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Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive line coach Dennis McPhee has brought a heavy dose of the sweet science to the football field this season, using the words of boxers like Muhammad Ali, George Chuvalo and Mike Tyson to stress the importance of preparation and determination to his players.

If the first two weeks of the regular season are any indication, the message is getting through loud and clear.

It's early, but Hamilton's defensive line grades out among the best in the Canadian Football League. The Ticats top the CFL in quarterback sacks, with six, and are allowing the second fewest average rush yards against per game (74.5). The unit's ability to influence an opposing quarterback's timing and release with a consistent pass rush has also resulted in a league-leading six interceptions.

The skill set needed to bring that kind of pressure every week was taught by McPhee during fire-and-brimstone sessions in training camp.

"It's a science and you have to learn that science," McPhee said. "People used to say playing defensive line is taking two steps and throwing a fit. It's not like that anymore. It's refined, like a martial art with a special combination of skills required."

McPhee has his charges finding ways to pressure the quarterback while staying focused on the run game; not abandoning their responsibilities in hopes of tallying a sack. That discipline to get after the quarterback while respecting scheme comes directly from the boxing mentality, according to McPhee.

"Boxers always finish with a hook. You know jab, jab, jab, straight, then a hook," he said. "It's the same thing working a pass rush because when a boxer knocks somebody out it's after hours and hours, months and months of putting his hands together in a gym so that combination isn't thought of, it's a muscle reflex. That's where we have to get to in pass rushing.

"You have to feel it, counter it, slip it and be in condition to get off the ball, because, in our estimation, most sacks come late in the second and fourth quarters when you've worn your opponent down."

Getting to the quarterback consistently is also allowing Hamilton's defensive backs to take more risks, and the rewards are tangible.

On top of the interceptions, Hamilton has only allowed a single touchdown pass this season. The Tiger-Cats intercepted 2014 Grey Cup MVP Bo Levi Mitchell of the Calgary Stampeders three times during an impressive performance in Week 1, only to watch a 50-yard field goal split the uprights for the Calgary win as time expired.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Hamilton's pressure defence is that no player - lineman or otherwise - has more than one of their league-leading six sacks. In fact, half the quarterback pressures thus far have come from members of the secondary. Interior lineman are winning the battle in the trenches, pushing and compressing the pocket to create discomfort for opposing signal callers before they or one their teammates hit quarterback pay-dirt.

Allowing a minuscule 74.5 rushing yards a game becomes an even more impressive stat after considering the level of talent Hamilton has faced in the first two weeks.

Stampeders' running back Jon Cornish, who averaged 120 rushing yards a game last season, was held to 70 on 13 carries in Week 1. A week after Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Paris Cotton ran for 108 yards against Saskatchewan, the Tiger-Cats held him to just 46.

For McPhee, the early success is the result of an attitude and focus developed on the practice field.

"Familiarity breeds contempt," he said. "You see each other every day like a sparring partner. You have to come off your stool for three minutes, for three rounds in an amateur fight. If you can't get off your stool for three minutes and keep your mind focused you'll get knocked out."

In the early stages of the 2015 season, the Tiger-Cats defence has fought nearly a perfect fight, but this is an 18-round bout and anything can happen, both in boxing and football.