Willy’s debut as Argonauts starter a mixed bag

For the sake of preservation, Toronto Argonauts head coach Scott Milanovich took quarterback Drew Willy out of the game in the fourth quarter when the game was far out of reach.

The quarterback’s debut as a starter for the Argos Sunday afternoon was a mixed bag, but when a team falls so meekly to a three-win opponent, the questions go far beyond any one man.

“I thought he did pretty well for the most part,” Milanovich said after the Argos’ 38-11 loss to the Montreal Alouettes. “He banged his thumb (the same one he hurt earlier in the week during practice) on the second series. I don’t know how that affected him going forward.

“I thought he managed the first half pretty well.”

The opening half ended with the Argos being called for a penalty on a made 52-yard field goal, which summed up this day of misery.

More penalties ensued and the game got out of reach.

“Obviously no one is happy,” Willy, 29, said. “Any time you lose a game, no one is happy. Everyone had their part in it. I definitely had my mistakes and I have to get better in my reads. It’s a learning experience — watch the film and get better, make sure we come with a good attitude.”

Willy said he felt comfortable, despite reinjuring his thumb early in the game.

“It was one of those things where you just keep playing through it,” he said. “I though we did some good things in the first half, but we couldn’t get any touchdowns.”