Game Thread: Argos vs. BC Fri Sept 26 10 pm ET

[paulwoods13]

I agree, OV. I believe the Argos have the answers at o-line mostly in house. At the end of last year, they had Hunter at LT, Giffen at LG, Nicastro at C, Vandal at RG and Allen at RT. Only Allen is gone. The Argos have since added the likes of Doxtater and Dankwah (both promising Canadians). Unfortunately, Giffen has missed the entire season this year. I believe that most of these linemen are locked up through next season, with Giffen possibly being one of the few not signed. Ciraco is likely also unsigned but I doubt they will bring him back.

Obviously, they have to keep looking to improve through the draft and recruiting American talent, but I believe the building blocks on the o-line are largely in place. They have played well in the past but it feels like injuries, more than anything, have hampered that unit in 2025.

Let's review where things stand with the o-line.

Hunter played great at LG last season but ended the year at LT, where he was absolutely dominated by Willie Jefferson in the Grey Cup game. He has moved around a bit this year but mostly played RT, without distinction. He *might* be the guy Dinwiddie was referring to when he complained that one of his guards came to camp too light.

Giffen ended last year as the starter at LG. He presumably played well down the stretch. But in five years with Toronto he has dressed for a grand total of 36 regular-season games and four post-season games. I'd hazard a guess he has started fewer than 10 games total, and since he can't seem to stay healthy, it probably makes little sense to count on him for the future.

Nicastro is the one member of the o-line who seems to have played well both last season and this year.

Vandal is an enigma. A late draft pick who came out of nowhere to grab a starting spot last year at RG. He did not seem to play well early this year, might be the guy Dinwiddie derided, and is now playing LG (replacing Doxtater) after losing his RG job to the unproven Bosse. Is he the guy who started on a good o-line last year, or the guy who got benched from a bad o-line this year?

Trading Allen was a massive mistake that IMO was made because the org knew it was going to be short of NAT starters on defence, so it needed to make RT a NAT position.

Both backups in the Grey Cup, MacKellar and Rice, are gone. Ciraco, who played great in 2023, is still here but has barely stepped on the field the past two seasons, and is clearly out of the plans for 2026.

Doxtater is probably a long-term starter, but he didn't excel this year to the extent some (including me) thought he would. Dankwah seems to have great potential (and size), but has barely played this year and IMO should not be counted on to start next season. Bosse has played a lot this year, out of necessity, and seems to be far from being ready to start. Of the two INT tackles, Kemp seems to have potential, Moore does not IMO. Richards is a career backup who's here only because of injuries. Sceviour is, like Richards, a reclamation project who does not figure to ever be a starter.

So we have maybe three guys we can count on to start in 2026: Hunter (at what position?), Nicastro and Doxtater. The rest is a bunch of question marks. I for one do not see this as the makings of a great o-line, and this year's performance as a group would seem to back me up.

[OV Argo]

Nicastro, Hunter back to OG, Giffen or Vandal or Doxtater at OG = a potential outstanding interior 3; Dankwah & Bosse with some CFL experience gained, get to compete at OT (their natural position rather than GOB automatically converted to interior cause of their passports); bring in several young import OTs to compete and maybe you find an Allen quality starter; use a draft pick - if they see the need or a guy they really like - and you get a very good prospect or potential starter right away (like the Stamps got with Fortin this past draft; or like Montreal who had a rookie draft pick start at OT for them last game in a big win).

Don't see O-line as a big concern at all.

Finding a RB or two (go for diversity with a big power guy and a speed guy); a DT who is powerful; a pass rush force DE (draft pick Ojo given zero opportunity there this year is a joke / embarrassment) , and 2 or 3 DBs who really know how to cover and tackle = these are much bigger Argo priorities IMO

[ArgoRavi]

One thing I am optimistic about is that the Argos have all the tools in place to be contenders next year.

There is no Vince Magri/Alex Russell to find NAT gems (this year's draft looks like a complete bust, after five great ones in a row).

It's too early to declare this year's draft a bust. If Ojo and Paris Shand can emerge as solid contributors on the d-line over the next couple of years (a clear area of need), that alone would at least make this year's draft a "pass".

[paulwoods13]

It's too early to declare this year's draft a bust. If Ojo and Paris Shand can emerge as solid contributors on the d-line over the next couple of years (a clear area of need), that alone would at least make this year's draft a "pass".

Sure, but that's a very big "if." One of those guys isn't even here, and may never be, and the other guy hasn't been seen (this year, at least) as worth rotating on the d-line. And all this is in contrast to a string of drafts where it seemed we constantly found four or five roster players.

[ARGO57]

One thing I am optimistic about is that the Argos have all the tools in place to be contenders next year.

There is no Vince Magri/Alex Russell to find NAT gems (this year's draft looks like a complete bust, after five great ones in a row).

It's too early to declare this year's draft a bust. If Ojo and Paris Shand can emerge as solid contributors on the d-line over the next couple of years (a clear area of need), that alone would at least make this year's draft a "pass".

Would like to see Villain and Shand eventually join the Argonauts.
The DL needs some serious help, Chatfield and Lanier have been quite good and I would prefer Parish as a rotational player but the overall talent level needs to be upgraded.

