July 25, 2016: Montreal Alouettes @ Toronto Argonauts Game Thread

[PullTogether73]

Truthfully though, I don't know if we even win a game without Ray playing.

Based on what?
The lack of Argo wins over the last few seasons when Ray was injured and they had to use untested backups named Collaros and Harris?

[1argoholic]

Dirty Vaughn who rolled into Rays leg should be fined and suspended. Well after the play and this guys pulls that bullshit!!!! That's the leg Ray wears his brace on. Well hopefully Kilgore is allowed to attempted a pass again or use Fajardo. Fajardo obviously thinks on his feet. When things broke down fast when he attempted a play to the left he scrambled and found Coombs. This is why you keep the backups that you keep.

Montreal is Dirty as hell. If you watch them closely they are slimy doing all sorts of crap. I guess their coach rubs off on them as there's no one in the league more greasy then Popp. Dirtbag!!!!

[Double Dare]

Argos sure paid the price injury-wise for a home win. There are going to be a lot of sore players today.

[paulwoods13]

With one exception, that was a superb offensive game plan. We took what Mtl gave us, threw enough short passes to force Mtl to eventually bite, opening up mid-range routes, and we ran the ball. Incredibly we had 65 offensive snaps -- 38 passes and 27 runs. Haven't seen numbers like that in a dog's age.

The one exception was the pick Kilgore threw. That was an insane call. At that point in the game you hand off, punt and play a field position game. So that one is on the coach.

On the other hand, it appeared to me that SM sent a msg to Whitaker by benching him for a full series right after he fumbled and then missed a block causing Ricky to take a hard hit. BW looked like a different player after he returned.

Defence played great, for the most part. Jefferson had good coverage on Carter's TD, but lost his footing. The front seven were beasts, especially Lemon and Foley. We played a fair bit of 3-DL/4-LB, with Ellsworth coming in.

Our kick coverage has to get a lot better. I assume Fajardo will be taken off punt cover now that he's moved up to second-string. Can't chance him getting blindsided downfield.

[mchesher03]

agreed - very well executed offensive plan, However I think the receivers coming up with some big catches sure helped (as it always does)
- Shaw and Wylie had big games
- nice to see Durie getting touches - he was used extensively last night - love it
- argos tried to shoot themselves in the foot with 2 turnovers and i know Milo despises turnovers (hence BW being benched for a series) - anyhow between that and 1 scoring drive in the first quarter by Mtl - our defence dominated them imo
- worst kicking game (by both teams) i've ever seen - and I watched the infamous Terry Baker choke away the Als grey cup chances (i believe in '96)
- the endzone pick was HUGE - thought he had a chance for a pick 6 but that was basically the biggest deflator for the Als imo
- had a great time, best the team has played at home yet (obviously), ontario place tailgate was fun, extremely easy to get out of and i was in the back corner...
- imo that was the type of game they have to play to attract the fanbase - i thought it was good entertainment, less penalties than previous weeks (argos did well in this regard for a change!)
- Matt Black went down but then seemed to be back in shortly thereafter - hope there was nothing serious there
- similar with Hazelton, imo he's drawing serious attention now which opens things up someone for a guy like Wylie. Hazelton has fanastic hands too and either is a great route runner or very good at getting open - i'm not aware enough during games to tell the difference!
- ricky being out may be trouble, we'll see what Kilgore can do. agree that that little screen was a stupid playcall from the start but man just throw it into the ground, anyways...

[PullTogether73]

Dirty Vaughn who rolled into Rays leg should be fined and suspended. Well after the play and this guys pulls that bullshit!!!! That's the leg Ray wears his brace on. Well hopefully Kilgore is allowed to attempted a pass again or use Fajardo. Fajardo obviously thinks on his feet. When things broke down fast when he attempted a play to the left he scrambled and found Coombs. This is why you keep the backups that you keep.

Montreal is Dirty as hell. If you watch them closely they are slimy doing all sorts of crap. I guess their coach rubs off on them as there's no one in the league more greasy then Popp. Dirtbag!!!!

