Defence, special teams will be asked to step up play

Continued from B1

With Kilgore now under centre, the Argos can’t expect him to win games because he won’t.

What he must do is play clean football, simply put.

Collaros had the luxury of being to make plays with his feet and the plan was for him to make his first read and when a throwing window wasn’t open, take off and use his feet.

Harris stood tall in the pocket and basically threw when his first read became open.

The knock on Harris was he had an inability to look off safeties, locking into his man, but his accuracy and arm strength were tough to beat.

The Argos defence, which gave up a few plays Monday night in beating the Alouettes, needs to step up and make more of the plays such as the T.J. Heath pick when Montreal was poised to take the lead.

Defensive co-ordinator Rich Stubler was hot under the collar Monday night and he’ll need to be even more demanding knowing his unit must now emerge with Ray out.

Special teams can’ t allow the kind of return yards when tackles are missed or when containment is compromised.

Lirim Hajrullahu missed two field goals on Monday, both into the wind, his third overall miss on the season.

He’s been punting the ball well, but he, too, needs to be better.

The Argos can’t expect Kilgore to be the second coming of Harris because Kilgore hasn’t been in the system for as long as Harris.

He is comparable to Harris in how Kilgore throws the ball and works the pocket.

The Argos should be fine with Kilgore, but long-term questions about Ray must now be asked and his durability.

Toronto, to its credit, made no guarantees to Ray when the two sides came to an agreement on a new deal, an incentive-based contract that did allow Ray to cash in if he played well and stayed healthy.

Ray signed off on it and was perfectly content to roll the dice.

It can’t be stated more emphatically how disappointing Ray’s latest injury is given all his work, sacrifice and perseverance, but this is football and it’s a cruel business, even for a class act such as the future hall of famer.

In a weird way, the Argos may be better once Ray does return because now others have to step up in his absence.

There are some pretty bad teams in the nine-team league with the Als, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders in the mix for the worst team.

Let’s say Ray misses four games, an oddity in the schedule has the Argos play three times in the month of August, all at home, it’s conceivable Toronto can go 2-2 given the quarterback issues in Ottawa and Winnipeg.

Even a 1-3 record won’t be devastating.

Labour Day is the time when the real football season begins and it’s likely the time when Ray returns.

If it’s one week sooner, the better. Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray could be out until as long as Labour Day weekend.