The games were both incredibly close. The Argos won by a field goal a week ago in Toronto, a week later the Eskimos won their home game by a rouge.
Perhaps a series split was a just conclusion.
Video from the game will give the Argos another indication of what worked and what didn’t. They have a full week to prepare for Saturday’s tilt at BMO Field against Winnipeg, again, the first half of a home-and-home series.
RISK TAKERS
Both teams took gambles throughout the game. Some worked, others didn’t.
Argo Head Coach Marc Trestman was the first to fling the dice. In the opening quarter the Boatmen gambled on a third-and-six at the Edmonton 10-yard line. Leading 3-0 at the time, they opted to try and take an early two-score advantage.
Quarterback James Franklin dropped back and threw toward Llevi Noel, who was running a crossing route. Noel got his hands on the ball, but it came loose and flew toward the end zone, right into the hands of Edmonton’s Chris Edwards.
The coaching staff will hate this on film. Noel was at least two yards shy of the first down, and while middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt opted to shade toward Noel, Declan Cross was open, standing just to the left of that pair. Cross also had first-down depth on his route.
Another Argo gamble paid off on the opening drive of the third quarter. Facing a third-and-three on their own 38-yard line they lined up in punt formation, but Jake Reinhart’s snap went directly to rookie fullback Simon Gingras-Gagnon who ran around the left end and 11 yards later had the first down.
Edmonton also rolled the dice on a third-down play. Needing five yards for the first down at the Toronto 42, Mike Reilly hit Duke Williams for a 14-yard gain. The risk taking paid off as those two Eskimos connected for a TD to cap off the drive.
ACT TWO
James Franklin looked solid again for the Argos, finishing 26/36 for 296 yards. His numbers could have been even better, but there were a couple of drops by the receiving corps.
Still, a 72.2 percent completion rate on an extremely rainy Edmonton night is an indication of how accurate Franklin can be. Reilly threw for 38 fewer yards and finished with a 58.3 completion percentage.
ADJUSTMENTS
There was little doubt the Eskimos would make adjustments to try to take James Wilder Jr out of the game. He lit them up for 120 yards a week ago, looking virtually unstoppable in the fourth quarter.
Edmonton did a nice job containing him in the rematch, but one of Wilder’s best attributes is his versatility. While being limited to just 26 yards on a dozen carries, Wilder contributed to the offence with six catches for 62 yards.
It was far from being a vintage performance by the Florida State grad, but he was still able to help move the chains and scored the Argos only touchdown of the game.
SJ BEIN’ SJ
After starting the season below expected production, S.J. Green had a solid game for the Argos. He led all receivers with 10 catches for 131 yards, with a couple of those catches being highlight reel material.
Green’s importance to the Argos offence cannot be overstated. He’s one of the better playmakers in the CFL and provides a young quarterback with a reliable option.
If there were any concerns about Green’s relatively slow start, Friday night’s game showed that he still possesses elite talent.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
Before the game if you were told the Argos would limit Reilly to 258 yards passing, that the QB would be Edmonton’s leading rusher with 55 yards, and that the Eskimos would score just 16 points, most Toronto fans would have been thrilled by that possibility.
That’s exactly what happened.
Edmonton tested the secondary early, with Reilly hitting Williams for 43 yards on the game’s first offensive play. They looked for Kenny Stafford on an intermediate route on the second play, then aired it out again on the next snap.
Reilly looked for Nate Behar on another bomb. Abdul Kanneh was running stride-for-stride with the Carleton product, who tried to knock the ball away to avoid an interception. The problem for Behar is that he tipped the ball right to T.J. Heath for the pick. The coverage was tight, the help from Heath perfect.
It was not an overwhelming performance, but the unit is starting to look like we expected it would when the season began.