Don Landry | Argonauts.ca Insider
The captains all agree. Playing well, beating Winnipeg and heading into the playoffs with that winning feeling is of great significance to the Toronto Argonauts.
Putting the brakes on a three game losing streak and displaying a crisp, composed and unified front in the regular season finale against the Blue Bombers is the goal as the team prepares to hit the road for what would amount to three straight games, should they earn a berth in the Grey Cup Game.
“I think it is,” said linebacker Greg Jones, when presented with the word “crucial” as an adjective to describe Friday night’s game.
Jones, the second year linebacker and the Argos’ Pefensive player of the Year nominee, is one of three team captains anointed after a team vote and coaches’ consideration earlier this week. Along with offensive lineman Jeff Keeping and special teams ace Brendan Gillanders, Jones has been entrusted with leading through actions and words.
All three of the captains believe momentum is important and that one game can certainly provide it. And all three say they have faith in their teammates as the post-season dawns.
“We have a group of guys who are ultra-competitive and vested in what we’re doing here,” said Keeping, the longest serving veteran of the current Argos’ roster, in his tenth year. “Sometimes that competitiveness comes out the wrong way. I have faith we’ve worked out those kinks and we can focus our energy in a more positive direction.”
Keeping was talking about the – at times – unbridled emotions of some of his teammates providing obstacles for the Argos during games this season. Last week, against the B.C. Lions, a parade of penalties helped the Lions keep two touchdown drives alive and could easily be considered the most important reasons why the Argos came out on the downside of a 27-25 score. Youthful exuberance can sometimes become a detrimental emotion if it leads to outbursts and a flurry of penalty flags.
“We kind of let ourselves down,” said Gillanders, the second year Argo who has 14 special teams tackles in 2015 and has chipped in on offence when needed, with 7 catches for 104 yards and one rush for 11 yards. “We know that the game was in reach and we let it get away from us with some silly penalties. We know, going forward, we’re gonna have to be more disciplined if we wanna make a push in the playoffs.”
“We’ve got a fairly young team. But the thing is, the guys care and we all know what we wanna do,” he said.
Jones, who is just six tackles shy of reaching 100 on the season, is also aware of how young football players can sometimes mistakenly cross the line. He also knows that it’s not something than continue, but he wouldn’t want to eliminate his teammates’ passion.
“We have very passionate guys who care about winning,” he explained, putting his faith in his teammates in focus. “We’ve just gotta make sure we can keep our composure and not get at the refs or anything like that. I get on my guys about keeping composure, not about being too passionate about the game that they love and have fire for.”
“That situation’s definitely taken care of,” he continued. “We’ve definitely solved it. There might be one or two times where guys might get upset about a call or two but as far as getting at the refs and losing our wits about ourselves, we’re not gonna do that anymore.”
Keeping has his eyes trained straight ahead and feels certain that even though Friday night’s game is the last chance to get rolling before the playoffs start, it’d be plenty to ensure momentum has been secured for the post-season. He’s seen late season surges before, based on single games, most notably in 2012, when the Argos caught fire late and charged to a Grey Cup Championship.
“I believe so,” he said, when asked if one game is enough to turn the trick. “I think back to that game we had, in 2012, in Saskatchewan, right around Hallowe’en. Hard fought battle and we turned things around and had a big win. That game kinda turned a switch on for us. It gave us huge momentum heading into the playoffs and we know what happened there.”
Jones agrees. It’s why he looks at Friday night’s game with such urgency. “It’s definitely how it starts,” he said. “That’s how momentum builds, one game at a time.”
“I’ve been in playoffs before in the NFL,” he continued,” and I think the number one thing that we did was capitalize on the momentum when things were going our way.”
Jones has a Super Bowl Ring, earned with the New York Giants in 2012. The Giants won their last two regular season games to squeak into the playoffs where they won four straight on the way to that championship.
So, Keeping and Jones believe in the fuel that one game can provide in the momentum department. Gillanders was asked about the same thing and he was emphatic in his response.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, enthusiastically. “I mean, we tend to have short memories. If we can get one win, it changes everything, going into the playoffs on a high note.”
Keeping sums it up; The Argonauts have done some self-evaluation and are clear on what they want as the Grey Cup Playoffs come into view.
“Obviously,” he said, “we’re not happy with our performance the last couple of games but I do think that if we improve, if we do the things we know lead to success, that one game (can) give us momentum heading into the playoffs with a head of steam.”
It’s unanimous, then. A crisp, composed and unified team effort in just one game – the regular season finale – can be a springboard to playoff success.
The three captains agree.