Yah, I'd like to see the replay on that.
I didn't see what happened at the game, and the only replay I saw on TV after the game showed a VERY late hit on Ray, clearly someone rolling into his leg.
The lateness of the hit strikes me as dirty and punishable with a fine or hopefully a suspension.

[mchesher03]

I think Ray missed a month in 2012 with a similar injury.

As for the game, a solid performance offensively. Argos left points on the board as Hajrullahu missed two field goals plus Kilgore's mind fart. Nothing exciting once again, but to be honest against a team like Montreal that has had a defence that has constantly outcoached or outschemed Milanovich for years I won't complain about the production. Argos rushed for 121 yards tonight, which was nice to see!

Defence played well. Glenn got his yardage, but T.J Heath may have saved the sanity of this board tonight with his interception. Carter got his yardage as well, but but for a few plays the Argos kept him out of it. Didn't allow Rutley to get anything going either.

Lemon is worth every penny!

Not a great night for special teams, but in the end it didn't cost us but still like to see tighter coverage on those kickoffs and punts.

nothing exciting? c'mon there were several exciting plays that game I thought. maybe the bar is too low with me after the first two home games!

[Double Dare]

nothing exciting? c'mon there were several exciting plays that game I thought. maybe the bar is too low with me after the first two home games!

It wasn't an overly thrilling game ... it was a ... game.

[mchesher03]

watched the martin "hit" on Ray - completely unnecessary and a total dirtbag move. hope he is fined and suspended appropriately - wayyyyyyyyyyyy late

thought the league's refs were looking for garbage like that?

[Will]

nothing exciting? c'mon there were several exciting plays that game I thought. maybe the bar is too low with me after the first two home games!

That Shaw catch was a thing of beauty I will admit, but other than that, the methodology of the Argo offence was efficient but not spectacular. I'll take it nevertheless because as I said the Argo offence has struggled way too much against Montreal over the years.

[cfl-cis fan]

Bates has to get his head out of his ass and BLOCK!

Bates made up for it later in the game with some receptions and the TD. However I cannot understand why the full backs are not used more on some of those blocking assignments. The rookie CROSS played a very similar role at Mac and can not see why he would not be given a chance on the inside receiver blocking plays!! He can actually block!!

[ArgoGabe22]

I actually loved seeing Durie and Coombs in the backfield. I hope they continue mixing it up from time to time. Durie is just a bigger back than Whitaker is and fights to get those extra yards. Whitaker really woke up after that.

The O-line improved, Ricky had more time but maybe it's just a weaker Montreal D? You'll eventually get beat on the odd blitz.

Defence for the most part dominated. The one drive that lead to Carter could've been a turning point but the Heath pick really tilted the momentum in the Argos favour. It wouldn't have mattered but that goaline stop at the end of the game was a thing of beauty.

Lemon has been impressive in the last 2 games. Wouldn't be against him getting more reps, potentially replacing Hickman. From an Argos perspective, they definitely gained more than they gave up in the trade.

[Stevoman]

Based on what?
The lack of Argo wins over the last few seasons when Ray was injured and they had to use untested backups named Collaros and Harris?

Based on the fact that Collaros was with the Argos for a full season and a half as the backup before getting those string of games in 2013. Harris last year, had been with the team for three full seasons before getting his opportunity. Kilgore has had one season on the practice roster and now 5 games as a backup. So, yes, I am more nervous having him take over, because he has had much less time in the system than the other two.

Should be interesting though and do think that the playing time will be valuable and will give the fanbase an opportunity to see if there is some potential for when Ricky is done.

[AngeloV]

Based on the fact that Collaros was with the Argos for a full season and a half as the backup before getting those string of games in 2013. Harris last year, had been with the team for three full seasons before getting his opportunity. Kilgore has had one season on the practice roster and now 5 games as a backup. So, yes, I am more nervous having him take over, because he has had much less time in the system than the other two.

Should be interesting though and do think that the playing time will be valuable and will give the fanbase an opportunity to see if there is some potential for when Ricky is done.

I think Kilgore dressed all last season until Ray came back late.

[R.J]

Felt it was a good win.

