Once again, Otis Floyd is left to ponder his CFL future following another disappointing playoff exit.
The 11-year veteran saw his best CFL season come to a resounding halt Sunday when the Toronto Argonauts upset the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 16-13 in the East Division semi-final. The Ticats hurt themselves by committing five turnovers after turning the ball over a combined five times in the three previous regular-season wins over their archrivals.
But while Floyd must deal with the bitter disappointment of the loss - the second straight year the Ticats were ousted in the opening playoff round - there's also the question of whether he'll get another chance to chase a third Grey Cup title (2001 with Calgary, '06 with B.C.).
Floyd went through a similar process last year when he was entering potential free agency but ultimately re-signed with Hamilton. While he remains under contract through the 2011 season, the reality is that at age 34, the six-foot-two, 238-pound Floyd is on the downside of a solid career and with each passing year moves a step closer to possibly being replaced by a younger, cheaper player.
"For a guy my age who has been playing this long when you lose like this you never know if you're going to get back on that field so it hurts a little bit more," a downcast Floyd said following Sunday's loss. "The hour glass is on the other end for me.
"I just take it day by day and see what happens. Hopefully they can watch the film and evaluate me for the whole year and take it from there."
The Detroit native showed no signs of slowing down this year. He registered a career-high 83 tackles this season - second on the team behind Jamall Johnson (101). He added four sacks and three fumble recoveries, but more importantly was the heart and soul of an unrelenting Hamilton defence.
Ticats GM Bob O'Billovich certainly has some re-evaluating to do of his team.
Hamilton posted a 9-9 record to finish second in the East Division for the second straight year. But much more was expected of the Ticats in 2010 after the club served notice in '09 that it was a franchise on the rise after finishing last in the conference four straight years (2005-'08).
Consider that Hamilton earned six of its wins this year over Toronto (3-0) and Winnipeg (3-1) and it's easy to conclude the Ticats underachieved in 2010. To be fair, the cupboard isn't bare for the Ticats either.
Ten-year veteran Kevin Glenn was just one of two CFL quarterbacks to throw for 5,000 yards this season and at age 31 would appear to be at or near his peak. Receiver Arland Bruce III turns 33 later this month but like Floyd, isn't showing any signs of slowing down after registering 86 catches for 1,303 yards and eight TD grabs.
Slotback Dave Stala, 31, an eight-year veteran, enjoyed a banner campaign. Stala, a native of Poland who grew up in Hamilton, had a career-high 85 catches for 1,015 yards and six TDs in being named the East Division's top Canadian.
Centre Marwan Hage, the East nominee for top lineman, anchors a solid offensive line that surrendered a league-low 28 sacks while the mid-season signing of free-agent defensive end Stevie Baggs only enhanced an already decent pass rush that was tied for second in sacks with 46. Floyd combined with Markeith Knowlton (East nominee as top defensive player) and Jamall Johnson to form one of the CFL's top linebacking corps.
Hamilton showed a vulnerability against the pass this season, giving up a league-high 302.4 yards per game. Toronto starter Cleo Lemon completed 22-of-29 passes versus the Ticats, but for just 134 yards and an interception.
Head coach Marcel Bellefeuille, who completed his second full season on Hamilton's sidelines, admitted afterwards more was expected from this year's team.
"I'm sure there will be a few more months to answer that question," he said. "But that's the reality, that's what it is in pro sports.
"You have to win in the playoffs and we didn't."
Baggs, who registered five sacks, an interception and three fumble recovers (taking two for TDs), said Hamilton's seemingly bright future was the determining factor in his decision to sign with the Ticats in September after being released by the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.
"That's one of the reasons why during free agency I wanted to come here because I felt this team has that type of momentum," he said. "I've said after each of our losses that champions are made due to setbacks.
"This is a huge setback for us, now we have to regroup in the off-season and see what the administration does and who they're going to bring in and what we're going to do to get better as a team."
The six-foot-two, 240-pound Baggs expects to be better in 2011 having a full training camp with Hamilton under his belt.
"No question, I'm looking forward to improve," he said. "I have so many weaknesses in my game that I need to do better, individually and collectively as a teammate and I'm going to work on that diligently to be the best player I can be."
Baggs, a five-year veteran, said one of Hamilton's strength this year was team unity and players genuinely liking one another. It's a quality he expects will result in the Ticats playing better on the field in the future.
"You can't deny what we have here," he said. "The type of camaraderie here is what is the most contagious thing to me.
"We do things off the field together, it's not just about football. We know one another individually and personally and that makes a difference when you're playing."
Meanwhile in Vancouver, head coach-GM Wally Buono will have the entire off-season to evaluate the Lions' roller-coaster campaign.
Like the Ticats, the Lions took Monday off and planned to clean out their lockers Tuesday.
B.C. opened the season by losing seven of their first eight games before rallying to win seven of their final 10 to edge out the Edmonton Eskimos for the third and final West Division playoff spot.
And although B.C.'s season ended with a 41-38 overtime loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, quarterback Travis Lulay only further established himself as the Lions' starter. Lulay finished 28-of-49 passing for 357 yards and two touchdowns, including a 29-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Emmanuel Arceneaux that forced overtime.
Lulay did a nice job of distributing the ball, hitting seven different receivers. Arceneaux was his favourite target with five catches for 80 yards.
Veteran defensive lineman Jonathan Brown proved to be a fine mid-season acquisition. The former Toronto Argonaut had five tackles and a sack versus Saskatchewan but it was Keron Williams who was a real force up front with four tackles and three sacks.