GAME THREAD / Week 8 / Ottawa @ Tornoto

[AngeloV]

Thorpe is big-time over-rated IMO.

.

No surprise there.

[argolio]

Some of the first half comments on this thread were gold, Jerry, gold!

I think the turning point on offence was BMT establishing SJ Green as his primary target. Opened up everything else.

Despite getting carved by Harris for much of the game, shutting down Powell (14 for 35) paid off at the end. They had no confidence in their running game to run out the clock.

And to those complaining about not blitzing enough, I think we got burned every time we did.

Thought the o-line played well, especially McEwen. D-line got stronger as the game went on. Tuggle looked very active. AC Leonard was a beast for them.

[ArgoRavi]

Good thing that Trestman didn't bench Jackson.

It's nice to have the best HC in the CFL staying calm and not over reacting to every mistake.

Good points! Unlike most of us fans, Trestman doesn't panic.

[ArgoRavi]

That game was one of the damnedest things I've ever seen. I am sure I will remember it forever.

It was an incredible performance by the Argos in the second half. By my count, they had seven offensive series and scored on six of them - five TDs and a FG which resulted, oddly enough, in 35 points due to one missed one point convert and two missed two point converts.

Usually, when a comeback like this happens, there are a few turnovers that go your way but the Argos only forced one turnover in the second half which gave them about half the field to traverse. They did get a huge punt return in the fourth quarter that gave them a short field and then Bethel-Thompson did a solid job moving the offence, including on the final possession when they started at their own 25. I have been down on the two Canadian receivers, Levi Noel and Malcolm Williams, a bit but they both played improved football on Thursday night. And I guess we can say for certain that S.J. Green isn't finished.

You had to like Martese Jackson's bounce back from that horrible muffing of the punt which cost the Argos a TD. I still wonder if Trestman might not go back to Armanti Edwards for punt returns deep in their own end as he did last year. Then again, after Jackson's big fourth quarter return, perhaps he will get a pass for now.

The defence showed further improvement. Two of the Ottawa TDs came on special teams and Wilder's fumble late in the second quarter set Ottawa up on a very short field for another TD. Otherwise, the defence gave up a respectable 21 points against a decent offence.

Hopefully the bye week will allow for the return of key players such as Bear Woods, Anthony Coombs, and at least one or two of Qudarius Ford, Johnny Sears Jr. and Matt Black although I suspect that Black is a little further away from returning. With games coming up with B.C. and Montreal, the Argos have a good shot to get to 4-5 heading into the second half of the season.

[gilthethrill]

Ravi, Frank Z wrote that Sears is out for the season. Odd because I was at the Guelph game when he was hurt and it looked not too serious. Still bummed about not meeting you Thursday night at such a great game.

I mentioned before the Ottawa game the Argos would go either 5-1 or 4-2 in the next 6 games. Game 7 is against Calgary, so...

[ArgoRavi]

Ravi, Frank Z wrote that Sears is out for the season. Odd because I was at the Guelph game when he was hurt and it looked not too serious. Still bummed about not meeting you Thursday night at such a great game.

I mentioned before the Ottawa game the Argos would go either 5-1 or 4-2 in the next 6 games. Game 7 is against Calgary, so...

Sorry to miss you the other night too, gil. And I did indeed miss what Frank Z. said about Sears, whose career may be over given his many injuries in recent years. I would like to see the Argos tweak the secondary a bit. Perhaps Roberson could be an answer back there as I tend to agree with others that an upgrade over Kanneh may be necessary. I wouldn't mind seeing Woodson get more playing time back there too but I doubt that we have seen the last of the changes in that area of the team. Washington in for Heath is a good improvement though.

[Argo57]

Sorry to miss you the other night too, gil. And I did indeed miss what Frank Z. said about Sears, whose career may be over given his many injuries in recent years. I would like to see the Argos tweak the secondary a bit. Perhaps Roberson could be an answer back there as I tend to agree with others that an upgrade over Kanneh may be necessary. I wouldn't mind seeing Woodson get more playing time back there too but I doubt that we have seen the last of the changes in that area of the team. Washington in for Heath is a good improvement though.

Washington over Heath is a huge improvement!

[macspectrum]

Levi Noel not getting out of bounds cost argos a good shot at fg just b4 1/2 time
he NEEDS to have his wits about him

jackson - u never ever try to catch punt over your head, especially if hasnt even bounced yet and that close to your own end zone - he is a quick and exciting player - argos NEED to use punt/kick return as a play making/scoring part of team - to wit chad owens in his prime

MBT needs to be mobile - he threw a TD pass to a wide open sj green on one roll [def back left green to come up and defend mbt]
other roll he ran for 15 yd
mobility is very key in cfl
also help o line too

wilder fumble deep in own zone was costly

sj green is very much the leader and a great player too
[pppsssstttt declan cross in flats]

[AngeloV]

Levi Noel not getting out of bounds cost argos a good shot at fg just b4 1/2 time
he NEEDS to have his wits about him

He's still learning how to be a pro receiver. He also ran a very bad go route on the play before the Edwards TD which made it look like MBT over threw him. It was a perfect throw, but for some reason, Noel drifted inside on his route when the DB had inside coverage. Had he faded slightly rather than drift inside, it would have been a TD. All part of the learning curve.

MBT needs to be mobile - he threw a TD pass to a wide open sj green on one roll [def back left green to come up and defend mbt]

In actuality, the DB left Green to come up on Wilder who was definitely the prime receiver on the play. MBT read it well and spotted Green.

wilder fumble deep in own zone was costly

Could have been, but in the end, it wasn't.

