ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
MISSISSAUGA – Despite a six-game skid, the Toronto Argonauts remain confident heading into Thursday’s matchup against the equally struggling Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The mood around the Argonauts’ UTM practice facility does not seem like that of a 1-6 team. In fact, not only is the team not hanging their heads, they are jovial while at the same time focused and confident in the fact that they feel they are just a few plays away from rounding back into form.
“It is the leadership,” said RB Cory Boyd who was credited with the upbeat attitude on the eve of the game. “We have a quarterback that is coming into his own, the line is blocking up front so it’s good to know that the offence is stepping up on our end and now we just have to put it together in all three phases of the game.”
The offence has indeed been showing signs of improvement, coming off one of its better performances since QB Cleo Lemon took over the club in June of 2010.
Perhaps an odd mentality for a team with such high hopes but with such disappointing results to have but Jim Barker does not seem to be too surprised by it, stating that perhaps his team isn’t as far off as their record indicates.
“I think it is the way we have approached it from day one and our players haven’t lost it,” Barker said. “We have had a bizaare year. The players are confident in what we are building here and they believe in each other and the coaching staff. When you have that, you have the ability to fight through these types of things.”
Barker’s belief in the his players and his system seem to be trickling down and a bit of confidence can only help the team as they strive to get out of their recent funk.
“Keep playing with enthusiasm,” Boyd continued when asked about the message that Barker has attempted to convey to his team. “We have to get this monkey off of our backs because we haven’t tasted success in a while but once we do, things will turn around. We just need to keep faith and keep hope in one another.”
The Argos will face a team that also sits at 1-6 with the pressure of an entire province clamping down in hopes of them restoring what had seen them enter three Grey Cup games in the last four years.
Their record is about all the two teams have in common if you ask Barker however.
“We are in a different place the riders are. The riders have been to the Grey Cup, we are a team that is building towards that and maybe we need to go through this in order to see what we really have here.”
Argonauts.ca columnist Don Landry breaks down the Boatmen’s week 8 matchup versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders this Thursday. Click here to watch video.
One similarity that Barker did not mention is on the injury front. Both the Argos and Roughriders have been bitten pretty hard by the injury bug. The Argos’ bumps and bruises have been well documented and some players, such as Boyd, are starting to make their return. The Riders’ sores seem to be getting worse as RB Hugh Charles is the latest to join stars such as Wes Cates, Rob Bagg and Luca Congi on the injured list.
Despite Saskatchewan’s injuries and the poor record, Barker and the Argos are not taking them lightly, especially defensively.
“Dario Romero is playing as good as he has in a long time. I think he gives them a force inside and they have some young defensive ends. Shomari [Williams] is starting to develop into the player they hoped he would be and then you have a veteran like Barrin Simpson who keeps everything under control in there.”
The Argos will only make two roster changes as DB Evan McCollough returns to start at defensive halfback and Armando Murillo has been placed back on the 46-man roster. As a result, both LB Durell Mapp and Djems Kouame have been placed back on the practice roster.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Rogers Centre on Thursday night and will be the last contest before the Boatmen head into their bye week. The game can be seen on TSN, heard on TSN Radio 1050 with Mike Hogan and Sandy Annunziata or followed on argonauts.ca via CFL Live Tracker. For tickets, please call 416-341-ARGO (2746) or click here to purchase online.