Offensively - I thought we played well. Als were playing a lot of cover 4 and Ray was able to find the holes. Shaw and Wylie had solid nights. Offensive line for th most part looked pretty good. TBH my only compliants would be - 1. We need better first down production and 2. I think a change a running back is needed.

Defensively - Thought we played well. Blowing a tire happens in football, so not going to blame Jefferson for that one; I actually felt he had pretty good coverage. Heath played very well; even if you were to exclude the pick. Gordon also looked good out there to me, and it was nice to see Smith back out there for us.

Special teams - I hope Lirim hasn't lost his groove again. Cover team - I'm not sure if they're just getting to the ball late or if it's schemes, but we gave Logan a lot of room for some reason. In saying that I felt our teams played better in the second half overall.

[Argo]

I see from the TSN post-game dialog c/w video... a CFL official, flag in pocket, just standing there like a complete doofus looking at Ray being rolled over - well after he threw the football - and writhing on the turf.

[OV Argo]

A solid win in many ways, but not like the Argos looked great IMO. Might have been a different complexion to the game if Bede had not missed every FG chance = brutal. Heath's pick was a turning point / momentum changer - typical Kevin Glenn though.

Nice to see more diversity on offence: more run game helps (and Durie & Coombs are both capable as a change of pace), spread the ball around to different receivers (Shaw has done well and Wylie looks decent) - but, so much of it is short pass, dink & dunk or check down stuff - it would be nice to see quite a bit more medium to deep throws and hitting receivers in stride downfield. Nice to see Dupuis in more at H-back - guy is a moose of a blocker; Whitaker is maybe going downhill though and replacing him after poor play was good to see; he did rebound with some nice runs though, but his supposed good blocking skills are questionable IMO and continued fumbles should see him replaced even more - maybe right off the roster. Like to see this short play, patient, take what is given style offence win another game, and then another - not sure I have confidence it consistently can, even if Ray is at the helm - but maybe.

Defence looked solid but nothing spectacular as well - again, against a mediocre QB like Kevin Glenn, and, no SJ Green or the league leading rusher of last season; bad luck for Jefferson to fall on that deep TD pass to (son of NFL HOFer Chris don\t ya know) Carter, but deep threat receivers win some of those battles anyway and DBs can slip or miss when the QB takes some of those deep shots. DTs looking ordinary - like to see Bulcke & Waud both in to provide some rotation depth or maybe an upgrade in play; Lemon was a nice addition for the pass rush, and Foley still plays hard and makes some plays. Hoping the D can gradually improve under Stubler - the D-backfield might gel with more time playing together.

[Wobbler]

One pleasant surprise for me is how effective Llevi Noel has been on special teams. I've only *noticed* him a couple of times, but he is currently #2 in the league in special teams tackles. Even if he never plays receiver that was a good draft pick.

[cfl-cis fan]

One pleasant surprise for me is how effective Llevi Noel has been on special teams. I've only *noticed* him a couple of times, but he is currently #2 in the league in special teams tackles. Even if he never plays receiver that was a good draft pick.

good mop up guy, with the others assigned to contain he better make those tackles

[doubleblue]

One pleasant surprise for me is how effective Llevi Noel has been on special teams. I've only *noticed* him a couple of times, but he is currently #2 in the league in special teams tackles. Even if he never plays receiver that was a good draft pick.

I'm sure we will start to see Noel get some playing time when the Coaches feel he is ready and has the route running down. He showed enough in the preseason games that he is going to be a good one, especially in YAC yards.

I thought Martin maybe allowed him self to be blocked into rolling against Ray's leg. Thought he could have avoided contact if he had wanted to. Surprised Milanovich didn't throw a challenge flag for roughing the QB. Maybe it was too late in the game for one.

Kilgore doesn't excite me too much. Generally the young QB's that are going to be able to play in the League, show some good things when they first come in. Collarus, Harris and even Gale all give us glimpses of what they were going to be with a bit more experience. I don't get that from watching Kilgore. But I guess he is going to be first up. IMO Fajardo may turn out to be the best guy in game conditions. He can make things happen with his feet a well.