Argonauts.ca staff
TORONTO – After a big week seven win in their home opener on Saturday, the Argonauts head west once more, as they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Blue Bombers on Friday Night Football.
Heading into their seventh game of the 2015 season, the Argonauts hold a 4-2 record, putting them in a three-way tie for first place in the East Division with the REDBLACKS and Tiger-Cats. With so much competition at the top, each win and loss becomes of vital importance to keep pace in the playoff race.
This week, the Argonauts will face a Blue Bombers team that will be missing some of their premiere offensive weaponry. QB Drew Willy is out six-to-eight weeks, while RB Paris Cotton and WR Darvin Adams have both been ruled out for Friday’s contest at Inverstors Group Field.
Despite the injuries, and the fact that QB Robert Marve will be making his first career CFL start, veteran S Matt Black says that the Argos’ defence won’t be underestimating Winnipeg this week.
“There are advantages obviously because it’s not their number one guy,” said Black, who returns from the one-game injured list this week. “But there are also challenges because you don’t really know what (the back-up) does. Marve is a lot like (Brett Smith)…he can move in the pocket and he’s great in space, which presents its own challenges.”
Former Blue Bomber DE Jason Vega, making his first return to Winnipeg as a member of the Argos, agreed.
“They have a head coach that will have them ready,” said Vega. “Those guys have been taking reps in practice, so we don’t expect a huge drop off. We know Marve is a good football player. We’re expecting their best shot.”
One negative for the Argonauts this season has been their play early in games. In three of their four victories, Toronto has trailed at halftime, forced to come back in the late stages of the game to seal a victory.
It’s hard to pinpoint a specific reason why the team often comes out flat, but finds their footing late in the games, but it’s certainly a trend the Argos would like to buck when travelling to hostile territory this week.
“You know I really don’t have an answer for why we’ve started so slow,” said Argos SB/RB Anthony Coombs, who will return after missing Saturday’s contest. “Every week we try to start fast and it just happens that way. We can’t force (it), so we’re just going to go out there and execute the game plan, and hopefully we can dominate all four quarters rather than coming back (in the second half).”
Coombs was born and raised in Winnipeg and played his CIS football for the University of Manitoba Bisons. The sophomore Argo had a chance to play in last year’s season opener in Winnipeg, but he’s excited to return now that he’s carved out a bigger role on offence.
“Yeah I’m really excited” said Coombs. “My family and friends get to see me out there on offence, the price of admission is worth it now that I’m not sitting on the sidelines. My friends have had this one circled on the calendar for a while.”
A positive takeaway from the Argos victory against the Roughriders in week seven was the play of the team’s defensive line. Toronto’s defence recorded a season-high six sacks of Riders QB Brett Smith, with five of those sacks coming from the d-line. The Argonauts six sacks was the most the team has recorded and the first time the team has posted 5+ sacks since August 12, 2015 vs. Winnipeg.
“We kept pushing,” said Vega. “What we’ve been trying to do all season is just learn from eachother and get used to eachother a little more. That continuity is good for a d-line, it’s important. Some of the best (defensive lines) anywhere have played together long enough that they understand where (one another) is going to be.”
While the odds seem to be stacked in the Argonauts’ favour this week, they’ve been underdogs for several of their wins this season. The Blue Bombers may be coming off a big loss and missing several key playmakers, but the CFL this season has been a picture of parity, making the outcome of this game anyone’s guess.
“This league is strange in the fact that any team can win on any day,” said Coombs. “There’s no dynasty. Even though Willy is out, we’re expecting them to be desperate for a win, especially on their home turf. It’ll be a competitive game.”