps some situational defence.

The secondary, with an injury to halfback Evan McCoullogh is shuffled again. Emmanuel Davis, signed this week after being cut in training camp, will start at field corner with Arthur Hobbs at halfback, Courtney Stephen at safety (Erik Harris is still hurt) Raymond Brown at the short half along with Delvin Breaux.

Luca Congi will be the kicker after Brody McKnight started last week. I asked Austin as to why they decided to go with Congi after McKnight attempted just one, 53-yard field that was negated by a penalty (he missed) - it wasn't much of a tryout: “Because we decided to go with Luca this week,” Austin said. OK, then.

I think Ryan Hinds gets back in the line up as a back up defensive back and special teams guy, likely at the expense of Matt Bucknor.

OK, here are the stories.

Return of Sticky Stala gives the Ticats a veteran boost

By Drew Edwards

Dave Stala knows things. He knows where the soft underbelly of the defence is, the exact location of the first-down marker, when it's time to raise his game. And so, with the Ticats at 1-3 and coming off a bad loss against a team they face again this week, Dave Stala knows they could use a little, well, Dave Stala.

And so the 33-year-old will be taken off the nine-game injured list and inserted into the lineup Saturday against the Saskatchewan Roughriders less than five weeks after having surgery on his knee to repair a partially torn meniscus and clear out some bits and pieces of loose cartilage - wear and tear that comes from making a living in football. With the team missing Canadian Andy Fantuz and without an American receiver with more than two years of CFL experience, Stala should provide some instant stability.

"I don't think I'm hurrying back, but I want to get on the field as soon as possible, " Stala said.

"I definitely believe I can help the team win football games."

The insertion of Stala into the lineup is only one of several anticipated changes for the back half of the home-and-home set against Saskatchewan that saw the Ticats lose the opener, 37-0.

The offence will see the return of running back C.J. Gable and receiver Onrea Jones while the defensive overhaul includes linebacker Nate Bussey on the weak side and recently signed Emmanuel Davis at the corner.

Kicker Luca Congi, who was benched last week after hitting just six of his first 10 field goals to start the season, will return to the lineup to face his former team.

Despite the return of several players, the injury news isn't all good. The Ticats will be without halfback Evan McCullough, their steadiest defensive back this season, and Fantuz has been slow to recover from a hamstring injury suffered after Week 1 - much to the chagrin of coach Kent Austin.

We expected him back two games ago, but we don't want to rush it either - we need him for the rest of the year, " Austin said. "The teams that win the Grey Cup are the ones that get into the playoffs healthiest and playing the best football. It doesn't matter where you finish."

At 33, Stala can't be expected to replicate Fantuz's production. However, Austin says Stala should help, both on and off the field.

"Dave is smart, he has a veteran presence, he's played a lot of football and he has a calming influence on the young guys, which we need right now, " Austin said.

"His strength is understanding defences and knowing where to sit."

Given that it's still early in the season and the rest of the East Division is struggling, as well, Stala says there's no reason to panic about the team's tough start. Still, he's been around long enough to know the importance of this game.

"Saskatchewan is the best team in the league right now, " he said. "It would be a big momentum swing if we could beat them this week."

XXX

Ticats need more success over land

By Steve Milton

Statistics can lie like a Canadian shopper on the Peace Bridge but the numbers that describe the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' running game scream this loud truth.

"Not good enough."

And that's an understatement. The Cats rank last in the CFL in rushing, averaging just 65.2 yards per game, and too many of those by Henry Burris.

The team they're playing this weekend, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, stands first with more than double Hamilton's rushing total, at 168.8 running yards per outing.

That's the better part of a football field difference. Per game. What's that distance worth at face value? A field goal? A touchdown? More?

And what's it worth in the more subtle realm of ball control and time consumption? The more often you run - the Riders' 112 rushes are more than double the Cats' 54 - and run successfully, the longer your defence stays off the field and woo-boy do the Cats' need some of that. And the more clock you can eat, if you're late in the game with a lead.

Part of the minuscule rushing total relates to the fact Henry Burris has one heckuva an arm and is coming off his best statistical passing year. Part is that the Cats have trailed a couple of times, so haven't rushed late in some games (while the Riders have led and used the overland route to keep the lead and the ball). Part is that the offensive line has been inconsistent, both in personnel alignment and in blocking assignments. Part is that C.J. Gable, the most all-purpose back of the three runners on the roster, has been out for two games.

But Gable is back this weekend and will probably start, with Lindsey Lamar also likely to get reps. Lamar, the punt returner, has the speed to go down field as a receiver, too. Last year's tailback, Chevon Walker, played the past couple of games but his eight rushes produced only 16 yards and he isn't the pass blocker that Gable is.

"C.J. was our starting tailback to start the season, " Austin says. "We feel like he's a complete back: protection; running; and also being a receiver but he hasn't played for a bit."

In other words, expect Lamar to see a good chunk of action, too. He's a scatback type with breakaway speed and can get outside to turn the corner. Assuming, of course, the blocking is there.

Depending upon how they assemble the 42-man game roster, Lamar doesn't have to replace Gable. They can both be in the backfield at the same time, and were for some series before Gable was hurt.

"How can you stop both of us?" says Gable with the self-confidence that is unique to running backs, even soft-spoken ones. "You've got to have two really good linebackers to go against us. You can't key on anybody."

In four games, the running backs - Walker, Lamar and Gable - have combined for a mere 31 rushes and just 125 yards. That's only two yards more than Burris has managed himself. Kory Sheets of the Riders averages more than that per game and Calgary's Jon Cornish is close.

Burris ranks ninth in the league with his 123 yards, with quarterbacks also holding down the two spots above him. But the top six are all tailbacks and there's nary a Ticat within sniffing distance. Since this is a team that should be building off of Burris's mobility and a healthy running game to activate the kind of play-action series that freeze defences momentarily, the lack of a running game is punching holes in the larger offensive picture.

Last game, the Cats used receiver Sam Giguère on a couple of running plays that resembled end-arounds, hoping to spread the run defence a little more. They had limited impact, but at least it was a response to the lack of success up the middle and off-tackle.

The return of Gable should help in a number of ways. He's an all-purpose back who can pound, cuts nicely and blocks very well. And he can swing out of the backfield for a pass or sell the screen well, exactly because he isn't just a token pass blocker. And, as he says, a defender has to have a lot of eyes to monitor the speed of Lamar and the power of Gable.

But that's all potential. It hasn't really worked outside of the opening game, when the Cats rushed for 103 yards against Toronto. Since then, it's been like running into a brick wall, with the lowlight being just 66 yards rushing in the home opener against Edmonton. The teams played in a typhoon, and a slippery track always calls for an elevated running game. Only one team's offence answered, though. The Esks rushed for 166 yards.

And that's the other problem with the Cats' lack of a running game: The other teams have one, at least when they play the Cats. Three times, the Cats have surrendered running touchdowns of 70 yards or more - the longest two Cats' runs this season are a 16-yarder by Lamar and 15 from Burris - and the Hamilton defence trails the league in rushing yards surrendered.

So it's imperative the Cats counter with a good running game - which, of course, enhances the passing game.

"It's easy to throw two passes and, bam, you're out, " says Gable. "But, if we get the running game going, we can keep the defence off the field. We can probably get five yards on first down and then get five on second. Just because we get stopped once, doesn't mean you should stop. You can make the other defence tired, too. All we have to do is keep pounding at it, keep going, keep going, and not run away from it if we're not successful. It will open up. I think we'll be fine, I think that's what we'll do, and it'll work out."

It better. It's supposed to rain again Saturday.