ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
MISSISSAUGA – Much has been made of the Argonauts’ ability to turn a relatively standard third down play into an unexpected change of momentum, especially coming off a win in Saskatchewan which saw them fake two punts.
However, words such as ‘fake’ or ‘misdirection’ or ‘tricks’ seem to evade the vocabulary of Argos head coach Jim Barker who views the rather unorthodox plays as just that – plays.
“We don’t view them as trick plays,” Barker said on the eve of his club’s key matchup with the Tiger-Cats on Friday night. “We look at them as plays that you execute.”
Barker’s mentality is a refreshing perspective on an area of the game that is often viewed as nothing more than a surrendering of possession.
“When we have the ball and we are punting, we see that as an offensive play for us and we treat it as such,” Barker continued. “If you treat it that way, any offence that comes up to the line [and sees an opportunity presented by the opposing defence], they are going to take it. It’s the same thing with our field goal team. We treat these types of plays as something that we do and if you are playing us, you better stay schematically sound or you are going to get beat.”
“When we have the ball and we are punting, we see that as an offensive play for us and we treat it as such. If you treat it that way, any offence that comes up to the line [and sees an opportunity presented by the opposing defence], they are going to take it.
– Jim Barker on his team’s ability to extend drives on third down
Barker and his club may or may not have a lot of tricks up their sleeve this week versus Hamilton but one thing that is for sure is that the Argos must sustain a better output this week than their first two encounters with Hamilton this season.
The two clubs boast identical 7-7 records but the goal for the Boatmen is to finish ahead of the Ticats at season’s end. Toronto has lost the season series to the ‘Cats so they don’t want the tie-breaker to come into play when trying to secure a home playoff date.
Offensively, the Argos did everything but finish drives in their two previous meetings with Hamilton, generating 734 yards of total offence but struggled when in the redzone, producing only one touchdown and turning the ball over five times.
The Argos will make a few roster changes heading into Friday with the return of P/K Noel Prefontaine leading the way. Fellow Canadian Jeff Keeping has been placed on the injured list with a sore ankle and rookie Joe Eppele is likely to take his place on special teams and on certain offensive formations. Another non-import, WR Keith Godding, is likely to make his Argos debut Friday night as is newly acquired RB Dwayne Wright. A product of Fresno State, Wright is expected to offset some of the workload adopted by Cory Boyd.
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Rogers Centre and marks the annual Wendy’s Kick For A Million contest which will take place at halftime. For tickets, please call 416-341-ARGO (2746) or CLICK HERE to purchase online.