August 14, 2015: Toronto Argonauts vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers

[Will]

Robert Marve will start at QB for Blue Bombers http://t.co/EPM9XpHch9

— Winnipeg Sun (@winnipegsun) August 12, 2015

[Johno27]

Frank Z's new article suggests that Kackert is "back", but that Josey will probably be the starter. Hopefully Kackert will indeed dress, so we can see what he's capable of.

That article also mentions that when Kackert showed up at mini-camp this Spring, he wasn't able to participate in two-a-day sessions. This is the first I've heard of that, and in retrospect I think it clearly explains Barker's comment that he "felt [Kackert] still had some stuff to work on".

Chad Kackert in many ways has always reminded me of Argonauts' great, Bill Symons. Although he is smaller than Symons was, with his heart and team-first attitude, he is a perfect fit for this year's group. Symons overcame a serious knee injury and yet retained his explosiveness as a runner. Let's hope Chad can do likewise. If he succeeds, it couldn't happen to a better person. Go get 'em, Chad!

[ArgoRavi]

Robert Marve will start at QB for Blue Bombers http://t.co/EPM9XpHch9
— Winnipeg Sun (@winnipegsun) August 12, 2015

I think that Marve is better than Brohm but we will see how he does on Friday night. Marve is good at improvising when a play breaks down but I read somewhere that Bellefeuille and O'Shea aren't so fond of his improvisational skills which is why he has been sitting behind Brohm on the depth chart.

[R.J]

Good job on the Bombers for starting Marve, not only due to Brohm being absolutely terrible, but primarily due to the Argos seemingly having issues containing "scrambling" qb's. Marve isn't just a runner though, kid has a great arm and his teammates seem o be behind him............ never got that impression when Brohm was in.

Argos need to push the ball offensively, I'm really hoping that Milanovich doesn't just dink and dunk the first 3 quarters as he has all season long (since he came to Toronto actually). The game is 4 quarters long not just the 4th quarter and the Bombers are weak against the pass. I'd also run the ball up the middle frequently as Hurl IMO is a terrible MLB, he's invisible most games.

[paulwoods13]

Argos need to push the ball offensively, I'm really hoping that Milanovich doesn't just dink and dunk the first 3 quarters as he has all season long (since he came to Toronto actually).

This is unfounded IMO. The Argos have pushed the ball up field all season long, and not just in fourth quarters. And they did it a lot more than you apparently remember in the past three years as well.

[AngeloV]

This is unfounded IMO. The Argos have pushed the ball up field all season long, and not just in fourth quarters. And they did it a lot more than you apparently remember in the past three years as well.

I agree, totally unfounded. Some people seem to thing the Argos check down is a called play. Milanovich and Brady IMO, have done a great job teaching proper progression of reads. I will take that any day over forcing deep balls just for the purpose of going deep. The notion that is stretches the defence is total BS.

[1argoholic]

Hope we can stop the stupid penalties, play smart and win.

[R.J]

Hope we can stop the stupid penalties, play smart and win.

I agree argoholic, the penalties really need to stop, it's becoming unbearable to watch CFL football, but I put that more on Glen Johnson. Since taking over as the head of officiating penalties have shot up, I still remember Johnson on TSn last season trying to explain how he and the refs weren't calling games different, IMO it was insulting to fans. I can't beleive I'm going to say this, if the NFL can average less than 14 flags a game, why can't the CFL ?

I agree, totally unfounded. Some people seem to thing the Argos check down is a called play. Milanovich and Brady IMO, have done a great job teaching proper progression of reads. I will take that any day over forcing deep balls just for the purpose of going deep. The notion that is stretches the defence is total BS.

I'm more than well aware of the fact that checkdowns are usually the last reads in a play, but hitch and bubble screens are a big part of Milanovich's offense, especially when Owens and Durie are healthy.
I also notice that when Ray is in compared to Harris or Collaros, he (Ray) was a lot quicker to throw the checkdown. Before you bring up that Ray is a veteran and can read defenses a lot faster than Collaros or Harris, while I agree that he can and should IMO there have been many many times were Ray will look at the first read then check down right after. I'm not saying that the Argos should throw 30 plus yards every other play or anything like that, I would much prefer to see more intermediate routes, similar to Hamilton's offense, the Argos offense relies too heavily on high percentage low range throws. But hey, it's just my opinion.

[paulwoods13]

But again, SnowRogue, Harris has made lots of downfield throws this season. If we are relying too heavily on low-range throws, it's not reflected in our stats -- we are first in passing yards per game.

[R.J]

But again, SnowRogue, Harris has made lots of downfield throws this season. If we are relying too heavily on low-range throws, it's not reflected in our stats -- we are first in passing yards per game.

Thanks for the tip.

