Argos bring patched up secondary to Calgary

CALGARY The one constant on defence for the Toronto Argonauts has been at linebacker, but even that position has undergone a minor tweak.

Up front, Shawn Lemon remains a force and is the only lineman to start every game.

In the back end, it’s been a game of musical chairs, mixing and matching on the run, a process that saw Cassius Vaughn, who normally lines up at linebacker, drop back into the safety spot.

When Vaughn moved back, Terrance Plummer moved into Vaughan’s linebacker position.

For Saturday night’s game against the red-hot Stamps, the Argos will start Qudarius Ford and Alden Darby at defensive back.

Stamps quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell will pick apart the Argos, despite his sore shoulder, if the Argos can’t stop the run and you can bet he’ll take advantage of mismatches in the secondary.

“It’s not just us, but it’s been that way throughout the league,” said Argos head coach Marc Trestman about his new-look secondary. “It’s next man up. We work in getting these guys ready, we have to develop them as coaches and (it) gets us to find out more about our team.

“This is nothing new because it’s been going on with the other eight teams as well.”

Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, who was hurt in last week’s win over Montreal, has been placed on the onegame injured list, while veteran Johnny Sears Jr., who began the season as one of Toronto’s starting halfbacks, has been placed on the six-game injured list.

Toronto’s makeshift secondary did well against Montreal, but the Stamps are a different beast and any breakdown in coverage is going to lead to a big play or score.