Don Landry | Argonauts.ca
“It just doesn’t matter. We’re gonna find a way to get it done. And that’s the way we think.”
Argos’ general manager Jim Barker summed up his team’s philosophy as it gets ready to kick off the 2015 season with five straight road games, including this weekend’s “home” tilt against the Edmonton Eskimos in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
“It’s okay. It’s part of what we’ve gotten good at,” Barker told reporters, a slight smile creasing his face. “We don’t worry about that stuff.”
“That stuff” he referred to was all about the hurdles and uncertainties that shadowed the Argos over the last few seasons – uncertainties that dissolved almost completely in a hectic couple of months that saw them welcome new owners, a new place to play and contract extensions for both Barker and head coach Scott Milanovich.
No wonder there is a feeling of optimism as the season begins, even though that batch of road games beckons and the club tackles it with a fair number of roster questions in need of answers.
There is a positive feeling about the talent on hand. But also a knowledge that until the really angry tone of regular season play tests some of that young talent, it’s best to have as much veteran presence around as insurance, which is precisely why Barker and Milanovich snapped up the likes of running backs Brandon Whitaker and Chad Kackert, receiver Dave Stala and defensive lineman Jason Vega earlier this week.
“We think there’s good potential of that” Milanovich answered when asked whether Kackert or Whitaker would be pressed into action on Saturday. “Things are gonna be moving fast Saturday night and we need to have some depth at that position.”
With an injury to the very versatile and valuable Curtis Steele, and facing what will undoubtedly be rush-happy defence put on by the Eskimos, along with quarterback Trevor Harris still getting his feet really wet as a starter, running backs who pick up the blitz are kind of a big deal. An experienced offensive line should take care of what’s usual, it’s the extra rush from elsewhere that needs attending and both Whitaker and Kackert know how to blow up a blitz real good.
As for Harris – who’ll be the man until Ricky Ray is fully ready to play – Barker feels fairly well certain that the fourth-year pivot is prepared, and now it’s up to him.
“He’s as ready as he can be,” Barker said. “He’s gonna go out and show what he is. Either he’s gonna be a great player in this league or he’s gonna be a guy who’s gonna be a career back-up.”
“You never know until they play,” Barker continued, adding that management and teammates alike believe in Harris.
With Andre Durie and Chad Owens in the slots, Harris will have reliable, game-breaking pros at his disposal. How much room they get to operate, however, is the question. If you were coordinating a defence, wouldn’t you lock down on the proven targets and say “beat me with your rookies”? That’s where newcomers like Tori Gurley, Vidal Hazelton, Kevin Elliott, Diontae Spencer as well as second year targets Anthony Coombs and Natey Adjei will find their proving ground.
“Those guys have to grow up fast,” said Barker. He was talking about some of the newbies in the defensive secondary, too.
With Jermaine Gabriel and Matt Black providing experienced leadership, the likes of A.J. Jefferson, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah will look to show they belong and there are high hopes there.
The front seven will get an injection of savvy with the re-additions of linebacker Brandon Isaac and defensive end Ricky Foley, Grey Cup champions with the Argos in 2012. This is where a whopping amount of optimism abounds; second year sack specialist Tristan Okpalaugo was very good in his rookie year, we know. Where’s the ceiling on what can be accomplished with another handful at the other end? For this weekend’s opener, one thing is for certain. If those defensive line bookends can crash quarterback Mike Reilly’s pocket on a regular basis, those young secondary additions will find things that much more comfortable.
It’s intriguing, this mix of rookie potential and proven veteran abilities. Those veterans will feel extra pressure in the early going, says Milanovich.
“The rookies are gonna make some mistakes ‘til they get used to the CFL so the guys that have been here and have done that need to be at the top of their game right from the start,” he stated.
Potential. It’s an easy word to toss out there. Converting it is another matter. Doing that without your exalted leader and five games away from home to start the season? Well, that’s just another thing to calmly manage, says Barker. The Argos are experienced in that regard.
“It’s a great challenge,” Barker said of hitting the road for so long, so early. “It’s a great challenge for our guys and I know Scott has taken it as a personal challenge to himself.”
That challenge begins this weekend, as the Argonauts make their 2015 debut at their home on the range.