June 12, 2013: Toronto Argonauts vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers

[Will]

Neither Portis or Gale looked terribly out of place. My money would be on Portis not making it.

The four Winnipeg QB's combined to go 14-36-158 with 3 picks.

[1argoholic]

I was pretty impressed from what I heard for a perseason game. Then I saw on Sports Centre that we had something like 549 yards of offense. The Bombers really are horrible. Hope they keep that play up. The crowd sounded dead. O'Toole and Onrait were talking about how horrible the traffic is getting to this out of the way stadium.
Nice to see that we are indeed finally grooming our own young qb's. Holy Crap it's been years and years since we could say that. Please don't anybody bring up the name of the guy who thought he was so wonderful that he did little and bounced all over the league. The guy from Kansas St. The last guy we tried so hard to groom but really was Mr Interception.

[Will]

Argonaut Statistics

Rushing

Mitchell Game 4 for 52, 13.0 AVG, LG 23, 0 TD Hogan kept emphasizing that this guy wasn't a runner, but evidently he is a little more adept at that skill than originally anticipated. He actually took off on his first two or three snaps.
Curtis Steele 5 for 38, 7.6 AVG, LG 14, 0 TD As we will see from the below stats it is probable that Riggs' status as a backup is safe, but I suspect this guy will be kept around for a bit of an extended look.
Gerald Riggs Jr. 4 for 34, 8.5 AVG, LG 20, 1 TDs Looked pretty good out there. I say his status as the #2 is pretty solid.
Zach Collaros 3 for 26, 8.67 AVG; LG 19, 0 TD We all knew he had some solid mobility.
Anthony Alix 1 for 25, 25.0 AVG, LG 25, 0 TD He got a taste of the Mike O'Shea trickery.
Quinn Porter 7 for 13, 1.86 AVG, LG 7, 0 TD Probably not the day he was looking for.
Josh Portis 2 for 6, 3.0 AVG, LG 5, 0 TD Nothing really to say here.
Jeff Johnson 2 for 2, 1.0 AVG, LG 2, 0 TD Probably won't be getting many carries this season.

Receiving

Darvin Adams 2 for 60, 30.0 AVG, LG 31, 0 TD I think he had a drop too, but seems to have had the best day out of the rookies.
Spencer Watt 2 for 54, 27.0 AVG, LG 37, 0 TD Hoping for bigger things from him this season.
Romby Bryant 3 for 48, 16.0 AVG, LG 35, 1 TD Going to be quite valuable I think. Very solid.
Trent Guy 4 for 47, 11.75 AVG, LG 25, 1 TD His biggest problem might be the bodies in front of him.
Tyler Beiler 2 for 37, 18.5 AVG, LG 27, 0 TD One of the receivers who came in here with not as huge of a reputation. Made a case.
Juaquin Iglesias 2 for 33, 16.5 AVG, LG 20, 0 TD Not a bad outing for him either.
Reggie Williams, 3 for 27, 9.0 AVG, LG 16, 0 TD I think he dropped a few.
Gerald Riggs Jr., 2 for 13, 6.5 AVG, LG 9, 0 TD Again, like Kackert, he is a solid receiver.
Curtis Steele, 2 for 9, 4.5 AVG, LG 11, 0 TD
John Chiles, 2 for 7, 3.5 AVG, LG 5, 0 TD Short end of the stick for the rookie receivers, but I think he did get banged up at one point during the game.
Julian Feoli-Gudino, 1 for 6, 6.0 AVG, LG 6, 0 TD
Quinn Porter, 1 for 3, 3.0 AVG, LG 3, 0 TD
Isn't it nice to have a problem of who to select at receiver?

Passing

Trevor Harris 8 of 11 for 115 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT Made a strong case for the #2 spot. I assume the fact he started the game means that they think of him as the #2 at this point. He was taken out of the game just before Riggs scored the Argos' first TD. He also led a drive that ended up in an Alix missed FG.
Zach Collaros 9 of 12 for 95 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT The battle of for #2 seems to be very alive.
Mitchell Gale 5 of 9 for 67 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT Mildly surprised me here folks. I think he had a few passes dropped. Showed more mobility as we saw/
Josh Portis 4 of 5 for 67 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT Also didn't look out of place.

Defense

INT: Matt Black (2), Jonathan Williams
Sacks: Major Culbert, Jamie Robinson

The Major also led the team in tackles with 5.

Specials

Alix struggled going 1 of 3 on FGs with a 12-yarder. He also averaged only 38.57 yards on punts.

[paulwoods13]

Thanks for the stats and the analysis, argofan87. The CFL's online stats machine needs a bit of work as it suggests the Argo defence forced no fumbles but recovered 13 of them.

