Toronto Argonauts look to get back on track in home opener
After a not-so-ideal start to the 2018 season, the Toronto Argonauts will look to get back on track against the Calgary Stampeders.
The Toronto Argonauts won’t take the field during the Grey Cup banner-raising ceremony ahead of their game against the Calgary Stampeders.
Marc Trestman explained that the team already had their opportunity to celebrate their accomplishment when they received their rings during the offseason. Instead, he wants his team to focus on the task at hand which will be the Stampeders looking avenge last year’s loss in Ottawa.
Calgary didn’t necessarily look like their dominant self against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats but still managed to get the victory. The Argos know that Bo Levi Mitchell will bring his A game which he has done throughout his career against Toronto.
He’s as good as any individual player in this league, bar none,’’ said Trestman on Friday.
The Argos know that they will have their hands full but also need to worry about themselves especially on the offensive side of the ball. Against Saskatchewan, the team could not find a rhythm until the fourth quarter which cannot happen against Calgary.
“We had a good plan and we just didn’t handle the plan very well early,’’ said Trestman to the Toronto Sun on Monday. “It starts with me and it works it way throughout the entire offensive group. It got our attention. We’re going to get better, but we showed signs we can be a good team.
“In the second half we played much better, a lot of positives in the second half. Overall, certainly not the standard we want to have.”
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One thing to keep note is that Week 1 was the first time the starters saw the field in a game which is tough to compare to practice.
James Wilder Jr. told me earlier this week that it was the first time that he had to break off tackles so there was some rust that he had to shake off.
Ths offensive line will have to be better as well as Ricky Ray struggled to find time to go through his reads and rushed plays because of the lack of time to get the ball out.
A big change coming on the defensive side of the ball is Abdul Kanneh making his debut for the Argos. He was acquired from the TiCats earlier this month but was not ready to get the start against the Roughriders.
Quadarius Ford was seen in a sling at practice after suffering an injury in the season opener. Kanneh was just handed Ford’s spot in the starting lineup as rookie Trumaine Washington gave him some tough competition as the Canadian Press reported.
Trestman pointed to Kanneh’s experience as a deciding factor but it wasn’t the only reason for his decision.
“He’s played in Grey Cups, he’s played against Calgary for a number of years so certainly that was part of the decision process,” Trestman told reporters on Friday. “It wasn’t the whole part because we’ve got a guy like Trumaine who’s been with us the entire training camp.
“But (Kanneh) has picked it up quickly. He’s a great communicator out there and we’re excited to see him play and are happy to have him.”
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The Argos are going to need their experienced players to step up if they want to beat the Stampeders even if it’s not the same group as past years.