The Toronto Argonauts' 40-17 loss Friday to the Montreal Alouettes and their�record-setting quarterback Anthony Calvillo wasn't all that unexpected, but it does still leave some crucial questions that need to be answered. Those questions are especially prevalent on offence, as the Argos' defence wasn't all that bad; yes, they conceded 40 points, but seven of those came off an embarrassing goal-line fumble Alouettes' linebacker Chip Cox returned 108 yards for a touchdown, and they held Calvillo and the Alouettes' offence to field goals several times despite poor starting field position. On offence, though, the Argonauts proved unable to establish the running game without injured star Cory Boyd, and Cleo Lemon still left much to be desired in the passing offence.
The ground game was the first issue, and it was a major one. Over the last couple of seasons, Toronto has been a team that thrives on rushing and defence. The defence was there Friday night, but the ground game wasn't; promising rookie Chad Kackert only picked up 39 yards on 11 carries (3.55 yards per carry), and the Argonauts didn't bother trying any of their other options. Kackert also fumbled twice, including a crucial goal-line fumble late in the game that Alouettes' linebacker Chip Cox returned 108 yards for a touchdown. Boyd's absence was certainly felt; this is a team that largely bases their identity on being able to get large chunks of yardage via first-down runs, and they weren't able to do that Friday night. If Boyd's able to return before Toronto's Week Four game against Winnipeg, the ground game will probably be fine. If not, they might have to get a bit unconventional, perhaps giving expanded roles to the likes of Andre Durie or Bryan Crawford.
The passing game isn't solved either, though. Cleo Lemon (seen above being hit by Cox Friday) wasn't horrible, but he wasn't great; he completed 19 of 30 passes (63.3 per cent) for 235 yards and a touchdown with an interception. He also fumbled once. Some of that was on his receivers, who sometimes couldn't break coverage and sometimes couldn't hang on to the ball. Some of it was also on the offensive line, which allowed two sacks and often forced Lemon into quicker throws than he might have ideally liked. However, Lemon's performance still could have been much better, and it's going to leave Argonauts' head coach/general manager Jim Barker with an interesting decision heading into Week Four. Does he stick with Lemon, who's generally looked better than last year but still worse than your typical CFL quarterback, or does he switch to the unknown commodity of Dalton Bell? Before the end of the year, it wouldn't be surprising to see offseason acquisition Steven Jyles starting, but he's unavailable at the moment thanks to injury. Barker isn't in an enviable position; he has to decide between sticking with a quarterback who hasn't produced much in the way of noticeable results so far or pinning his hopes on one who hasn't produced any results.
Overall, this game demonstrated that Toronto still has a lot of work to do. Yes, their turnaround to 9-9 and an East Final appearance last season was impressive, but they aren't going to have an easy time in the East Division this year. Montreal is still the class of the league, Hamilton is likely better than the 0-2 record they've put up thus far and even Winnipeg's gone 2-1 so far this year. Toronto still has an excellent defence, and they've got capable special teams; Chad Owens looked like his old self Friday on returns, picking up 114 yards on two kick returns and 69 yards on five punt returns, and Andre Durie added 94 more yards on four kick returns. In the CFL, though, that's not enough to consistently win. You need a good offence to get anywhere in this league, and Toronto hasn't proved that they have one so far. They should get better in the ground game once Boyd returns, but they'll need to improve the passing offence as well. The question is if either Lemon or Bell is the man for the job.
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