MBT needs to be mobile - he threw a TD pass to a wide open sj green on one roll [def back left green to come up and defend mbt]
other roll he ran for 15 yd
mobility is very key in cfl
also help o line too

His mobility doesn't come from rolling out. He subtly moves well in the pocket. Mike Reilly is very mobile, but how often do you see him rolling out? He has great footwork in the pocket, which allows him to read and react. Bo Levi Mitchell is moving so well in the pocket that he extends plays and makes big plays down field as a result.

[cfl-cis fan]

Levi Noel not getting out of bounds cost argos a good shot at fg just b4 1/2 time
he NEEDS to have his wits about him

jackson - u never ever try to catch punt over your head, especially if hasnt even bounced yet and that close to your own end zone - he is a quick and exciting player - argos NEED to use punt/kick return as a play making/scoring part of team - to wit chad owens in his prime

MBT needs to be mobile - he threw a TD pass to a wide open sj green on one roll [def back left green to come up and defend mbt]
other roll he ran for 15 yd
mobility is very key in cfl
also help o line too

wilder fumble deep in own zone was costly

sj green is very much the leader and a great player too
[pppsssstttt declan cross in flats]

the few touches that cross normally gets are now going to the star player Wilder and that is just the way it is with TEAM play. It happens when it happens. Just WIN

[paulwoods13]

I've now had a chance to watch the PVR of the game, and to read this thread. It really was an amazing performance in the second half, and I feel we may have found a quarterback who can play in this league. I agree with AngeloV that MBT has very good footwork. He stepped away from the rush a number of times effectively in the second half. The defence seems to be improving although there's obviously still work to do. I wouldn't mind seeing Dowling back in the lineup somewhere. Maybe Cassius Vaughn can be moved back to the secondary and Dowling moved in at linebacker. it feels to me that when Woods comes back, Tuggle will move to rush end, and we will be in good position there. I'm going to be interested to see if Bomben ends up playing a starting role on the offensive line somewhere. chances are he's no worse and possibly better than the two international offensive linemen we are playing. maybe Washington moves to left tackle, and bumble moves to right guard. that could put another international receiver into the mix, although it did seem to me that both Williams and Noel had better games this week. Now let's capitalize on a momentum building game in the next one. sorry about the typos, I'm using voice recognition on my phone and it doesn't always work well.

[1971GreyCup]

I was speaking to Jeff Johnson at the game and it’s the time, he felt that the game changed after Declan Cross got the ball four times. Really the first time this season when started to rely on Declan. Certainly a FB perspective. It certainly was a game of two halves. Glad we didn’t play our best half first.

[argofandave]

I have a question about time outs used by Ottawa in this game. Ottawa used a challenge and lost which means they lost one of their time outs. Somehow, they were able to use 2 time outs in the last 3 minutes of the game (which isn't allowed) even though they only had 1 time out left. They used 1 time out with 29 seconds left and 1 time out with 9 seconds left. Anybody else notice this?

[AngeloV]

I have a question about time outs used by Ottawa in this game. Ottawa used a challenge and lost which means they lost one of their time outs. Somehow, they were able to use 2 time outs in the last 3 minutes of the game (which isn't allowed) even though they only had 1 time out left. They used 1 time out with 29 seconds left and 1 time out with 9 seconds left. Anybody else notice this?

The timeout was given back to them because they called it after the MBT sack which was reviews and changed to an incomplete pass. They called the time out while the clock ticked down to 29 seconds, and as a result the league added time back, but they messed it up. The incomplete pass happened at the 40 second mark and the replay official only added time back to 33 seconds. The bungled that one badly.

[lazycro]

I have a question about time outs used by Ottawa in this game. Ottawa used a challenge and lost which means they lost one of their time outs. Somehow, they were able to use 2 time outs in the last 3 minutes of the game (which isn't allowed) even though they only had 1 time out left. They used 1 time out with 29 seconds left and 1 time out with 9 seconds left. Anybody else notice this?

Yea, I yelled at the field but they couldn't hear me I guess?
0:33 and 0:09 were the time outs called under 3 minutes

If I look at the play-by-play closely though it's possible that their "time-out" was nullified because the play before it was reviewed and deemed incomplete to Cross

[argofandave]

The timeout was given back to them because they called it after the MBT sack which was reviews and changed to an incomplete pass. They called the time out while the clock ticked down to 29 seconds, and as a result the league added time back, but they messed it up. The incomplete pass happened at the 40 second mark and the replay official only added time back to 33 seconds. The bungled that one badly.

Yea, I yelled at the field but they couldn't hear me I guess?
0:33 and 0:09 were the time outs called under 3 minutes

If I look at the play-by-play closely though it's possible that their "time-out" was nullified because the play before it was reviewed and deemed incomplete to Cross

Thank you! I still have the recording of the game so I'll go back and watch the last minute of the game again.

[argofandave]

The timeout was given back to them because they called it after the MBT sack which was reviews and changed to an incomplete pass. They called the time out while the clock ticked down to 29 seconds, and as a result the league added time back, but they messed it up. The incomplete pass happened at the 40 second mark and the replay official only added time back to 33 seconds. The bungled that one badly.

I watched that play again and you're right about the clock. should've been reset to 40 seconds. Also, when Ottawa called a time out with 29 seconds left, the referee blew the whistle with 35 seconds left but the clock didn't stop until 29 seconds. The amount of real time between plays was almost 9 minutes.

[AngeloV]

I watched that play again and you're right about the clock. should've been reset to 40 seconds. Also, when Ottawa called a time out with 29 seconds left, the referee blew the whistle with 35 seconds left but the clock didn't stop until 29 seconds. The amount of real time between plays was almost 9 minutes.

Yes, it was a comedy of errors between the replay official and the big stupid guy Bradbury.

[barongan]

Following this!