ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO – The debut of DE Ricky Foley could not have gone better for the 28-year-old York product and his new club.
On the Argos’ second defensive play, Foley, who was listed as a backup, entered the game at the rush end position. After being steered away from the pocket, Foley made a move back towards the play and tracked down a scrambling Steven Jyles, planting the Winnipeg quarterback into the turf for a sack. Overwhelmed with excitement, Foley flexed and pointed at his right bicep where a tattoo of the Toronto skyline is imprinted, officially signifying the beginning of the Ricky Foley era in Toronto.
“I am always going to play emotional…but you also don’t want to step on anyone’s toes either. You want to come in and be yourself and play with emotion and passion but it is your first day with these guys so you’ve got to pick your spots.”
– DE Ricky Foley on his debut with the Argos on Sunday
Following the celebration, Foley settled into the Argos five-man defensive line rotation, accumulating three defensive tackles to go along with his sack. Usually emotional, Foley was hesitant from that point on about celebrating too much, understanding that despite his successful track record in the CFL, he is still the new man on campus.
“I am always going to play emotional,” Foley said. “I didn’t really have my wind under me so you can’t waste too much energy (celebrating) but you also don’t want to step on anyone’s toes either. You want to come in and be yourself and play with emotion and passion but it is your first day with these guys so you’ve got to pick your spots.”
Like any new player, it is going to take time for Foley to truly get acclimated to a new system but Argos head coach Jim Barker seemed to be more than pleased his first look at Foley.
“He brought energy and gave us some speed up front that we may have been lacking a bit,” Barker said following Sunday’s contest. “He played outstanding and considering that he wasn’t here a week ago, I felt that the defensive coaching staff did a great job implementing him in and allowing him to do the things he does well, so I thought he gave a defence a big lift.”
Foley, who’s much publicized wavering during his short stint as a CFL free agent, chose to play in his home town earlier in the week. He was immediately inserted into a defence that had one of its better all around performances of the season the previous week in B.C. Heading into the second half the defence did a commendable job keeping the Argos in the contest by only giving up six first half points while waiting for the offence and special teams to catch up.
Once the Double Blue put points on the board, the defence held tight and put an end to a late-game push by the Bombers on a third and short situation – a key play that Foley assures did not go unnoticed.
“It felt great,” Foley said of the play in which he assisted DE Alex Buzbee make. “The play that ‘Buzz’ made was pretty awesome.”