DAVID ALTER
Special To Argonauts.ca
David Alter is a reporter and sportscaster for Toronto’s Sports Radio THE FAN 590. David covers the Argos and has covered football at every level dating back to 2003.
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TORONTO –Despite the result, there were many positives the Argos can take from their season opener in Calgary.
Discipline:
Throughout camp, Head Coach Jim Barker stressed accountability and he didn’t want to see his team take costly penalties. The Argos kept their infractions to a minimum and despite being rocked in terms of total offensive yards, the Boatmen were in the game until the very final minute.
Defence:
The Argos defence continued the trend of bend but do not break when it came to opponents in their red zone, limiting the Stampeders to field goals instead of touchdowns. They also managed to force three turnovers.
Special Teams:
Chad Owens had a brilliant 90-yard punt return for a touchdown. What made this especially impressive was his ability to elude three defenders in the final 15-yards of the run when it appeared almost certain that he was going to be stopped. It looks like he could be the answer the Boatmen were looking for after the departure of Dominique Dorsey.
Lemon:
QB Cleo Lemon’s numbers weren’t spectacular in his debut, but as far as CFL debuts go it was par for the course. He’s only played three quarters of pre-season football prior to the opener in Calgary. By his own admission, he can play better and it will take some time. He’s shown some improvement every time he’s been out there, and you can’t expect to see immediate results from a new quarterback in this league (no matter where he’s come from.)
Durie:
A bright spot in the backfield in the RB/SB role, Andre Durie is now getting the ball on a regular basis and is getting a chance to prove his worth in this league. Durie was the leading receiver for the Boatmen, and if the Argos can continue to utilize him, he could spread out the offence and keep opposing defences guessing.
It’s going to take some time to get everything on track. The O-Line did a decent job of providing Lemon some protection but the blind side hit, which led to final Calgary touchdown, hurt, and it will have to be addressed. The receiving core will need some work as the season goes along, this was expected with the new core. The Argos won their season opener the last couple of years only to have awful seasons. The way this opener went down, if they can get better every week then the results will come.