September 30, 2017

Game Notes: Week 15 at Hamilton

Ricky Ray (15) of the Toronto Argonauts during the Labour Day Classic game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton ON, Monday September 4, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras)

TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-7-0 | 1st in East) HAMILTON TIGER CATS (3-9-0) | 3RD in East)

Head Coach: Marc Trestman

Record vs. HAM: 13-6-0 Career Record: 65-38-0

Streak: 2W

Last Game: 33-19 W vs. MTL (Week 14)

Road Record in 2017: 1-5-0

Head Coach: June Jones

Record vs TOR: 1-0-0 Career Record: 3-1-0

Streak: 1W

Last Game: 24-23 W vs. BC (Week 14)

Home Record in 2017: 1-5-0

On Saturday night, the Argos travel West on the QEW for the second time this season, with a chance to steal the season series from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-9) and claim the playoff tiebreaker over all three East Division foes.

After home wins over Edmonton and Montreal, the Argos enter the game on a two-game win streak while the Ticats come into the game having won three of four under new head coach June Jones.

A win in Saturday night’s game would allow Toronto to maintain pace atop the East Division while moving to .500 on the season. After the last trip to Hamiton ended in a narrow loss, the Argos will be looking to bounce back with a dominant team performance from start to finish.

While both teams are known for a strong passing game, both rushing attacks enter this week on a high note. Argos back James Wilder Jr.’s 331 yards in back-to-back wins is the highest two-game rushing total in modern Argonauts history while his explosive touchdowns of 76 and 85 yards were the two longest carries of the 2017 CFL regular season.

CJ Gable will get the start at running back for the Ticats but his teammate Alex Green rushed for 140 yards on 14 carries in Week 14 against BC.

Everything kicks off from Hamilton at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night. If you can’t make the trip down to Tim Hortons Field to support the Double Blue, you can catch all the action on TSN and ESPN 3, or on the radio on TSN.ca or SiriusXM 167.


TEAM TRENDS:

The Argos’ defence has allowed a league-low 320.4 yards of net offence per game while allowing just 5.9 yards per play, just 0.1 yards back of the league leading Stampeders.

The Argos are the only team in the East Division with a winning home record in 2017. With a 5-2 record, they have already surpassed their home win total from 2016. Away teams have won 41% of games in 2017, down from a five-year high of 53% in 2016.

In six of the Argos’ 13 games this season, and four of the last five, they have held opponents scoreless in the first quarter. Opposing teams have scored just 48 points (3.7/game) in the opening frame.

Entering Week 15, the Argos are a perfect 5-0 when winning the turnover battle against their opponents; however, when creating the same or fewer number of turnovers as their foe, the team is a combined 1-7. League-wide, teams that win the turnover battle have gone 39-9 in 2017.

Last week’s victory gave the Argos consecutive wins for the first time all season and the first since Weeks 2 and 3 of 2016. Toronto looks to win three straight games for the first time in 2017 and is in search of its first win ever at Tim Hortons Field. Week’s 12-14 of 2015 was the last time Toronto won three straight games in the regular season.

 

SACKS IN THE SIX:

The Argos are tied with Calgary for the league lead with 38 sacks through 14 weeks. The last time (and only time) the Argos led the league in sacks was during the 1997 season and the Double Blue haven’t had 38 sacks in a season since 2009.

Sacks have been a driving force behind the success of this year’s Argonauts team. When Toronto finishes the game with more sacks than their opponent, their record is 5-1. When they finish with the same or fewer number of sacks as their foes, their record drops to 1-6.

DL Victor Butler is tied for the CFL lead in sacks with eight as well as being tied for first in forced fumbles with three. These are remarkable numbers considering he has only played in seven contests due to injury.

Butler (1.14) and fellow defensive end Shawn Lemon (0.64) rank first and fourth respectively in sacks per game this season.

 

CONTINUING TO RUN WILD(ER)

Rookie running back James Wilder Jr. burst onto the scene two weeks ago, totaling over 250 yards from scrimmage in a win over Edmonton. A week later, he recorded 218 combined yards and a touchdown in a victory over Montreal.

