Famous Ex-NFLers that found their way to the Argos...

[paulwoods13]

Adams was loathed by Argo fans for having a high completion percentage and low yards per pass. He was ahead of his time, in a way.

[Tobin Rote]

Adams was loathed by Argo fans for having a high completion percentage and low yards per pass. He was ahead of his time, in a way.

Kind of a "North Coast" offense then...

[Will]

He did not make the team, but Lee Woodall had tried out for the Argos in 2006 or 2007. He had made the Pro Bowl twice in 1995 and 1997 for the 49ers.

David Boston had a "cup of coffee" with the Argos in 2008. He was a 1,500 yard receiver with the Arizona Cardinals in the early 2000's.

[Jon Gonzo]

Cory Greenwood, one of our most recent examples. Too bad for injuries, cos he was a gamer

Claude Wroten comes to mind as one of those DL beasts, who comes to visit, ever so briefly. He was a 3rd Round pick of the LA Rams.

And Ahmad Carroll was good for us in a Grey Cup Year - 2012. He was a 1st Rounder of the Packers, and played for the Jets and the Jags.

[Jon Gonzo]

Patrick Watkins, who started 9 games for the Cowboys (5th Round Pick) and then played teams for the Chargers

[Jon Gonzo]

I recall getting both Jonathan Brown and Jordon Younger, both friends who came in at the same time from the NFL and improved the Argo team right away. (2004)

[ArgoGabe22]

PK Sam was pretty good. And Bethal Johnson was not.

[argolio]

That is essentially correct -- he was released in September 1989 to go to the NFL, and was re-signed in October 1990. He played 13 games for the Chargers in 1989, was released and signed with the Rams, who released him in 1990 preseason. I believe Ilesic probably could have had a long NFL career but he chose to stay in Canada. There's great footage in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbaaa4JSYwY

Imagine the outrage over a September release to go the NFL if this forum was around back then!

[OV Argo]

Metcalf was one of the first players I idolized as a kid, and was unfairly labeled a bust. As you said, the team and coaching around him was brutal.

Metcalf and Tom Cousineau were two of my big fave big American names who came up to the CFL back in the day - both outstanding football players and both sort of their own guy/freaks (both sported diamond earrings). And they had that all-American seal of approval.

Now - Johnny Manzier is one of my heroes. ;o)

IMO it's too bad that the CFL and a lot of fans have never really anticipated & promoted top notch Canadian talent (and some from the Canadian football system) who might come to the CFL and become star players; guys like Fantuz or Cornish or Muamba or Pruneau - coulda maybe had some CFL fans really looking forward to them playing in the league. But not to be / not gonna ever happen probably. Laval DE Matthieu Betts (CIS all-star from rookie on in and already 2 time Metras winner) is arguably one of the best Canadian defensive prospects to be up for a CFL draft in decades; but a huge majority of CFL fans probably never heard of the guy and likely won't till maybe close to draft time. Very little hype for Canadian football talent.

[jerrym]

Dave Mann played for the Chicago Cardinals (later the St. Louis and Arizona Cardinals) of the NFL for three years from 1955 to 1957 where he showed the versatility as a punter, running back and special team player that also marked his career as an Argonaut. In his best game as a Cardinal, Dave rushed for 108 yards against the Chicago Bears (https://fs64sports.blogspot.com/2010...defeat-in.html)

As an Argo he was an outstanding running back, receiver (leading the East in receiving in 1960 and 1961), defensive back, punter (with a career punting average of 44.2 yards and the second longest punt in CFL history of 102 yards), and towards the end of his career he also kicked off and did place kicking.

If you knew Dave Mann at the end of his career, you might think of him as a pretty good punter. Which he was. What you might not know is that Dave Mann at the start of his career was an oustanding offensive and defensive halfback. Dave Mann started his career in the NFL, playing three seasons (1955-57) with the Chicago Bears. Mann was never the #1 running back, but he put up a 336 yards rushing in 1955 with 4 touchdowns while catching 16 passes for another 137 yards and a touchdown. Oh yeah, he also did the punting for those three years.

