Toronto Argonauts: Time for James Franklin to show his value at quarterback
Despite the Toronto Argonauts being eliminated from the playoffs, they still have something to prove as the season comes to an end like quarterback James Franklin.
To say it’s been a disappointing season for the Toronto Argonauts would be an understatement especially coming off an improbable run to the Grey Cup beating the Calgary Stampeders.
With four games left in the season, there’s still something to play individually since the team will make this an early audition and that starts at the quarterback position. As of right, there’s no telling what Ricky Ray will do after this season but considering the injury he suffered, it would be tough to see him come back.
This is why Jim Popp went out and traded for James Franklin, he was supposed to be the next man up in this situation but after four games, he was replaced by McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Now Marc Trestman is giving Franklin another opportunity to show what he can do and in the loss, to B.C. he showed a glimpse throwing two touchdowns while almost leading a comeback.
"“Just productivity,” said Trestman on what he needs to see from Franlin. “Productivity like he had last week, both with his legs and arm.“He created a spark for us in the fourth quarter by getting us a couple of nice touchdown drives. We’re looking for the spark we need to get us over the hump and back into the win column.”"
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The Argos have struggled to get things going offensively especially in the first half as they’ve only held a lead once so that will be something to watch for against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
After having a couple of tough games against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Franklin will need to show that he’s learned from those mistakes and isn’t worried about taking some chances downfield. Maybe he can develop some chemistry with Duron Carter since he’ll be looking to keep a job going into next season.
Franklin also admits that the time he spent watching and learning as the backup gave him a new appreciation for what he needs to do going forward.
"“Just how much I really need to be more vocal to coaches about how I’m feeling,” Franklin said to the Canadian Press. “I don’t like to be confrontational or butt heads … I was just afraid to voice some things like, ‘This is how I’m feeling coach, I just want to get your thoughts on it so I can get some clarity instead of just assuming.’“That’s the mistake I made the first week or two and that’s why I was really down on everything. But it was nice to learn about patience again . . . you’ve got to have some patience in order to have any kind of happiness in life.”"
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This might not be an important four games in terms of wins and losses for the Argos but there’s a lot at stake for Franklin and hopefully, he can have a better outing the second time around.