Game Thread: Toronto Argonauts at Saskatchewan Roughriders

[OV Argo]

Not sure if anybody thinks Arbuckle is going to be this big upgrade over Dukes, but IMO that's total nonsense - he isn't.

If not for Coxie's stone hands the Argos coulda maybe won this game.

Dukes against a good Riders secondary vs. Patterson against a very weak Argos secondary = gee who should win when both teams can't run the ball well to have balance or diversity on offence ?

[ArgoRavi]

I am seeing a lot of panic from Argos fans on social media. The team is 2-2 and played their second consecutive game on a short week while riddled with injuries. Dukes had a tough night but he is still learning. Obviously, you can’t win games when you lose the turnover battle 5-0 and take too many key penalties.

They definitely have some things to clean up but it's a long season, they will have a full week to prepare for Montreal and hopefully they can soon get some healthy bodies back in the lineup.

[ArgoRavi]

Not sure if anybody thinks Arbuckle is going to be this big upgrade over Dukes, but IMO that's total nonsense - he isn't.

If not for Coxie's stone hands the Argos coulda maybe won this game.

Dukes against a good Riders secondary vs. Patterson against a very weak Argos secondary = gee who should win when both teams can't run the ball well to have balance or diversity on offence ?

Scott would be my #2 over Arbuckle but you can't give up on Dukes after a couple tough games. He is still young and learning. There's a lot that he does that I like.

[Unplayable]

The defence played decently despite the injuries and probably had only 3 bad plays the whole game. Certainly the DBs had some issues though.

You can't turn over the ball 5 times and expect to win any games. The offence essentially lost this game.

I can't imagine how they can possibly win in Montreal next week no matter who plays QB, but the game in Hamilton the week after will be interesting depending on injuries.

At least it looks like the Argos will have some meaningful games as the schedule winds down.

[ARGO57]

I am seeing a lot of panic from Argos fans on social media. The team is 2-2 and played their second consecutive game on a short week while riddled with injuries. Dukes had a tough night but he is still learning. Obviously, you can’t win games when you lose the turnover battle 5-0 and take too many key penalties.

They definitely have some things to clean up but it's a long season, they will have a full week to prepare for Montreal and hopefully they can soon get some healthy bodies back in the lineup.

No need to panic but this team is trending rather quickly towards mediocrity.
We’ve been spoiled the last 2-3 years with a rather deep roster and one of the best (if not the best football ops departments) and an excellent coaching staff.
All of this has been eroded in the last few months, let’s hope they are around .500 by the time Chad Kelly returns and they can get their shit together heading into the last half of the season.

[paulwoods13]

. . .
We’ve been spoiled the last 2-3 years with a rather deep roster and one of the best (if not the best football ops departments) and an excellent coaching staff.
All of this has been eroded in the last few months, . . .

You're not kidding about the erosion. Losing Magri, Russell, Mace and Bell from football ops, and a number of starters and useful backups, is taking a real toll. Losses through free agency were inevitable, but it's especially annoying that some losses (like Oakman and Knight) appear to have been self-inflicted, although we obviously don't know the full story.

[kellynjk]

Not sure if anybody thinks Arbuckle is going to be this big upgrade over Dukes, but IMO that's total nonsense - he isn't.

If not for Coxie's stone hands the Argos coulda maybe won this game.

Dukes against a good Riders secondary vs. Patterson against a very weak Argos secondary = gee who should win when both teams can't run the ball well to have balance or diversity on offence ?

Scott would be my #2 over Arbuckle but you can't give up on Dukes after a couple tough games. He is still young and learning. There's a lot that he does that I like.

Me too, I also would go with Scott as the alternate, rather than Arbuckle who does not look impressive. And I think Dukes has alot of talent. The Argos definitely don't have the depth they had in previous seasons and with so many key players out injured at the moment, they are struggling abit.

[OV Argo]

Not sure if anybody thinks Arbuckle is going to be this big upgrade over Dukes, but IMO that's total nonsense - he isn't.

If not for Coxie's stone hands the Argos coulda maybe won this game.

Dukes against a good Riders secondary vs. Patterson against a very weak Argos secondary = gee who should win when both teams can't run the ball well to have balance or diversity on offence ?

Scott would be my #2 over Arbuckle but you can't give up on Dukes after a couple tough games. He is still young and learning. There's a lot that he does that I like.

Me too, I also would go with Scott as the alternate, rather than Arbuckle who does not look impressive. And I think Dukes has alot of talent. The Argos definitely don't have the depth they had in previous seasons and with so many key players out injured at the moment, they are struggling abit.

Not sure who on the staff thought it was a good idea to go into the season with 2 basically raw rookie corners (plus Pearce has pretty limited experience at D-half); i get losing the likes of Peters & Stiggers is going to hurt any team, but why was McFadden cut as well ? This is the only area of real weakness & lack of depth now IMO, but maybe a healthy Adeleke would have been a difference maker (depending on where he was deployed ?). Plenty of talent & depth at receiver and D-line (so they thought Oakman & Knight were expendable) going into the season IMO; but not much can be done for instant replacements if a couple of key, very good players go down with injury once the season starts (like Flo O & Ceresna now). O-line and LB groups also feature plenty of talent & depth.

[Will]

Someone reported, I believe it was David Morassutti, that Dinwiddie went to Scott against Montreal because he knew that game was out of reach and wanted to give Bryan some reps. The reason he went to Arbuckle yesterday apparently is that Dinwiddie still deemed the game to be within reach and felt that Arbuckle gave the Argos the best shot in that case.

[OV Argo]

Someone reported, I believe it was David Morassutti, that Dinwiddie went to Scott against Montreal because he knew that game was out of reach and wanted to give Bryan some reps. The reason he went to Arbuckle yesterday apparently is that Dinwiddie still deemed the game to be within reach and felt that Arbuckle gave the Argos the best shot in that case.

And that makes perfect sense, IMO