Next Game
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ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
MISSISSAUGA – Argos head coach Jim Barker officially announced today that Cleo Lemon will regain the starting quarterback spot this weekend in Saskatchewan, pending doctor’s clearance which he expects to receive on Thursday afternoon.
Lemon missed last week’s home game against the Roughriders after suffering a concussion against the Edmonton Eskimos in Moncton back on September 26.
“I feel good,” said Lemon following Thursday’s workout. “Late last week I was starting to feel better. I had a couple days off and that was great, but after that first practice back was when I started feeling like I was ready to go.”
Lemon missed all of practice last week, paving the way for Dalton Bell to take all of the club’s first team reps. Bell would go on to start against the ‘Riders and played admirably despite taking a 27-16 in his first CFL start.
Bell’s play impressed Barker but the Argos sideline boss was quick to point out that if Lemon is healthy then he is going to play. If he plays, his time is now to show everyone that he is indeed the player to lead this team deep into the playoffs.
“Cleo has looked good all week,” Barker said of his pivot. “He has 11 games under his belt now and it is time that he steps forward and [proves that he can] be a viable guy to take [us] to a Grey Cup.”
Last week’s absence was a first for Lemon who has taken all but a handful of snaps this year for the Boatmen. Both he and Barker are taking his one missed game as a positive and hope that the view from the sideline will give the CFL rookie a different vantage point of both the offence that he runs and the defence that he will face this week at Mosaic Stadium.
“Cleo looks pretty fresh and perhaps sitting out a game and watching will have helped him,” Barker said.
Lemon echoed Barker’s hope by saying, “I wanted to be out there so bad but when you are forced to watch, you look at things with a different perspective.”
Lemon and the Argos are in a tight East Division battle for the playoffs with all three spots still up for grabs. The Boatmen will take on their biggest competitor for playoff positioning, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, at Rogers Centre next week. A win this weekend in Regina could go a long way in helping them make up some lost ground.