August 23, 2014: Toronto Argonauts vs. Edmonton

[argolio]

I have mixed but positive-leaning feelings about Ray's newfound willingness to run.

I don't think willingness had much to do with it.

Looks like defensive offside is now being ignored if it's not too blatant. Odell Willis must have been offside half a dozen times yesterday, and Ottawa lined up offside at least twice today in the first half with no call.

[Argo]

I don't think willingness had much to do with it.

Looks like defensive offside is now being ignored if it's not too blatant. Odell Willis must have been offside half a dozen times yesterday, and Ottawa lined up offside at least twice today in the first half with no call.

CFL officiating. Enough said.

[paulwoods13]

I don't think willingness had much to do with it.

Looks like defensive offside is now being ignored if it's not too blatant. Odell Willis must have been offside half a dozen times yesterday, and Ottawa lined up offside at least twice today in the first half with no call.

And I thought one or two of our receivers were way offside -- way beyond the "neutral zone" that seems to be common now -- on at least two plays during our final possession. Not called.

[gilthethrill]

And I thought one or two of our receivers were way offside -- way beyond the "neutral zone" that seems to be common now -- on at least two plays during our final possession. Not called.

I noticed that as well Paul. May have been Sinkfield.

[AngeloV]

I may be alone here, but I have hated the way officials have treated the waggle for years. I call it the Ray Elgaard rule. A slot back by rule is supposed to be minimum 1 yard off the line at the time of the snap. Otherwise he is being covered by the end (wideout), thus making him an ineligible receiver. Personally, I'm ok with receivers not getting a full sprint start prior to the snap. Even a jog to the line gives them an advantage on the route over DB's. Some people might thing that enforcing the actual rule may take offence away, but I disagree. I think it would result in a lot less zone coverage than what we see these days, and would likely result in more big plays.

Offsides on either side of the ball should never be tolerated.

[Nob]

I may be alone here, but I have hated the way officials have treated the waggle for years. I call it the Ray Elgaard rule. A slot back by rule is supposed to be minimum 1 yard off the line at the time of the snap. Otherwise he is being covered by the end (wideout), thus making him an ineligible receiver. Personally, I'm ok with receivers not getting a full sprint start prior to the snap. Even a jog to the line gives them an advantage on the route over DB's. Some people might thing that enforcing the actual rule may take offence away, but I disagree. I think it would result in a lot less zone coverage than what we see these days, and would likely result in more big plays.

Offsides on either side of the ball should never be tolerated.

+1. Well said.

I also hate seeing OL downfield on pass plays. It's embarrassing.

[294life]

Quite the challenge next Monday to be the first team to win on Labor Day at Tim Horton's field after being the last to win at Ever Whine. I was there in 2012 and will be back next Monday. Good luck.

[gilthethrill]

Quite the challenge next Monday to be the first team to win on Labor Day at Tim Horton's field after being the last to win at Ever Whine. I was there in 2012 and will be back next Monday. Good luck.

Has it been confirmed that THF will be ready for Labour Day? Even if it is, only about 18,000 seats will be available due to construction...and there maybe only a limited amount of beer, the Hamilton fans won't be so much alcohol induced to act like idiots. The atmosphere won't as intimidating as other years.

[paulwoods13]

+1. Well said.

I also hate seeing OL downfield on pass plays. It's embarrassing.

I'd like to see some enforcement of the rule that prevents downfield blocking on pass plays before the ball is thrown. I think this one gets ignored all the time -- hell, maybe the rule actually was changed since it no longer seems to exist in any real sense.

[Neely2005]

Robert Gill was hurt during the Winnipeg game which is why he was much less noticeable against B.C.



Sewell is a good example of how most CIS players need some seasoning as a pro before they are ready to step in and start. There is no question that he is struggling with the greater speed and complexity of the professional game and that should not be surprising. Perhaps Scott Mitchell should be the next man up if there are further injuries.



According to Milanovich in the Star today, Owens injured his hamstring.

I'm a big fan of Owens but he can not seem to stay healthy. The Argonauts need to come up with a viable replacement for him because it's almost guaranteed that he's going to miss significant time every season.

Has it been confirmed that THF will be ready for Labour Day? Even if it is, only about 18,000 seats will be available due to construction...and there maybe only a limited amount of beer, the Hamilton fans won't be so much alcohol induced to act like idiots. The atmosphere won't as intimidating as other years.

I don't think that it's been confirmed yet but they did apply for a permit to allow them to play in a partially finished stadium.

[paulwoods13]

I'm a big fan of Owens but he can not seem to stay healthy. The Argonauts need to come up with a viable replacement for him because it's almost guaranteed that he's going to miss significant time every season.

For the record, here are his games played with the Argonauts:

2010: 17
2011: 18
2012: 18
2013: 13

Plus he played in every post-season game. So before this season he had missed exactly six out of 77 games in four years, and I believe one of those (last year's RS finale) he was healthy but sat because the game did not matter. I'm having a hard time seeing him as a guy who cannot seem to stay healthy. As for a viable replacement, guys like Owens don't come along very often.

[Neely2005]

For the record, here are his games played with the Argonauts:

2010: 17
2011: 18
2012: 18
2013: 13

Plus he played in every post-season game. So before this season he had missed exactly six out of 77 games in four years, and I believe one of those (last year's RS finale) he was healthy but sat because the game did not matter. I'm having a hard time seeing him as a guy who cannot seem to stay healthy. As for a viable replacement, guys like Owens don't come along very often.

Fine I'll add the word recently. He's missed a significant amount of games last season and this season. That's 2 out of 5 seasons.

