Tiger-Cats LB Lawrence excited for Eastern Semi-Final after turbulent season

Simoni Lawrence's season, much like his Hamilton Tiger-Cats' season, has seen highs and lows.

After missing significant time this season for the first time in his decade-long career in the Canadian Football League, Lawrence is excited to be back with his team to face the Montreal Alouettes in Sunday afternoon's Eastern Semi-Final on TSN1 (1 pm ET/11 am PT).

Coming off back-to-back Grey Cup appearances against the Winnipeg Bombers in 2019 and 2021, the Tiger-Cats got off to an uncharacteristic start to their season. They opened the 2022 campaign with four straight losses, though the veteran linebacker said the team was never derailed and kept their sights locked in on their goal.

"It was one of those things where you just have to like keep holding everything in perspective, you know, CFL seasons are super long," the 33-year-old Upper Darby, Pa., native told TSN.

"And, you know, we always talk about just climbing the mountain you know, and there's gonna be so much at first as long as everybody stays together and gives us the opportunity and a chance that we'll always have a shot to get the common goal and get a chance to compete for the Grey Cup."

While the walls of Tim Hortons Field are built with thick concrete, that didn't stop some of the outside noise from creeping in. Fans called for wholesale changes from players to personnel amid an 0-4 start that amplified with a pair of losses at home.

"Obviously, in this business, you never really know because it's a high-performance business where results do better," said Lawrence on if he felt that a drastic move was on the horizon.

"But we always, like, I think we have a great leader and coach O (Orlondo Steinauer), that always just keeps it real with us and tell us what's