[Wobbler]

My impression was that of the QBs, Gale suffered the most from our subs on the OL. At least two of his runs were necessitated by immediate protection breakdowns; I'm impressed that he was so productive.

[mchesher03]

big game from Matt Black from the sounds of it - great stuff. thanks for posting those stats too

[Do or Die]

Congrats on the win. Argos looked pretty sharp in most phases of the game. Bombers were poor, in the 1st quarter+.... then went to our 2nd tier guys......who looked essentally horrible, the rest of the way. Just an xhibt game, but a combination of boring and inept, was not the way to christen, the new stadium.

At least the Blue, now have a pretty good handle, on how not to do it.....
(eyes rolling)

[1argoholic]

hey Do Or Die what are your thoughts on the new Stadium? Is it a pain to get to? Obviously depending on where folks live. They mentioned on TSN that driving there is hell from in town Winnipeg. Looks sweet.

[gilthethrill]

Well, the Casey Creehan coached defense again is unable to contain the Argonaut second stringers (see last years final game)....

Two names I have not heard much about this pre-season are those of veteran o-lineman Wayne Smith & Andrew Jones. I would think Smith is able to contribute while Jones may be ousted by a youngster such as Reinders. I like the fact Parenteau is able to play some center.

[Do or Die]

hey Do Or Die what are your thoughts on the new Stadium? Is it a pain to get to? Obviously depending on where folks live. They mentioned on TSN that driving there is hell from in town Winnipeg. Looks sweet.

As far as the upsides (physical facility):

Great sight lines, from anywhere in the place
Awesome scoreboards (same as in Texas Stadium)
Terrific main level concourse, that rings the entire field, with great views of the field, as you peruse concessions, etc.
Comfortable seats
Powerful acoustic factor, with almost enclosed and sunken field.....this Joint will be LOUD, when team actually does something.
Great lighting system
Excellent field turf - great drainage (saw that at camp) and very quick


Downsides (which are more "human factor" and can certainly be improved):

Disorganized and overrated concessions
Ear splitting PA sound levels
Some uninformed and confused staff
and yeah, the traffic around the stadium

The U of M runs along the Red River, right at the extreme south end of town - so you can only enter/exit via 2 points (2 directions, 2 roads) There was always going to be some logistical problems, with this site, for traffic. That said, there was a reasonable plan on paper - but, parking and bus service was very poorly implemented last night, leading to many unhappy campers.

There will be around 8K more people for the opener, with a concert, etc.....so they better figure it out, soon. Bombers will hold a press conference, this afternoon, to supposedly detail some planned improvements, before then.

[mchesher03]

for a stadium that nice i'd take poor traffic any day of the week - the thought of that stadium here would be incredible. sadly a bit of a pipe dream - hope they get the Grey Cup soon so I can check it out (while the Argos hoist the Grey Cup obviously)

[1argoholic]

Sounds great other than the traffic nightmares. Hopefully we'll get a closeup as we drive by on our way back to Ontario. Our house hits the market tomorrow. Here's hoping. If all goes well we should be past in Sept. haha. Hopefully not on a gameday because we won't be able to stop with as many pets as we have.

[ArgoRavi]

Nice to see the Argos giving the Bombers a bit of anxiety before the regular season even begins: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/C.../20899031.html

[bluto]

Nice to see the Argos giving the Bombers a bit of anxiety before the regular season even begins: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/C.../20899031.html

no doubt about it. Chris Jones is living rent free inside their heads right now.

[Wobbler]

We have bigger fish to fry in the East. Until Montreal is humbled we have reason to be cautious.

[Argo57]

We have bigger fish to fry in the East. Until Montreal is humbled we have reason to be cautious.

Hamilton will be a big factor this season as well, the Eastern division will be a tight race this season.

[mchesher03]

Hamilton - Toronto East Final at the SkyDome - what a sight that would be (minus all the pesky tabbie fans)

[gilthethrill]

Nice to see the Argos giving the Bombers a bit of anxiety before the regular season even begins: http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Football/C.../20899031.html

Ravi, I know that some Winnipeg fans are upset that Jones had the defense blitzing Wednesday night...I see no problem with that, what are your thoughts?

[1argoholic]

Preseason is to find out what you have and who can play. If the Bombers are so worried about the way TO played against China Boy Pierce than tell the fool to stop running and taking head shots. He's a qb and he's going to take hits are the Argos supposed wait until a three count before they rush.
I actualy like Pierce but I think he should call it a career and get to coaching before he's jello is a wheel chair.

[bluto]

Ravi, I know that some Winnipeg fans are upset that Jones had the defense blitzing Wednesday night...I see no problem with that, what are your thoughts?

Burke was told ahead of time by Milanovich that the Argo D would be blitzing...