Argos have worst offence in red zone - What's wrong?

[jerrym]

At 33%, the Argos have the worst offence in the red zone. Different people have blamed the OL, MBT, the predictable running game on first down especially when Harris was playing (which is play selection), the lack of a speedy deep threat who regularly catches the ball, injuries, and/or Dinwiddie. I think they all are a factor with one problem playing off the others.

[Mocha]

At 33%, the Argos have the worst offence in the red zone. Different people have blamed the OL, MBT, the predictable running game on first down especially when Harris was playing (which is play selection), the lack of a speedy deep threat who regularly catches the ball, injuries, and/or Dinwiddie. I think they all are a factor with one problem playing off the others.

I put most of the blame on the lack of run game, which I think is largely due to poor play calling.

We're dead last in rushing and avg yards/rush, and we have the fewest rushing first downs.

We're also dead last by far in rushing TDs: just two. The next lowest is Hamilton at 6. BC has 14.

Not coincidentally I think, we're near the bottom in time of posession. We've also fumbled a lot, though, with only Hamilton having fumbled more.

Another stat I noticed today that probably doesn't have much to do with red zone numbers is big play returns (30+ yards for a punt, 40+ yards for a kickoff).

Toronto: 2

Montreal: 9

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that Worthy is responsible for most of the 9 for Montreal.

https://d3ham790trbkqy.cloudfront.ne...stics_Wk11.pdf

[paulwoods13]

In rough order of importance:

Poor play selection

Lack of effective run-blocking

Poor pass protection

Receivers who can't squeeze catchable passes

Receivers who run poor pass routes

Inconsistent throws

[Mocha]

In rough order of importance:

Poor play selection

Lack of effective run-blocking

Poor pass protection

Receivers who can't squeeze catchable passes

Receivers who run poor pass routes

Inconsistent throws

Paul, what are your thoughts on Daniel Adebeboye? Do you think he's ready to start getting a few carries in real gameplay?

[AngeloV]

Paul, what are your thoughts on Daniel Adebeboye? Do you think he's ready to start getting a few carries in real gameplay?

I don't think the carries are the difficult part for him. Maybe they don't think his recognition on blitz pick up is where it should be. He can definitely run and catch the ball.

[Mocha]

I don't think the carries are the difficult part for him. Maybe they don't think his recognition on blitz pick up is where it should be. He can definitely run and catch the ball.

That makes sense. I keep hoping to see him get some touches partly because his family are always shown in the stands and it would be fun to see them get excited. And partly, of course, because I want to see the team perform better in the run game.

[paulwoods13]

That makes sense. I keep hoping to see him get some touches partly because his family are always shown in the stands and it would be fun to see them get excited. And partly, of course, because I want to see the team perform better in the run game.

I have no inside info on DA -- I assume he has a lot of talent, and will eventually be featured in the offence, but AV is likely correct that he has to learn pass protection first.

[jerrym]

In rough order of importance:

Poor play selection

Lack of effective run-blocking

Poor pass protection

Receivers who can't squeeze catchable passes

Receivers who run poor pass routes

Inconsistent throws

The Argo offence suffers for these problems but to give MBT a total pass on what has ailed the offence is not the way I see it. Tonight was a night we sometimes see with MBT, 4/11 for 29 yards with an interception, followed by 15/21 with 3TDs. I am afraid his sluggish starts will be problematic, making come-from-behind victories difficult against Winnipeg, Calgary or BC (before the Rourke injury) or Saskatchewan if he gets fully back on its feet after Covid laid a large part of the team low. To me MBT's performance within games and overall has been a mixed bag. Furthermore, I am far from MBT's worst critic.

[ArgoRavi]

The Argo offence suffers for these problems but to give MBT a total pass on what has ailed the offence is not the way I see it. Tonight was a night we sometimes see with MBT, 4/11 for 29 yards with an interception, followed by 15/21 with 3TDs. I am afraid his sluggish starts will be problematic, making come-from-behind victories difficult against Winnipeg, Calgary or BC (before the Rourke injury) or Saskatchewan if he gets fully back on its feet after Covid laid a large part of the team low. To me MBT's performance within games and overall has been a mixed bag. Furthermore, I am far from MBT's worst critic.

There have been valid complaints about red zone production and poor second half offensive production in recent weeks and MBT and the offence were outstanding in both areas on Friday night. Do they need to get off to better starts? Sure; however, we saw lots of positives on Friday night and hopefully the Argos can keep this momentum going.

I would also add that Dinwiddie obviously made some solid adjustments as the game progressed on Friday night that paid off.

[paulwoods13]

There have been valid complaints about red zone production and poor second half offensive production in recent weeks and MBT and the offence were outstanding in both areas on Friday night. Do they need to get off to better starts? Sure; however, we saw lots of positives on Friday night and hopefully the Argos can keep this momentum going.

I would also add that Dinwiddie obviously made some solid adjustments as the game progressed on Friday night that paid off.

MBT would be the first guy to say he has to be better early in games. He also can't do it himself -- the o-line was really bad in the first half, and a few passes were dropped. But when he gets a bit of time and finds some rhythm, he can be lights out. I have a feeling we will see that for a full game before this season is over, and if it only happens once, it will be at the end, when it matters most.

I echo AV's sentiment in the game thread that we need to go hurry-up a lot. The offence always seems to work better when we do it.

[AngeloV]

MBT has now thrown 9 TD's vs 0 picks in the red zone this year. None of us want to see redzone possessions always turn into FG's, but 3 is better than 0. I love the fact that he protects the ball down there. The main reason we have issues scoring TD's in the red zone is the lack of push from the o-line. If you can run the ball into the end zone, it's amazing how much better your red zone TD percentage becomes.

[paulwoods13]

MBT has now thrown 9 TD's vs 0 picks in the red zone this year. None of us want to see redzone possessions always turn into FG's, but 3 is better than 0. I love the fact that he protects the ball down there. The main reason we have issues scoring TD's in the red zone is the lack of push from the o-line. If you can run the ball into the end zone, it's amazing how much better your red zone TD percentage becomes.

You've hit on a fairly significant element of our offensive challenges. The o-line's pass blocking has been terrible at times and decent at other times, but run blocking has been mostly terrible apart from the Wpg game and the second Sask game.