An avid Argos supporter and season ticket holder, Don Landry has covered almost every type of news from sports to music to talk radio in his 25 years of broadcasting and has conducted over 10,000 interviews with the likes of Prime Ministers, Premiers, sports legends, showbiz stars, power brokers and many more. Follow Don on Twitter @argoslandry or visit his website at donlandry.com.
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DON LANDRY
Argonauts.ca Columnist
MISSISSAUGA –One of the more daunting tasks for any CFL team right now has to be facing a Saskatchewan Roughriders club that has apparently found traction after a half season of fits and starts. Two games spent in close proximity to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers leads one to conclude that swagger may be a contagion. One that has found a new host in the pass-happy Roughriders offence.
Cue the 2 and 8 Toronto Argonauts and their charismatic free safety, Willie Pile. While much is being made, these days, of the rebuilding Argos offence and what it can become (and how quickly) under the guidance of quarterback Steven Jyles, perhaps the more important question surrounding this weekend’s match-up at Mosaic Stadium deals with Pile and his defensive mates. Specifically, how successful they can be at bogging down Darian Durant‘s devil-may-care pass-catching crew.
Don Landry expands on the Argos secondary, discusses Steven Jyles’ progression and touches on the possible return of Jason Pottinger as he sets up Week 12 versus the Roughriders. Click here to watch video.
If Willie Pile is intimidated by Mosaic Stadium, he doesn’t show it. If he’s concerned to be leading an Argos defence against a rejuvenated Saskatchewan offence, he won’t let on. If there’s a feeling of hopelessness over a 2 and 8 season, you can’t find a trace of it on his face.
As the ‘quarterback’ of the Argos defence, shouting out the down and distance situation as well as the defensive set calls on every play, Pile is well aware of the challenge his squad faces on Saturday in trying to keep the likes of Weston Dressler, Chris Getzlaf and Andy Fantuz buckled down.
“We understand that this is the situation we’re in. We’re 2 and 8 and we need to go out on the road and win in a very tough place, but we’ve done it before. We did it last year, and we did it with defence by bottling up their best players.”
It’s one thing to say ‘it’, it’s another thing to ‘do it’. In their 24 – 18 victory over the ‘Riders on August 18th, the Argos defence did a fairly decent job of keeping Saskatchewan’s offence off-balance. Or did they?
While it’s true that the score was 24 – 4 after three quarters, the Riders racked up 468 total yards. They were done in by penalties and turnovers.
When they tidied up, they converted their drives and very nearly stole the game as the seconds ticked down. One of the catalysts in their turnaround was a 70-yard touchdown romp by Getzlaf in the fourth quarter – busted coverage was the culprit.
“Being physical is one thing. It throws off the timing. So, that can definitely help take away those corner routes. They like to push the ball downfield before they throw it short. So, if we can take away the deep routes, give them the short ones and ride up to make the tackles, then we can be successful.”
– CB Sean Smalls on trying to shut down a now potent Riders receiving corps.
“The biggest thing we have to do is eliminate those big plays and those are just communication errors,” said Pile. “It’s unfortunate that every time a big play happens, it’s from communication. It’s not a physical thing; teams are not earning it; it’s us giving it up.”
“We’ve got to have more game savvy. If it’s second and ten there’s no need to break hard on a 3-yard hitch route. That’s what happened (on Getzlaf’s touchdown). Two guys broke hard on the hitch, the receiver goes free, they go over the top and it’s a TD. Those little things are what’s keeping us from taking it to the next level, and that’s what we need to do going into Regina.”
Ah, yes, Regina. Mosaic Stadium will be rocking, again, what with the home team’s re-emergence as a force. But Pile doesn’t see any reason to be withered by the prospect.
“We’ve won there. I’ve been in the league five years, I’ve played there four times and I’m two and two. Should be three and one because we had another game that was pretty darn close. We have no qualms about going into that facility and winning the game on the road, in a high-pressure situation.”
In blasting the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in consecutive games, the Roughriders had great success in hooking up on long passes on corner routes. It’s a great strength of theirs. All their receivers run it well and Durant throws it well. Pile and the Argos have to expect to see a lot of that on Saturday.
“I wouldn’t doubt it. But it’s all really defence dependent. They took advantage of what Winnipeg was giving them. It looks like they (the
Bombers) were trying to funnel stuff to the outside.”
Expect Toronto to try and take those gravy routes away from the ‘Riders with an aggressive coverage scheme.
“The adjustment that should have been made (by Winnipeg), and needs to be Made, is that the guys need to get physical with the receivers at the line of scrimmage to not even let them get down the field,” claimed Pile.
It’s a philosophy Argos cornerback Sean Smalls agrees with.
“Yeah, being physical is one thing,” said Smalls. It throws off the timing. So, that can definitely help take away those corner routes. They like to push the ball downfield before they throw it short. So, if we can take away the deep routes, give them the short ones and ride up to make the tackles, then we can be successful.”
According to Pile, it’s essential for the Argos that the defensive backs and linebackers force Durant to spend as much time with the ball before he can let it fly.
“We like the way our front matches up with what they’re doing to protect him. So if we can give them that extra second to let Ron Flemons turn the corner and get a big hit, that could change the dynamic of the game. We know where our strength lies. Our strength lies in covering well and giving our front a chance to work. Because when they get in a rhythm, it’s like boxing; punch, counterpunch. And I like the way our guys punch.”
Just so long as you don’t give the other guy an opening for one of those corner route haymakers.