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
TORONTO — The cry has been going on for awhile now, what with the Argos passing attack continuing to struggle.
“Run the ball!”
I have to admit that when someone asked me to give them one good reason the Argos could beat Hamilton this weekend, I replied: “I’ll give you three. Cory Boyd, Cory Boyd, Cory Boyd.”
With such a big game in sight, putting the ball in Steven Jyles’ hands too much doesn’t seem like the most prudent move. Unless he’s tucking it in and running with it, that is.
With a quarterback efficiency rating of just 59.4, Jyles is not yet comfortable and effective leading the Argonauts air attack.
You have to believe that head coach Jim Barker feels the same way. He says the reason that back up Dalton Bell took a bunch of first team snaps this week was not a reflection on Jyles’ performance so far, but to get Bell’s confidence and rhythm back on track, which is solid reasoning.
However, if the coach was sure his top guy was completely healthy and ready for a breakthrough, he might not feel quite so compelled to ensure his understudy was rehearsing with the A-listers.
“We actually did that (called more running plays than passing plays) a couple of weeks ago. But you didn’t know it, because (Jyles) pulled the ball out and threw it. So, it comes in the stats as a pass, yet it was a called run. The ‘zone read’ is the big play in this league. The defensive end is responsible for both the ‘C’ gap (the running lane off-tackle) and he’s also responsible for contain on the quarterback.”
– Argos Head Coach & GM Jim Barker
Argos fans are clamouring for more Boyd. Boyd is clamouring for more Boyd. It seems that a team with a suspect passing game and injury-depleted offensive line might squeeze the playbook down to a lot of Boyd.
With that in mind, I asked the coach whether he could run his tailback 20 to 25 times in this game.
“Sure,” was his reply.
Simple answer to a simple question. It’s the next simple question that complicates matters a bit.
“WILL you run him 20 to 25 times this week,” I asked him?
“Depends on what they (the Ticats) do,” he replied. “If they start dropping people into the box, I’m not gonna hand it off to him and just have him get pounded and pounded and pounded.
“We have to be able to throw the ball well enough that they’ve gotta keep people back and play the pass.”
There’s the complication. Because, sure, it seems like a bright idea to just keep feeding Cory Boyd the ball, and challenging Hamilton’s defence to man up and stop him.
However, everyone in the CFL world knows the Argos passing game ain’t exactly at Holloway to Greer, or Flutie to Mookie Mitchell levels right now. Including the Ticats. So they will likely defend the run with great gusto on Saturday night, forcing Jyles and his receivers to make things happen.
Boyd’s okay with that. He gets why he might not get the ball as much as he’d like, despite feeling better now than he has all season long.
“Whatever plays may be called, I just try to go out there and execute them. Me getting the ball, me not getting the ball, they (the coaches) are putting us in the best position to be successful so if that means me getting more touches, that’s it.
“If it means taking away touches, I can’t do anything about that.”
Having said that, you can tell Boyd’s not exactly thrilled with a diminished role. Last year’s team MVP sure does want the ball more if he can get it.
“I’ve been averaging, I think, about 12 touches a game. My role, I feel, has diminished a little bit this year. I guess it’s because we’re scheming differently.
“We’re trying to open up our offence a bit more. That means I have to do other things to help my team more.”
In talking with Barker about the run, he brings up a fascinating point for football fans: that more run plays are called than you might know.
“We actually did that (called more running plays than passing plays) a couple of weeks ago. But you didn’t know it, because (Jyles) pulled the ball out and threw it. So, it comes in the stats as a pass, yet it was a called run.”
Don Landry sets up Week 14 as the Argonauts look to close the gap on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats who currently hold the final playoff spot in the East. Click here to watch video.
Barker says that happens a lot in the CFL. Run plays are sent in, but quarterbacks opt to pass instead. That’s because, as they drop back with their arm extended toward the running back, they are looking at something else and making a split-second decision.
“The ‘zone read’ is the big play in this league,” Barker said. “The defensive end is responsible for both the ‘C’ gap (the running lane off-tackle) and he’s also responsible for contain on the quarterback.
So the quarterback drops back and you see him do this (extend the ball to the running back while looking at the line of scrimmage). What he’s doing is he’s looking at the defensive end to see if he’s committed to the ‘C’ gap. If he is, then he’s puling the ball out (and passing).”
Barker says that’s a common occurrence in the CFL, with quarterbacks from Vancouver to Montreal (occasionally Moncton) calling off run plays at the last possible second. That’s in an attempt to stick to the old adage of taking what the defence gives you.
So, it seems the “run the hell out of Cory Boyd” game plan, while great on paper, isn’t always the right decision on the field.
Another old adage says you run to set up the pass. Seems the Argos need to pass to set up the run.
THE EXTRA POINT
Could a wishbone offence work in the CFL? While liking certain aspects of it, neither Barker nor Boyd felt they could endorse it completely. Boyd loves that it’s a physical style of offence and thinks the Argos have the talent to run it.
“With the personnel we have on this team, a quarterback like Jyles, with the running backs and offensive line that we have… we’re a very physical team. Anything can work if you have the right players, the right mind set and the belief that it will work out.”
Barker’s not quite so convinced. He believes it’s more suited to a league with four downs than one with three.
“The biggest problem is finding quarterbacks who can do it. And, if you get behind, it’s difficult to come back if you’re running that.”