ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
MISSISSAUGA — It is, perhaps, the most crucial point of the CFL year and the regular season has not even kicked off yet. Saturday afternoon marks the final game on the Argos’ pre-season schedule as they visit McGill Stadium to take on the Montreal Alouettes. It also marks the final time that many Double Blue hopefuls will have an opportunity to showcase their skills to the coaching staff.
Head coach Jim Barker did not mince words when he met with media just prior to departing for Montreal as he knows that the inevitable ‘cut day’ is looming.
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“I talked to them (the players) about it this morning. There are jobs on the line in a number of spots,” Barker explained.
Barker holds no fear in the fact that the Argos are taking on the defending Grey Cup champions, even though it’s pre-season. Rather, he views it as a positive saying that there is no better team for his club to get their final test from than the club that hoisted the trophy last November.
“We have no special game plan,” Barker stated. “We are just going to go in and run our stuff. We want to see our players against the best players in the league and see how they do. Montreal has set the standard and we will see what type of execution it takes to get to that level.”
The Argos will start Cleo Lemon at quarterback for the first half, followed by Dalton Bell. This is the first clear indication as to which direction the team is leaning towards at the pivot position. Barker confirmed that it is now a two horse race to see who will begin the season as the club’s starting quarterback.
“We are between Dalton and Cleo,” Barker confirmed. “It will be one of those two that will be our starter against Calgary (in the July 1 season opener). We had to make a decision and we felt that those two were ahead…obviously, how they play is going to be a determinant.”
On the other side, there is uncertainty as to who will get the majority of the snaps for Montreal. Word is that Anthony Calvillo will see playing time after backup QB Chris Leak took most of the reps in last week’s loss to Winnipeg.
Kickoff is at 1:00 p.m. at McGill Stadium in Montreal on Saturday. There is no television or over-the-air radio coverage of this game, but audio of the broadcast by Mike Hogan and Peter Martin will be streamed on FAN590.com. Fans can also follow the game on argonauts.ca which will feature live updates via the CFL Live Play function.