As to a viable replacement I'm referring to someone who can take his place and be above average when he is inevitability hurt.

[Blue90]

I have a beef and it's concerning the Argo head coach or lack thereof.

How long will he continue to accept the dumb, stupid and unnecessary penalties that this team continues to take? I heard an explanation on TV the previous week, that it is due to the number of new players in the league this week. This is nonsense. Look at the Argo penalties. Shea Emry, Dwight Anderson, Cleoin Lang, Jalil Carter....these are not first year players. There seems to be no accountability for any of these stupid penalties (I remember in particular Shea Emry taking 2 unnecessary roughness penalties on the same play!)

If Scott Milanovich is calling the offensive plays, he should be fired. They gave up a chance to score at the end of the 2nd half yesterday and settled for a field goal. He seemed to be totally unable to respond to Edmonton's defensive rush in the first half, and had no game plan to try to avoid the strong Edmonton pass rush. Ricky Ray was running for his life every time he went back to pass.

It is no wonder that the Argos cannot attract fans to the games the way this team has played. I've have turned off several games this year at half time due to their poor effort (although I stuck with the game yesterday only to be disappointed at the end.)
The calibre of play this year has been laughable, with all the mistakes, penalties, etc.

What do you guys think?

[paulwoods13]

One post, one call for the head coach's firing. Welcome!

[AngeloV]

I have a beef and it's concerning the Argo head coach or lack thereof.

How long will he continue to accept the dumb, stupid and unnecessary penalties that this team continues to take? I heard an explanation on TV the previous week, that it is due to the number of new players in the league this week. This is nonsense. Look at the Argo penalties. Shea Emry, Dwight Anderson, Cleoin Lang, Jalil Carter....these are not first year players. There seems to be no accountability for any of these stupid penalties (I remember in particular Shea Emry taking 2 unnecessary roughness penalties on the same play!)

If Scott Milanovich is calling the offensive plays, he should be fired. They gave up a chance to score at the end of the 2nd half yesterday and settled for a field goal. He seemed to be totally unable to respond to Edmonton's defensive rush in the first half, and had no game plan to try to avoid the strong Edmonton pass rush. Ricky Ray was running for his life every time he went back to pass.

It is no wonder that the Argos cannot attract fans to the games the way this team has played. I've have turned off several games this year at half time due to their poor effort (although I stuck with the game yesterday only to be disappointed at the end.)
The calibre of play this year has been laughable, with all the mistakes, penalties, etc.

What do you guys think?

Honestly? I think you don't have a clue what you are talking about.

[Stevoman]

Honestly? I think you don't have a clue what you are talking about.

Hmmm, I think he makes a valid point regarding penalties. The Argos are taking far too many penalties and this has been happening for years now and so it can't be because of so many players who are new to the CFL. I think Milanovich is a great coach and am happy with the regime but this is an area we need to shore up. The BC game we only had 3 and so I do think they are trying to address it.

[Argocister]

I have a beef and it's concerning the Argo head coach or lack thereof.

How long will he continue to accept the dumb, stupid and unnecessary penalties that this team continues to take? I heard an explanation on TV the previous week, that it is due to the number of new players in the league this week. This is nonsense. Look at the Argo penalties. Shea Emry, Dwight Anderson, Cleoin Lang, Jalil Carter....these are not first year players. There seems to be no accountability for any of these stupid penalties (I remember in particular Shea Emry taking 2 unnecessary roughness penalties on the same play!)

If Scott Milanovich is calling the offensive plays, he should be fired. They gave up a chance to score at the end of the 2nd half yesterday and settled for a field goal. He seemed to be totally unable to respond to Edmonton's defensive rush in the first half, and had no game plan to try to avoid the strong Edmonton pass rush. Ricky Ray was running for his life every time he went back to pass.

It is no wonder that the Argos cannot attract fans to the games the way this team has played. I've have turned off several games this year at half time due to their poor effort (although I stuck with the game yesterday only to be disappointed at the end.)
The calibre of play this year has been laughable, with all the mistakes, penalties, etc.

What do you guys think?

Welcome to the forum ..... not cutting the head coach.

Penalties are a problem, but this team is up and down.In the Montreal game the Argos had 3 penalties. Probably the penalties show their ugly head when the team becomes frustrated. ..... seems a normal tendancy for many teams.

As to offensive plays .... a combo of Scott and Marcus Brady I believe..... And as to taking the field goal or going for the TD ... thats a 50/50 draw... take the safe points or go for it and lose them all. Sometimes Milanovich has gambled, but more frequently when he has more confidence in the players .

Whose or what team have you enjoyed?

[Blue90]

Honestly? I think you don't have a clue what you are talking about.

Really?

1. Argos are not taking a lot of unnecessary penalties
2. Scott M is doing a good job of play selection and preparing his team for games
3. Argos are an exciting team and the Skydome is full for each game

[BATKINSON001]

Really?

1. Argos are not taking a lot of unnecessary penalties
2. Scott M is doing a good job of play selection and preparing his team for games
3. Argos are an exciting team and the Skydome is full for each game

care to change your last point there? :-p

[Rich]

Honestly? I think you don't have a clue what you are talking about.

You have to understand, Blue 90, that AngeloV is the only one on this board who is qualified to have football opinions, because he used to play pee wee football. Got it?

But I happen to agree with you about the scheme for the Edmonton game. In the first half, we could not contain the rush, and yet the coach continued to send out the receiver 5-pack instead of bringing in some extra protection for Ricky. And Ricky kept getting killed. Coach finally figured it out once we were down by 24 points. He should have made that adjustment in the 2nd quarter.