Lucas Palleschi – Argos Admirals Insider
TORONTO – Week 17 (TOR v. MTL)
The East is in another three-way tie, but this time there’s an unfamiliar change in first place. After their last two wins at home – which by the way had a combined point differential of two – the Argonauts are now at 12 points and tied atop the division with Hamilton and Montreal. However, following Friday’s win against the Ticats and their Week 6 defeat of the Alouettes, Toronto, by virtue of divisional points, are actually in first place.
Well deserved.
Toronto has been playing some good football as of late. They were able to take advantage of home field with a healthier and stronger offensive core by putting together a thrilling come-from-behind victory against a divisional opponent in Hamilton and a back-and-forth win against the surging Eskimos. The Argos are starting to look like the team to beat.
Other than the ambiance of this week’s matchup against the Alouettes, there is little left to be desired from this Argo squad.
The stage is set.
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They’re at home against a division rival, 12 points apiece, both playing for first place in the East. Did I mention it’s against Montreal? No matter the situation or setting, these two teams always make for a fun game, a hard fought division rival made more important by the pressure of an up-and-coming postseason schedule. In the game of football it doesn’t take much more than that to get a team fired up.
If nothing else, the Argos should just stick to their game plan as of late. It’s been working so far. The Argos should continue to spread the ball on offence. Last game there were more than seven receiving options that Ray took advantage of that led to big plays and important scores. It would be important to mix in the running game, which has been conservative to say the least. This would allow for a healthier option of play-calling on offence and a tired opponent on defence.
The Argos have been great at eating up field, placing them in positions that allow for high percentage scores. Swayze Waters is on a hot streak right now and should be utilized as much as possible. This has been an important aspect to the Argos recent success and something they will want to continue.
If there is one constructive criticism to be had, it should be to get off to a better start. 21-point finishes to end the game of course are exciting, but it’s no way to continue to win football games with such high stakes. Furthermore, Montreal was kept off the scoreboard in the first quarter in their last two consecutive matchups. If the Argos are able to take advantage and put up a big score total in the first, they’ll dictate the rest of the game.
Watch out for Montreal’s receivers like Duron Carter and Brandon London who were instrumental in Montreal’s blowout win last week against Saskatchewan. These receivers seem to be favourites of QB Jonathan Crompton and should be watched carefully.
Montreal is also good at mixing up their offensive scheme. The Alouettes were able to spread the ball to over five rushing weapons for a combined total of 162 yards on the ground last week, which means Toronto’s D are going to want to create turnovers to keep the Als’ offence off the field.
It might seem bare bones, but much criticism is withdrawn solely based on a tremendous second half of the season by the Argos. They’re playing the type of football that’s keeping them in the playoff hunt and the favourite to win against Montreal on Saturday.
All in all we have two red-hot divisional opponents ready to smash, smack and what other comic book word that is synonymous with a rough and tough game. So sit down and strap in because this game should make for a fun evening of football.