Ray’s shoulder throws game plan into disarray
Injured Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray is making progress with his sore shoulder, but not enough to guarantee he’ll play in Saturday’s rematch with the Montreal Alouettes at BMO Field.
That’s why coach Marc Trestman has a pointed conversation with backups Jeff Mathews and Cody Fajardo at Monday’s practice.
“We left a lot out there at that position,” Trestman said of the fill-in QBs’ performance in Friday’s 21-9 loss in Montreal. “We had guys open … (Mathews and Fajardo) owned up to it, and they want to improve upon their mistakes. But we have to be better at quarterback.”
Trestman and the Argos led the CFL’s East Division heading into Friday, but left in second place at 3-5. That loss made crystal clear what the Boatmen need to work on before Saturday’s return engagement.
Toronto’s penchant for too many costly penalties continued in Montreal. Add in the letdown in execution at quarterback and the result was a demoralizing defeat against a division rival. The Argos had their chances. A red zone completion was fumbled, and another was brought back because of a penalty, leaving the Boatmen with a bitter pill to swallow after limiting the Als to just three points in the second half.
“We played well enough,” said Trestman. “The tapes showed (it). We played well enough on defence. We tackled well.
But penalties stopped extended drives.”
The coach made it clear that he wasn’t blaming Mathews and Fajardo for the defeat. The backups are in a tough spot, trying to replace Ray — who had thrown for 300 yards in six straight games before his injury late in a July 29 loss in Regina.
Still, the Argos failed to move the ball past midfield in the first quarter against the Alouettes, and struggled throughout to get the offence going.
Trestman said he’ll monitor Ray’s progress for another day or two before making a decision on a starter for Saturday’s game.
“(Ray) threw a bit and we’ll see (Tuesday) and decide from that point,” Trestman said. “But I told the guys that we don’t have to work any harder or prepare any harder. But on game day, we have to play the way we practise. We practise clean. Now we’ve got to play clean.”
Should Ray miss a second week, Fajardo could get the call after taking the reins in the second half on Friday. His running game could help if the air attack stalls.
In Montreal, the Argos also went more to running back Brandon Whitaker, who had his best game of the season — 13 carries for 96 yards — against an Alouettes defence ranked No. 1 against the rush.