Mann came north to Toronto and the CFL in 1958 and had 107 carries for 556 yards with another 319 yards on 33 catches. Putting another bullet in the "he was jsut a kicker" myth is 17 kickoff returns for 351 yards and a 116 yard punt return for a TD. Mann didn't play in 1959, but returned to the Argos in 1960 and spent another 11 years in Toronto until his retirement after the 1970 season.

1960 was Mann's best season in the CFL. He didn't rush the ball as much with only 37 carries for 217 yards but he led the East in pass receiving (catches and yards) with 61 catches for 1380 yards and 13 tochdowns. And those numbers were in a 14 game season! In 1961, Mann again led he East in receiving with 53 catches for 659 yards. Mann was named an East All-Star at Flanker for both 1960 and 1961 (there were no CFL All-Stars until 1962). Mann's use on offense fell off after that with 39 catches in 1962 and only 11 in 1963.

After that, Mann saw almost no action on offense. Through his entire career, Mann continued to be the Argo punter and never averaged below 41 yards a punt in any season. In fact in only two years was he below 42 yards a punt. Mann's career high was a 46.8 yard average in 1967 with a 46.7 in 1969 being a close runner-up. Towards the end of his career, Mann also took on the kickoff and placekicking duties for the Argos. If you need any more proof of Mann's versatility, go back to his first season in the CFL, when he also played defense and recorded 4 interceptions.

http://www.cflapedia.com/Players/m/mann_dave.htm

[Shipyard]

Tobin Rote probably the biggest name after Ricky Williams

[doubleblue]

Dave Mann played for the Chicago Cardinals (later the St. Louis and Arizona Cardinals) of the NFL for three years from 1955 to 1957 where he showed the versatility as a punter, running back and special team player that also marked his career as an Argonaut. In his best game as a Cardinal, Dave rushed for 108 yards against the Chicago Bears (https://fs64sports.blogspot.com/2010...defeat-in.html)

As an Argo he was an outstanding running back, receiver (leading the East in receiving in 1960 and 1961), defensive back, punter (with a career punting average of 44.2 yards and the second longest punt in CFL history of 102 yards), and towards the end of his career he also kicked off and did place kicking.




http://www.cflapedia.com/Players/m/mann_dave.htm

I don't remember Dave Mann rushing the ball that much because they had Dick Shatto at the time, but the stats are there. Became a great receiver hooking up with Tobin Rote. He became one of those naturalized Canadians later in his CFL career which probably added years to his time with the Argos as just a punter.

[Argo57]

Don’t forget Chris Schultz (Dallas Cowboys).

[ArgoGabe22]

Might be adding Dexter McCluster to this list soon?

[Foxhound]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned Terry Metcalf. Maybe many of you on this board can't remember him.

IMHO... that might have been the biggest ever signing by the Argonauts (Rocket Ismail notwithstanding). Metcalf was an NFL free agent... coming off setting a league record for total yards gained running, receiving and returning kicks. The Argos jumped in and brought him north... much to the surprise of everyone in the NFL.

I remember that very clearly. I also remember thinking at the time that all the Argo high profile signings were naught but publicity stunts and this one wouldn't pay off either. And I was right. The numbers he recorded were in general disappointing.

Metcalf also played three full seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts. In 1978, he rushed 169 times for 669 yards, and caught 31 passes. In 1979, he carried the ball 141 times for 691 yards and caught 55 passes, and in his final year, 1980, he rushed for 540 yards and caught 51 passes. While he was a division all star in 1979, his rushing average is below the 5 yards per carry expected by a good running back in the CFL (with its three down game) and his performance in Toronto was seen as underwhelming.

[Argo57]

I remember that very clearly. I also remember thinking at the time that all the Argo high profile signings were naught but publicity stunts and this one wouldn't pay off either. And I was right. The numbers he recorded were in general disappointing.




[/FONT]

Those results aren’t on Metcalf, talented player who played on some dreadful Argonaut teams.

[Tobin Rote]

Those results aren’t on Metcalf, talented player who played on some dreadful Argonaut teams.

That's probably right.