Wilder’s 331 rushing yards in two games is the highest two-game total in modern Argos history, topping Cory Boyd’s 290 yards during a two-game stretch in 2010. Wilder’s 85-yard touchdown vs. Montreal was the longest run by an Argo in 41 years (Chuck Ealey, 1976) and he has now posted the two longest runs in the CFL this year (76 and 85).

The two-game rushing total of 331 yards ranks 17th in CFL history for a two-game stretch. The three-game record is held by Troy Mills who had 230, 131 and 187 yards to close out the 1994 season with 548 yards.

Incredibly, the rookie RB ranks 6th in the CFL in rushing yards (503) and has only carried the ball 60 times. He is the only player in the league with over 500 yards on the ground and fewer than 100 carries. His 8.4 yards per carry put him well above the second-ranked player (Jeremiah 5.9) and he also tops all CFL backs with eight runs of 20+ yards.

The Florida State product followed up his first career Top Performer honour by winning it once again in Week 14. With 331 rushing yards, 13 receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the previous two games, Wilder was once again quick to shower his offensive line with praise. Giving the guys blocking for him a ton of credit and wanting to share the honour with them for second consecutive week.


NEWS & NOTES:

  • With his five-yard catch early in the second quarter of last week’s game, WR S.J. Green moved into 45thall-time in career receiving yards. Green finished the game with three catches for 43 yards and his team-leading seventh touchdown of the year. He now needs 78 yards to catch Craig Ellis (7,757) for 44th on the all-time receiving list.
  • Green, in his 11th year, is on pace to shatter his personal season highs in receptions (83) and yards (1,197). With 74 receptions for 1,053 yards through 14 weeks, Green is on pace to finish with over 100 catches and more than 1,400 yards with five games to go.
  • The Argonauts offence had a productive night on first down with 270 of their 328 yards coming in first down situations last week against Montreal.
  • DB Mitchell White recorded his first two interceptions as a member of the Argonauts by picking off Als QB Darian Durant in the second and fourth quarters last week. His 56-yard return in the second frame set up a Ricky Ray touchdown pass two plays later. The picks were White’s 5thand 6th of his career and gave him his first career two-interception game.
  • QB Ricky Ray remains on pace to pass for over 5,000 yards in a season (5,311) for the fourth time in his CFL career. If he were to accomplish the feat, Ray would be the first Argos passer with 5,000+ yards since Damon Allen in 2005. Anthony Calvillo (7) and Doug Flutie (6) are currently the only passers in CFL history with 5,000 or more passing yards in four or more seasons.
  • In two games vs. Hamilton this season, DeVier Posey has hauled in 12 of 15 targets for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
  • Lirim Hajrullahu moved into a tie with Dan Giancola for sixth in team history for successful field goals converted with 73. Hajrullahu has connected on six consecutive field goals entering Saturday’s game.

 

LAST GAME vs. HAMILTON (Week 11: 24-22 L)

  • Ricky Ray threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns on 34-for-47 passing against the Ticats. It was Ray’s 86th career 300-yard passing game and his third consecutive against Hamilton.
  • S.J. Green led the Argos in receiving on the night, bringing in nine passes for 103 yards. In the process, Green cracked the 1,000-yard mark for the season, becoming the second player in the league to do so in 2017.
  • In his second game back in the lineup, Argos WR DeVier Posey hauled in five passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
  • Toronto’s offence converted on 66% of its second down plays to Hamilton’s 33%, earned 26 first down to the Ti-Cats 16 and scored touchdowns on two of three trips to the red zone.
  • Linebacker Marcus Ball picked off Jeremiah Masoli on the third play of the game, posting his second interception of the season and the sixth of his career. Ball’s single-season high in interceptions came during the 2013 season when he had three.
  • DB Brandon Harris led the defence with six defensive tackles, one shy of his season high set a week earlier against Calgary.
  • DL Shawn Lemon notched his 7th sack of the season by bringing down QB Jeremiah Masoli on the last play of the first half. Lemon set his career high for sacks in 2016 with 14 and had 13 in the 2014 season with the Calgary Stampeders.