Potent Argo resurgence fine template for Riders
Humbled by Toronto, Grey Cup champs hope to feast on B.C. quarterback Glenn
What’s the best way to put 45 surrendered points behind you? Go out and put 48 on someone else.
That’s the route the Toronto Argonauts took this weekend, drubbing the Saskatchewan Roughriders 4815 on Saturday at Rogers Centre. Ricky Ray was his surgical self (2937 passing for 407 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions) and Chad Owens picked up 159 yards and a touchdown from Ray, as the Argos evened their record up at 1-1.
What was most impressive about the Argos win, though, was its defensive resurgence, a week after being lit up by Drew Willy and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Rookie linebacker Antwaun Molden made his way into the highlight loop with a pair of interceptions. His second one was a pick-six touchdown on Darian Durant that might as well have been 108 yards’ worth of salt poured on Rider Nation’s wounds. The defending Grey Cup champs will look to rebound against a seemingly very rebound-able opponent on Saturday, in the 0-2 B.C. Lions.
The Lions weren’t expected to be the exact same team with Kevin Glenn quarterbacking in Travis Lulay’s prolonged absence, but their 0-2 start and Glenn’s six interceptions (he threw seven all of last year playing for Calgary) has the host team of this year’s Grey Cup in gut-check mode already.
“Glenn was sacked five times, two others were wiped away by Als penalties and by the unofficial tally of his teammates, he might have been hit 20 times,” the Vancouver Province’s Lowell Ullrich wrote after B.C.’s 24-9 loss to Montreal.
“Either we’re going to fold or we’re going to turn it around,” B.C. defensive back Ryan Phillips told Ullrich.
On the other end of the surprising spectrum sit the 2-0 Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Down 21-7 after the first quarter to Ottawa on Thursday, coach Mike O’Shea’s team out-scored them 29-7 the rest of the way to remain undefeated. It was the intro to an all-too-familiar song for Bombers fans, but their team took the pen and wrote their own finish.
““We stuck together. That’s the most important thing,” Bombers left tackle Glenn January told the Winnipeg Free Press. “In the past, there was a ‘Here-we-go-again’ mentality and I think you saw that from the fans a little bit.
“I can’t completely blame them for that because I’ve seen it and they’ve seen enough of it, so I think we’ve completely got rid of that mentality. There’s no pointing fingers.
“Nobody’s getting frantic on the sideline and that comes from the time coach O’Shea has forced us to spend together.”