[paulwoods13]

Nicastro, Hunter back to OG, Giffen or Vandal or Doxtater at OG = a potential outstanding interior 3; Dankwah & Bosse with some CFL experience gained, get to compete at OT (their natural position rather than GOB automatically converted to interior cause of their passports); bring in several young import OTs to compete and maybe you find an Allen quality starter; use a draft pick - if they see the need or a guy they really like - and you get a very good prospect or potential starter right away (like the Stamps got with Fortin this past draft; or like Montreal who had a rookie draft pick start at OT for them last game in a big win).

Don't see O-line as a big concern at all.

You're engaging in overstated optimism IMO. Hunter has done nothing this year to suggest he will go back to being outstanding, but sure, it's possible. Doxtater has potential, but has yet to realize it and has missed a lot of playing time, slowing his development. Vandal/Giffen are not even close to sure things to start, much less to be part of an outstanding interior. Maybe one of them will elevate, but based on this year I wouldn't bet a dollar on it. If either of Dankwah or Bosse develop into a starter, that would be great, but I wouldn't bet on that, either. Bosse looks far from ready for prime time after two years here, and Dankwah has hardly played any snaps in the CFL. Maybe Murphy can find an Allen-level INT, maybe they can draft a NAT who is able to play right away. But on the evidence from this year (both recruiting and drafting), I wouldn't bet on either of those things happening, either.

[OV Argo]

Nicastro, Hunter back to OG, Giffen or Vandal or Doxtater at OG = a potential outstanding interior 3; Dankwah & Bosse with some CFL experience gained, get to compete at OT (their natural position rather than GOB automatically converted to interior cause of their passports); bring in several young import OTs to compete and maybe you find an Allen quality starter; use a draft pick - if they see the need or a guy they really like - and you get a very good prospect or potential starter right away (like the Stamps got with Fortin this past draft; or like Montreal who had a rookie draft pick start at OT for them last game in a big win).

Don't see O-line as a big concern at all.

You're engaging in overstated optimism IMO. Hunter has done nothing this year to suggest he will go back to being outstanding, but sure, it's possible. Doxtater has potential, but has yet to realize it and has missed a lot of playing time, slowing his development. Vandal/Giffen are not even close to sure things to start, much less to be part of an outstanding interior. Maybe one of them will elevate, but based on this year I wouldn't bet a dollar on it. If either of Dankwah or Bosse develop into a starter, that would be great, but I wouldn't bet on that, either. Bosse looks far from ready for prime time after two years here, and Dankwah has hardly played any snaps in the CFL. Maybe Murphy can find an Allen-level INT, maybe they can draft a NAT who is able to play right away. But on the evidence from this year (both recruiting and drafting), I wouldn't bet on either of those things happening, either.

So which CFL team's O-lines now do you see as so far superior to the Argos current group, and so much so it would allow them to compete for a GC where the Argo group just couldn't ?

All other CFL teams have at least some semblance of a run game this year - the Argos do not and are dead last in the league there; O-lines like to be able to punch and road grade and not just back on their heels in a pass pro for a predictable all pass offence.

[ARGO57]

Nicastro, Hunter back to OG, Giffen or Vandal or Doxtater at OG = a potential outstanding interior 3; Dankwah & Bosse with some CFL experience gained, get to compete at OT (their natural position rather than GOB automatically converted to interior cause of their passports); bring in several young import OTs to compete and maybe you find an Allen quality starter; use a draft pick - if they see the need or a guy they really like - and you get a very good prospect or potential starter right away (like the Stamps got with Fortin this past draft; or like Montreal who had a rookie draft pick start at OT for them last game in a big win).

Don't see O-line as a big concern at all.

You're engaging in overstated optimism IMO. Hunter has done nothing this year to suggest he will go back to being outstanding, but sure, it's possible. Doxtater has potential, but has yet to realize it and has missed a lot of playing time, slowing his development. Vandal/Giffen are not even close to sure things to start, much less to be part of an outstanding interior. Maybe one of them will elevate, but based on this year I wouldn't bet a dollar on it. If either of Dankwah or Bosse develop into a starter, that would be great, but I wouldn't bet on that, either. Bosse looks far from ready for prime time after two years here, and Dankwah has hardly played any snaps in the CFL. Maybe Murphy can find an Allen-level INT, maybe they can draft a NAT who is able to play right away. But on the evidence from this year (both recruiting and drafting), I wouldn't bet on either of those things happening, either.

So which CFL team's O-lines now do you see as so far superior to the Argos current group, and so much so it would allow them to compete for a GC where the Argo group just couldn't ?

All other CFL teams have at least some semblance of a run game this year - the Argos do not and are dead last in the league there; O-lines like to be able to punch and road grade and not just back on their heels in a pass pro for a predictable all pass offence.

Your second statement answers your first question.

[Will]

Was this the second week in a row that the Argos D intercepted 3 passes in the first half only for the offence to put up 0 touchdowns?

[ArgoRavi]

Was this the second week in a row that the Argos D intercepted 3 passes in the first half only for the offence to put up 0 touchdowns?

Yes, sadly. They needed the defence to take one of these INTs back to the endzone themselves.