Toronto Argonauts: Pressure Now on Logan Kilgore
With Ricky Ray out of action for the next three to six weeks, the pressure now falls on the shoulders of the Toronto Argonauts’ young quarterback, Logan Kilgore.
The Toronto Argonauts have been in this situation before – starting QB Ricky Ray goes down with an injury and it is up to his backup to keep the team steady in his absence. In the past, it was Zach Collaros and Trevor Harris who stepped up and made a name for themselves.
Now, it is Logan Kilgore’s turn to do the same thing, with his first test coming Sunday against the Ottawa Redblacks. The 26-year old was drafted by the New Orleans Saints back in 2014.
Kilgore has a strong arm and can get the football out quickly. However, with limited experience at the CFL level, it will be interesting to see if he can do enough to keep the Argonauts in contention, during Ray’s absence.
More from Tip of the Tower
- Cam Phillips making his mark on Toronto Argonauts offence
- Toronto Argonauts: 4 storylines ahead of matchup against Redblacks
- Federico Bernardeschi ready for new challenge with Toronto FC
- Toronto Argonauts overcome Roughriders in entertaining Touchdown Atlantic
- Buffalo Bills: Von Miller drawing inspiration from Bruce Smith
What will be vital to Kilgore and the Argos moving forward, is playing mistake-free football, something easier said than done. On defence, coordinator Rich Stubler must hope his unit can create more turnovers and minimize on the big plays given up.
Special teams have also been a problem for the Argonauts, especially their return coverage. If that doesn’t get fixed, it will be tough to expect Kilgore to bail them out continually, as he has likely not been with the team long enough to step in and perform like Collaros and Harris did.
Receiver Kenny Shaw has emerged as a deadly target for the Double Blue, with Kevin Elliott and Tori Gurley dealing with injuries. Shaw had a spectacular catch in Monday’s win over Montreal, but it does not get any easier, with a new quarterback to get familiar with.
Argonauts general manager Jim Barker told CFL.com a couple of weeks ago that he has faith in his young quarterback: “We feel like Logan is ready now – that, if he is called upon, he can go in and he’ll perform at a high level.”
Speaking with the Toronto Star, Kilgore mentioned he has been trying to learn as much as possible from Ray: “It’s not a secret why guys like Ricky Ray are successful – it’s because they have a philosophy. He rarely comes off the field and says, ‘I had no idea what I saw there.’
Next: Ricky Ray set to miss a month of action
The Rocklin, California native continued: “He always has a very specific thing he saw and why he threw the ball a certain way.” With the Argos playing three of their next four games at BMO Field, they have to capitalize on home field advantage and hope they have another great young quarterback developing in Kilgore.