Argos no strangers to getting on a roll
Last Grey Cup-winning team was in worse shapen than where 2015 squad now sits
As much as they are struggling right now, with five losses in their last eight games, the Toronto Argonauts weren’t even above water three years ago, with a 7-9 record with two games left. And we all know how successful that season turned out.
These Argos, now 9-7, have similar challenges to the team that gelled near the end of 2012 and became Grey Cup champions.
It had been rocky three years ago as running back Cory Boyd was released and receiver Ahmad Carroll was benched by new coach Scott Milanovich, who wound up winning coach of the year honours.
“We were pretty inconsistent for most of the season,” said quarterback Ricky Ray, looking back at his first season in Toronto. “We did make some personnel changes. I think guys were just trying to get comfortable with what was expected of them with Scott coming here and what he wanted us to be as a football team, and I think we just kind of figured it out.”
In September of that year, Ray suffered a knee injury and missed about a month, with Jarious Jackson getting the keys to the huddle. The situation looked desperate.
Then, as now, Ray made a heroic return. It was late October and the Argonauts were 7-8 and fighting for their playoff lives.
In his first game back, he was spectacular, firing four touchdown passes. But Winnipeg sent the Argos to their third straight defeat, 44-32.
The next game changed everything. The Argos went into Saskatchewan and shocked the Roughriders 31-26 as Ray fired four more touchdown passes.
“I remember the feeling after the game. The energy,” said offensive tackle Chris Van Zeyl. “Going into Saskatchewan and beating them, I remember everyone just buzzing on the flight home.”
The good feeling carried over to the season finale as the Argos beat Hamilton 43-40 to close out the regular season a mediocre 9-9.
“We ended up going on a five-game win streak to finish the season (in- cluding the playoffs) and that’s all it really takes,” Van Zeyl said.
A similar situation faces this year’s Argonauts, who are coming off two lopsided defeats.
“We’ve had ups and downs this year,” defensive end Ricky Foley said. “We look like world beaters one week, and the next week we get blown out.”
There are, of course, major differences in personnel between the two Argonaut teams. Milanovich believes there is as much talent on the 2015 roster, but this team lacks the seasoning of the 2012 team.
That team had receivers such as Dontrelle Inman, Andre Durie, Maurice Mann, Jason Barnes and Chad Owens. They had a running back in Chad Kackert, who would win the most valuable player award in the Grey Cup game. Kackert is now on the injured list.
“The major difference that year,” Kackert said, “is that we all understood the opportunity we had with it being a historical game and it being in our city. I remember thinking this is the 100th Grey Cup. How cool would it be (to win)?”