Landry: Boatmen look to set the tone in back-to-back with Ottawa
Don Landry | Argonauts.ca Insider
Quarterback Trevor Harris sized up the situation for his Toronto Argonauts.
“I can’t put it into words how important they are,” Harris said of the next two games on the schedule. “If you go oh and two in these games you dig yourself an enormous hole and you make it very difficult to climb back in (to the race).”
These are two rather enormous games on the horizon. Games that will play a big part in setting the tone for the stretch drive. With back to back dates against the Redblacks, in Ottawa, the Argos are looking to reclaim second place by cooling out the crew from the nation’s capital.
After a week off, the Argonauts are “refreshed,” said veteran slotback Chad Owens. “Bye week came at a good time.”
With three straight losses, the Argonauts watched as the surging Redblacks were building a three game winning streak, giving them a two point cushion over Toronto in the East.
With time off to reflect, rest and prepare, the Argos know what they need to do, including those in the defensive secondary. It’s a group that hopes and expects to rise to the occasion after what has been a season of inconsistency. Their play will tell a rather important tale as they attempt to slow down Henry Burris and the Ottawa passing game.
“Henry’s hot,” said Argos’ Head Coach Scott Milanovich. “Henry looks great.”
Burris has been looking like a younger version of himself of late, torching the Saskatchewan pass defence for 477 yards and two touchdowns, last week, as Ottawa pulled ahead of Toronto in the standings.
The Toronto defence – ranked at or near the bottom of the CFL in a number of key statistical categories when it comes to stopping the pass, needs to perform with more cohesion, and there is the feeling among the players that it has the capability to do so, starting now.
“We’re starting to gel a little more,” said third-year free safety Jermaine Gabriel, referring to the kind of seamless chemistry a secondary needs to move in effective, fluid fashion as a unit. “That’s what a main part of being a DB is. Communicating. So you know what’s in play. If you don’t communicate, there’s miscues.”
“We’re starting to understand the coverages, understand the defences a lot more,” said rookie defensive back Devin Smith of an Argos’ secondary that is long on talent and potential, but has been struggling to find playmaking harmony in the face of unfamiliarity. “Now I think we’re starting to get it and get the feel for it.”
“We need to be the strong point of the defence,” he continued. “As soon as they (Ottawa’s receivers) catch the ball we’ve gotta make tackles and rally to the ball.”
For Milanovich, there’s a design for success in these two games, defensively speaking. That plan involves the Toronto front seven taking care of its business as well as the secondary clamping down and improving on a league-worst 297.1 yards per game given up through the air.
“I think it starts with stopping the run and not lettin’ him (Burris) have the luxury of running the ball on first down and (of) play action,” Milanovich said. “Then, you’ve gotta keep him in the pocket and take away his first read. It’s easier said than done.”
When last they met, on August 23rd, the Argos rallied to take a 30-24 decision over the Redblacks, despite giving up 426 yards in passing, as Burris went 32 for 36. Part of the reason for the Argos’ comeback that day was that the Redblacks took 20 penalties for a total of 228 yards.
The Argos know they can’t count on that happening again. Instead, they will need to rely on improved defensive fortifications and that is something Gabriel believes they can accomplish.
“It’s the second time we’ve seen them,” he said of the Redblacks’ receiving corps “not the first time. We’ve had a chance to look at the film, see what they did, what they like to do.”
Gabriel says he has liked what the Argos have in the way of pass coverage designs this season, choosing to load the responsibility for giving up an average of 24 receptions per game on the players.
“Coaches are doing a great job of putting us in the right position to make plays,” he said. “We just have to end up making the plays.”
One of the coaches Gabriel was speaking of is Jordan Younger, the former Argo free safety who rejoined the team as secondary coach this year. When asked what principles have been most underlined by Younger this season, Gabriel doesn’t hesitate in his response.
“Film study,” he says. “Give the opponent the respect they deserve. Study them. Don’t take them lightly. Play every play like it was your last.”
Good advice for a team embarking on a critical two game set with a cozy division stable mate. If the Argos are to be successful, their young secondary will be a big reason why, facing a team that has put up more average passing yards per game (309.5) than any other in the CFL.
Smith says he and his fellow defensive backs cannot let Burris get away with busting open the game with deep patterns.
“We have to be disciplined in coverages and minimize big plays, not letting him make the big plays he’s been making every week,” he said of Burris.
The challenge is in front of them. The Argos’ secondary is looking to meet it and in the process, regain some control in the East.