ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO – It hasn’t exactly been pretty, nor dominant but the Argos have managed to scratch, claw and fight their way into a first place tie with the Montreal Alouettes.
Facing fourth quarter deficits in each of their last two games, the Argos have found a way to fight back. Finishing out games is starting to affect the club’s locker room – in a motivating way.
“There is something special about this team. We still have doubters and that’s something we will always have, but we are going to just keep pushing through it.”
– Argos RB Cory Boyd on the bond that is being created in the Argos locker room.
The team is still searching for answers as to when they will put together a complete game – controlling time of possession, shutting down opposing offences and finishing drives – and in the meantime, these gutsy wins are helping them remain optimistic.
“Once we buckle down and get our confidence the sky is the limit for us from there,” said RB Cory Boyd following Friday’s win over the B.C. Lions.
Boyd is one of many Argos players who have bought into a philosophy that winning really is all that matters, and how you get there or what your stats sheet appears at game’s end is secondary.
“I’m going out here to play and it’s not about the yardage, I want to win,” stated Boyd.
Echoing Boyd’s remarks after the game on Friday was CB Byron Parker, who notched the game-winning touchdown when he stepped in front of a Lions receiver to intercept a pass for a touchdown.
“I had four in 2006 and I went home with no jewelry,” Parker said when asked about his seventh career interception for a touchdown. “I would much rather have the jewelry than the accolades.”
There was no single turning point or big speech or team vision that altered the attitude in the Argos’ locker room in 2010, and as QB Cleo Lemon explains, the optimism that flows through the locker room has been bred organically.
“I think there is a real bond. We are gelling as a team and guys are fighting for one another and we care for one another.”
Lemon and his teammates understand that the Argos offence is going to take some time. Time to come together and grow as a unit, and stalled drives – turnovers and errors – albeit not ideal, are just part of that growing process. However, the ability to make a few right plays at opportune times goes a long way in sustaining the belief that these Argos have in each other.
“Did you see him come out onto the field after he got hurt? That just shows that he’s got strength,” Boyd said of his quarterback. “There is something special about this team. We still have doubters and that’s something we will always have, but we are going to just keep pushing through it.”