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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Despite heading into the break on a losing note, there is no reason the Argonauts should be feeling any bye-week blues ahead of their Labour Day rematch with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
At 5-3-0, the Argos hold their best bye-week record since the CFL went back to an eight team league in 2005. The Double Blue have exceeded all expectations and it all starts with head coach Jim Barker, who now has the difficult task of trying to keep the team focused after several days off.
“It starts with the first day where we just stick to the fundamentals,” says Barker. “The first day is all about the same stuff we preached during training camp. We didn’t even run a play.”
Before the 16-12 loss to Hamilton, confidence was riding at its highest for the Argos after beating the Montreal Alouettes in rather convincing fashion.
“What got us to 5-2-0 was the attention to detail and the focus during the week and doing things right all the time. But when you don’t prepare that way, things like what happened the other night are going to happen.”
Discipline has been the recurring theme for the Double Blue this season. Against Hamilton, it all got away from them and the end result was a loss in a very winnable game. Players came back to practice on Tuesday, some of them feeling uneasy about the way they performed head.
“To be honest, I had a few nights where I didn’t sleep well thinking about it,” says WR/KR Chad Owens, who one week prior to the game, led the team in receiving but also led his fellow receivers in an elaborate touchdown celebration against the Alouettes.
Losing a game like the one against Hamilton hurts. But as has been the case throughout the season, the team approaches each game without dwelling or getting caught up in the past.
“We’re not concerned about Hamilton, we’re concerned about being better on Labour Day than we were on Friday. If we’re at our best then we feel everything can take care of itself,” says Barker.
RB Cory Boyd
The current leading rusher in the CFL, Boyd has had the ability to find a hole and bounce off an extra tackle for additional yards. He has been huge in sustaining drives on the new Argo offence. He is the CFL’s Offensive Player for the Month for August, which saw him average 5.3 yards per carry and 388 yards from scrimmage. Boyd’s Week 6 performance saw him gain player of the week honours as he became the first Argo since Michael Jenkins (2001) to grab three touchdowns in a single game. Boyd is 100 yards ahead of second place on the rushing leaders list, ahead of Edmonton’s Arkee Whitlock.
WR/KR Chad Owens
Owens has been the Argos’ ultimate double threat this season. Owens had two different returns for touchdowns through the first two weeks. He is the only Argo to have more than one TD reception this season, both of them coming in the Argos’ home win against Montreal where he was also the first Argos receiver to catch for over 100-yards (163) in 2010. Owens accomplished this when becoming the primary target after Jeremaine Copeland went down to injury earlier in that game.
LB Kevin Eiben
The CFL Canadian Player of the Month for August and runner up for July, Eiben has showed no sign of slowing down in his tenth season with the Double Blue. He is the league leader in defensive tackles with 53 and one of four Argos with two interceptions (Lin-J Shell, Byron Parker and Willie Pile also have two).
QB Cleo Lemon
While his numbers don’t show it, in his rookie season, Lemon has the composure and pocket presence necessary to get the job done. The stat that doesn’t lie is his record which is 5-3.
Argos Defence
Willie Pile and Byron Parker have given the secondary some stability, while DT Kevin Huntley has been a beast with four QB sacks. The defence has been a method of consistency for the Boatmen in the past and this season has been no different.
O-Line
They have been disciplined which has allowed LT Rob Murphy to be effective and C Dominic Picard’s role in directing the line has paid off (just look at Boyd’s numbers).
The loss two weeks ago left a bitter taste in the mouth of a lot of Argos players, but through eight weeks, there isn’t any other reason to be feeling the bye-week blues.