In baseball, a hitter is considered being “in the zone” when they’re on a hot streak; when the baseball appears as big as a beachball and the game seems to slow down.
Whatever a punter’s version of “the zone” is, John Haggerty was in it last week in Calgary.
The Toronto Argonauts punter averaged 64.6 yards per kick that night, just shy of Nick Setta’s single game record of 64.7, set in 2008 with Hamilton. While the game’s final score didn’t leave him with a good feeling, he admitted he was happy with his work.
“Individually I felt good,” he told Argonauts.ca. “Everything felt like it was in slow motion. I was able to see everything, kick though everything. I felt good.”
But what about this “zone” thing? Haggerty explained that there is a punter’s version of it, and he was in it in Southern Alberta last week.
“I had a really good week of prep, my punt through the week was really good,” he explained. “I guess it carried the confidence into the game, and in the game I saw everything like I did at practice, in slow motion, the ball felt bigger, and playing in Calgary the ball is going to travel further anyway. It felt good.”
Haggerty has been stellar this year. He leads the league with a 53.2-yard average, has the longest punt of the year at 79 yards, and has downed three punts inside the 10-yard line, tied for tops in the league.
The Argos also lead the CFL with a net punting average of 42.0, bolstered by an insanely high net of 51.0 in Calgary. Argonauts.ca asked special teams coordinator Mickey Donovan if he remembered ever finishing with a number that high.
“No,” he said quickly. “And the other team was 48, I’ve never seen that.”
Stampeder punter Mark Vassett led the league last year with a 41.7 net, taking advantage of the thinner air in Calgary, something both punters benefited from last week. The Argos net last year was a pedestrian 36.4, something Donovan has a couple of explanations for.
“A lot of it is personnel, guys being healthy,” said the coach. “We were missing key guys. Rosters get limited in games when guys go down. Adding a guy like Adarius Pickett to the team and having him and Isaac Darkangelo together out there with a guy like Derek Slywka (helps). L-P Gauthier is doing a great job stepping up and playing field gunner. And guys are doing their job; they could be missing tackles. You need guys to make plays when it’s their turn.”
Donovan wasn’t finished giving flowers to the major contributors.
“Darius McKenzie is stepping up big; he’s been playing well. Brian Harelimana has been amazing, Jeremiah Ojo has been amazing, and if Jack Cassar isn’t making the tackle he’s right there in the picture. The competition level has increased and Jack is healthy; Brian is healthy this year. Those things matter.”
While the Argos punting team starts with long snapper Adam Guillemette and ends with the coverage unit, the main cog in the engine is Haggerty. He loves the other components of the Double Blue punt machine.
“I feel like our team is great,” Haggerty said, eager to share the credit. “As a unit I feel like we can be the best in the league, we’ve just got to keep growing and grinding together as a unit. We have a lot of people who are new on the team and to the CFL, so those boys are still learning, but I feel like when we glue it together, I think we’re going to be a really good team.”
The Australian has been outstanding since joining the Argos in 2022. He ranks first among Argos, and second in the CFL, entering the season with a career average of 49.3. In each of the last two seasons he has averaged 50.3 yards per punt, the third- and fourth-best seasons in league history.
It’s not just the punt team that has been good. Janarion Grant already has a punt return touchdown and has been solid, and after missing a pair of field goal attempts in the opener, Lirim Hajrullahu has connected on each of his last nine attempts, including a pair over 50 yards.
It’s still early, but this year’s Argo special teams have a chance to be, well, special.