ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
MISSISSAUGA – Despite getting the win, Steven Jyles is nowhere near satisfied with his 88 yards passing and is looking for a bounce-back performance Saturday night at Rogers Centre when he and his club take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the year’s most crucial contest.
With Cory Boyd running the ball for over 100-yards, Jyles using his legs to make plays and the defence and special teams chipping in, the Argonauts didn’t exactly need an arial assault to defeat the Blue Bombers last week.
However, with Hamilton putting up over 50 points on Calgary last game, Jyles will be the first one to admit that the passing game needs to improve dramatically this week in order for the Boatmen to inch closer to a playoff spot.
“Overall, having 88 passing yards is an insult,” Jyles said Friday. “I take that seriously. You can come off the bench and throw for more than 80-something yards. For me to have played four quarters and only had [88 yards], that had me very upset.”
Jyles didn’t sugarcoat his passing performance last week nor is he brushing off the importance of this game, referring to it as a must-win.
“We have to stay in the hunt for our goal which is to be contenders at the end of the regular season,” he continued. “This is our season right here – we cannot fall behind another game to anyone. Hamilton is our next opponent and we have to [focus on winning] this game.”
Jyles will be facing a defensive front in Hamilton that has truly come together since Stevie Baggs solidified the unit last fall. A physical yet quick front seven that will get after the quarterback but also clog the middle to try and force Boyd to beat them along the exterior of the defence.
It is a defence that Jim Barker says posses similar challenges to that of Winnipeg but the stunts and coverages they show are a lot different. They’re based more on stopping the run and dropping back into man coverage as opposed to going after the quarterback on every play.
“Hamilton is a different kind of team than Winnipeg,” Barker said. “They have a real good defensive line…Stevie Baggs, and [Justin] Hickman have come into their own and their interior line is playing very well. Their linebacking corps is as good as there is in this league so their’s is a formidable front.”
“They are different – Winnipeg is based on speed and getting up field to rush the passer. Hamilton is going to play all around. They are going to make sure that they play the run and make sure that they do the things they need to do to stop the run.”
Don Landry sets up Week 14 as the Argonauts look to close the gap on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats who currently hold the final playoff spot in the East. Click here to watch video.
One area the Argos will look to try to exploit is the aforementioned man coverage. With one-on-one matchups in mind and an overall need to get more production out of their receivers, Toronto has moved around some parts in their pass-catching unit. Former Ticats standout and recent journeyman Prechae Rodriguez will not only check into the lineup but will start in place of Brandon Rideau who has been placed on the practice roster for the first time in his CFL career.
Another addition to the offence is SB Sammy Tranks who will get into his third game of the season and will backup Andre Durie. Durie missed most of the week’s practices but Barker confirmed he will dress. Other roster additions include LB Jordan Younger and rookie WR Djems Kouame. Linebacker Chris Smith was placed on the 9-game injured list and will likely miss the rest of the season with a leg injury.
The roster shakeups could not come at a more appropriate time as Barker and his squad search for a late-season push that could catapult them into the playoffs.
“For us, this is a win at all cost game.”
Kickoff is at 7:00 at Rogers Centre and fans are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item and take a picture with the Grey Cup as part of the Purolator Tackle Hunger program which makes its annual stop in Toronto. For tickets, please call 416-341-ARGO (2746) or click here to purchase tickets online.