[Wobbler]

#Argos week 8 depth chart. SB Owens OUT, Spencer IN. RB Whitaker OUT, Josey and Kackert IN. #CFL pic.twitter.com/JBmdIj0Gp6

— CFL Fantasy Insider (@CFLFantasyRR) August 13, 2015

So, B Smith and Cam Walker(!) come off the PR and IR, but everything else is pretty much as expected. Agnew is still listed as the starting Safety; it's possible that we're not 100% sure about Gabriel yet.

[AngeloV]

I'm more than well aware of the fact that checkdowns are usually the last reads in a play, but hitch and bubble screens are a big part of Milanovich's offense, especially when Owens and Durie are healthy.
I also notice that when Ray is in compared to Harris or Collaros, he (Ray) was a lot quicker to throw the checkdown. Before you bring up that Ray is a veteran and can read defenses a lot faster than Collaros or Harris, while I agree that he can and should IMO there have been many many times were Ray will look at the first read then check down right after. I'm not saying that the Argos should throw 30 plus yards every other play or anything like that, I would much prefer to see more intermediate routes, similar to Hamilton's offense, the Argos offense relies too heavily on high percentage low range throws. But hey, it's just my opinion.

I don't know if checking it down quicker is necessarily a bad thing. It's no secret that the Argos turned a lot more short balls into big gains in the past. I would think that Ray sees the opportunity for run after catch yards a little quicker and that's why he hits Durie and Owens more often. Having said that, he also didn't have 3 huge, quality targets at his disposal. I think if he were to see 1 on 1 on one of these targets, he would take more downfield chances.

[Stevoman]

Kind of scared of Marve having his way with our secondary but I have a feeling that our offence will be better and Kackert will spark a clear victory.

[R.J]

I don't know if checking it down quicker is necessarily a bad thing. It's no secret that the Argos turned a lot more short balls into big gains in the past. I would think that Ray sees the opportunity for run after catch yards a little quicker and that's why he hits Durie and Owens more often. Having said that, he also didn't have 3 huge, quality targets at his disposal. I think if he were to see 1 on 1 on one of these targets, he would take more downfield chances.

Could be, Ray being the veteran that he is and has always seemed to read defenses pretty well, leads to him seeing more YAC opportunities than Collaros, Harris, or whomever.
I remember watching a TSN segment on Milanovich's offense and the success of the offense etc, Ray was asked about it, IIRC Ray brought up how he knew that sometimes fans weren't crazy about how the offense was run, but it works, or something to that effect. Personally I'm not a fan of being conservative, when I played football, hockey and soccer I played to win, not to avoiding losing.................. maybe my coaches thought otherwise however. Just having a hard time with how conservative offenses in the league have gotten, hoping that changes eventually.

Kind of scared of Marve having his way with our secondary but I have a feeling that our offence will be better and Kackert will spark a clear victory.

I'm a lot more worried about Marve playing than if Brohm played, Marve IMO has a ridiculous amount of potential. However he's a young QB that like Tanner Marsh just wants to make plays happen (maybe That's why I'm a fan of both), this potentially leads to mistakes due to taking shots when they shouldn't or relying on their abilities to make situations happen as opposed to letting the game slow down, going through proper progressions and reads, along with sometimes throwing it away or taking the sack. During Marve's press conference, he brought up multiple times how he believes playing fast wins you games. IMO it's a toss up in terms of what we'll see in Winnipeg's offense, we could see Marve tear it up in the air and on the ground, or we could see a young QB that our defense can take advantage of.

[mchesher03]

unfortunate that kack gets his shot with Whittaker being out but them's the breaks in football.

hopefully our D-Line plays well like last week and keeps Marve contained and trying to be a pocket passer. i like our odds then.

briefly wading into the whole checkdown debate above - let's just say that our receivers are heads and tails better than last year and I agree with whoever said Ricky would likely take more downfield shots with this group of receivers is 100% correct (compared to Owens / Durie / Coombs who i agree are more tailored to catching shorter passes and churning up YAC yardage)

[robrende]

It seems official...Marve to get the call tonight for the Bombers

[T-Bone]

I just called Shoeless Joe's at 276 King St W and they said they will have the Argos game on tonight. Tau Ceti and I are going to head down there for 7:45pm if anyone is interested.

[ArgoFan1]

Does anyone know if there is a viewing party at Shoeless Joe's tonight? I know the Argos advertised one for the first game of the season. Maybe it was poolry attended so they haven't attempted another. Is anyone here going? I like watching the games in a venue like that with other Argo fans.

[T-Bone]

Does anyone know if there is a viewing party at Shoeless Joe's tonight? I know the Argos advertised one for the first game of the season. Maybe it was poolry attended so they haven't attempted another. Is anyone here going? I like watching the games in a venue like that with other Argo fans.

There wasn't anything officially advertised as far as I know but Tau Ceti and I just decided today to go. I called and they said they will play it.

[gilthethrill]

Not looking forward to getting up for work at 430 am tomorrow, but I just won't be able to stop watching the game once it starts. I apologize to my neighbour's in advance for the noise.