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September 17, 2024

Hogan: D-Max and the D-Line

Consider the hounds released.

The defensive line of the Toronto Argonauts had a rough day on September 7 in Ottawa. The 41-27 loss stung badly enough, but it was magnified by the group’s failure to record a single sack that afternoon.

Fast forward to last Friday night in BC. It seemed like a different bunch, not only pressuring three different Lions quarterbacks all night, but recording seven sacks while playing a major role in limiting BC’s starting running back William Stanback to just 21 rushing yards.

So, what changed? There were some new looks, but not much else according to defensive line coach Demitrious Maxie.

“They practice hard,” Maxie told Argonauts.ca. “They always try to be perfect to perfect their crafts. We do drills and put them in the right position to bring out the best in their ability.”

Whatever the message was last week, it was heard.

“Leading up to BC we had a really good week of practice,” said defensive end Robbie Smith. “That’s something (head coach Ryan) Dinwiddie, (defensive co-coordinator Kevin) Eiben, and Maxie harped on a lot, playing well in practice, being detail oriented. I think that led up to us playing the way we played in BC.”

Smith has been consistent this year, but quiet in terms of sacks – at least until Friday night. He recorded a pair of quarterback takedowns, and as a reward was presented with the defensive game ball for the first time in his career.

“It was huge,” he told Argonauts.ca, bursting into a smile as he recalled teammate Flo Orimolade flipping him the game ball in the locker room. “It was my first game ball, so it felt amazing, especially coming from Flo. He was taking double teams all night; he was getting chipped all night by receivers and running backs. He took the attention off me, so maybe I’ve got to get him dinner or something (laughs).”

How did Maxie feel about Smith being rewarded for his effort?

“Ecstatic,” said Maxie, who racked up 70 career CFL sacks, including 28 as an Argo. “He deserves it because he’s one of our better defensive players. He works hard, he plays multiple positions and moves around well.”

Prior to Friday, the former Laurier Golden Hawk hadn’t been rewarded often for his hard work. The two sacks he recorded in that game doubled his season total to four. He’s looking to add to that number and one thing is for sure, he’s not going to be outworked.

“One thing I try to do is to just keep playing and play up to my level,” the product of St. Thomas Aquinas in Brampton explained. “Sometimes you end up with pressures, and sometimes sacks will come too. I try to always play hard and get to the quarterback and sometimes (a sack) happens, and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m glad it happened on Friday.”

A good group will get even better with the imminent return of Jared Brinkman and Thiadric Hansen to the lineup. Brinkman was injured in the Argos game in Hamilton on July 20 and has missed the subsequent seven games. That, coupled with an injury to Jordan Williams, allowed Ralph Holley to step into a starting role and he has been nothing short of spectacular, racking up seven sacks in as many games.

The talent level on the d-line is staggering. Williams is back, while Jake Ceresna and Derek Parish also recorded sacks against BC, and rookie Tyson Hergott has also been contributing, primarily on special teams. It’s a group so deep that Woody Baron, who was a West Division All-Star last year with 8 sacks, can’t make the starting lineup.

The front four, along with the rest of the defence, will be asked to come up big again Friday night at BMO Field when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are in town. The Ticats upset the Argos in each of their first two meetings this season, but an Argo win can all but end their chances of advancing to the playoffs on the East Division side of the ledger.

A win would reduce the Argos “magic number” to one point, meaning one point gained by Toronto, or any loss or tie by Hamilton would mean the only way the Ticats could make the playoffs would be via a crossover to the West Division.

Kickoff time Friday night is 7:00.