Argos rowing in right direction
Rookie quarterback helping save season after horrible start
Back to back wins by one point are proving crucial for the Toronto Argonauts as Labour Day draws closer.
The defending Grey Cup champions stumbled out of the gate to a 1-5 record, lost veteran pivot Ricky Ray to a neck injury, dropped James Franklin as the club’s second starting quarterback and then handed the reins to Mcleod Bethel-thompson.
But it seems Bethel-thompson is saving the season. Two weeks ago, he engineered a 22-point fourth quarter comeback en route to a 42-41 win over Ottawa.
After Saturday’s 24-23 win over the visiting B.C. Lions, the Argos find themselves at 3-5 and tied for second in the East Division with Hamilton.
The Ticats host Edmonton on Thursday, while the Argos play the Alouettes in Montreal on Friday.
The Argos are the only team in the East without a road win. Their next two games are in enemy territory, including the annual slugfest on Labour Day in the Hammer.
Take care of business in Montreal and the race in the East tightens. Win in Hamilton and the Argos will suddenly have a winning record.
It’s been quite the turnaround for the Argos, but they acknowl- edge the team must get better in all three phases of the game.
A lack of discipline, poor execution and an inability to finish off drives continue to plague the team.
“We’re still shooting ourselves in the foot in the first half, not completing drives,” Bethel-thompson said. “I’m learning more each time I go out there.
“We’ve got to build and not do that next week, obviously, if we want to have a chance to win. We can’t win every game by a point.”
Against the Lions, the move to start Canadian Ryan Bomben at right guard paid off quickly, allowing the Argos to start four Americans.
Anthony Coombs hauled in a touchdown in his return to slotback from the injury list and Mario Alford emerged as a presence in his CFL debut at receiver.
When the offence can establish James Wilder Jr. in the running game and use him as a receiver out of the backfield, the Argos give themselves a chance to score.
Veteran receiver S.J. Green was targeted a team-high seven times Saturday, but had only two receptions for 28 yards.
Bethel-thompson went deep twice, once to Alford and once to Green, but both times the balls were under-thrown.
Toronto head coach Marc Trestman put Bethel-thompson’s performance into perspective.
“We now have a quarterback who has played eight quarters, that’s it,” he said.
“We have to grow with him. He made some very big throws when we needed him to. That’s a work in progress ... our roster is fluid and will be that way until we put it all together.”
But at least the Argos have given themselves a shot by fighting back.
“We were undisciplined, couldn’t contain the quarterback, couldn’t finish drives,” said Trestman.
“But in the third and fourth quarters we found a resilience, an edge, and a way to win the game.”