Jeff Fuller (8) and Ricky Ray (15) of the Toronto Argonauts during the game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, SK., Saturday, July 29, 2017. (Photo: Johany Jutras)
The Toronto Argonauts (3-3) will host the Calgary Stampeders (4-1-1) in Thursday Night Football at BMO Field on Thursday, August 3.
Coming off a 38-27 road loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Argos will look to right the ship and get back above .500 against a Stamps team that has won their last two contests.
A win on Thursday would allow the Argos to tighten their grip on first place in the East Division; they currently lead the Montreal Alouettes (2-4) by one game with a back-to-back against the Als on the horizon.
RAY-SING THE BAR
Ricky Ray is simply raising the bar for quarterback play as an Argonaut so far this season. The 15-year veteran currently leads the CFL with 2,282 passing yards and nine touchdowns on 184-of-266 passing. Ray is currently on pace to throw for 6,846 yards this season which would be 267 passing yards more than current single-season all-time leader Doug Flutie (6,619) and 1,183 more than his career-high (5,663) set in 2008.
Ray became the franchise leader in passing yards with a five-yard strike to RB/SB Anthony Coombs in the fourth quarter on Saturday, surpassing longtime record holder Condredge Holloway (16,619). Ray also became the club’s all-time leader in passing attempts (Holloway – 1,989) in the first quarter on Saturday afternoon. Ray needs four passing touchdowns to become the club’s outright all-time leading passer.
He posted his sixth consecutive game with 300+ passing yards on Saturday vs. the Riders, becoming just the ninth QB in CFL history to do so. Ray’s 386-yard performance last Saturday at Mosaic Stadium notches a feat which he has never accomplished in his 15-year career – 506 in Week 1, 327 in Week 2, 366 in Week 3, 330 in Week 4, 367 in Week 5. Here is list of the most passing yards through the first 6 games in CFL history with Ray’s 1,896 figure now at #4 all-time:
| RK | PLAYER | YEAR | 6 GMS |
| 1 | Doug Flutie | 1993 | 2,547 |
| 2 | Matt Dunigan | 1994 | 2,536 |
| 3 | Doug Flutie | 1992 | 2,315 |
| 4 | Ricky Ray | 2017 | 2,282 |
The Argos all-time passing leader needs 10 more 300-yard games to pass Henry Burris for 2nd all-time.
COOMBS PACING IN 2017
For the second consecutive week, Argos SB/RB Anthony Coombs led all pass catchers with nine catches for 97 yards vs. the Riders. In the last four games, the Argos 2014 CFL Draft pick has hauled in 29 passes for 307 yards and a touchdown, an average of 10.5 yards per catch.
Coombs, who currently ranks 13th in the CFL in receiving with 37 catches for 350 yards and a touchdown, is currently on pace to set a career-high with 1,050 yards on 111 catches. Not only would these leapfrog career-highs of 57 catches for 486 yards set back in 2015 but he has already surpassed last year’s season totals.
Coombs, a University of Manitoba product, was honoured as Canada West’s Football Alum of the Month after a strong performance in the month of July.
BEAR CHOPPING WOOD
Since arriving in Toronto during training camp, Argos linebacker Bear Woods has emphatically shown his worth. The six-year CFL veteran ranks fourth in the CFL and leads the Argos with 37 defensive tackles, eight of which came last week against the Riders.
Woods, who set the Alouettes club record for tackles in a season (126), is currently averaging six tackles a game and on pace to register 110 tackles this season which would match Kevin Eiben’s 110 tackles (fourth all-time in Argos history) in 2004. In four of his last six games, he has notched 6+ tackles.
QUICK HITS
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Argos DE Shawn Lemon registered four tackles and a sack in his first return to Regina since being traded to Toronto on July 2, 2016. Since being traded the seven-year CFL veteran has recorded 33 tackles and 18 sacks in 22 games with the Double Blue. He currently is tied for the CFL lead with 15 sacks+pressures through six weeks.
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Argos kicker Lirim Hajrullahu has attempted a league-high 26 field goals through six weeks. Of his 26 attempts, Hajrullahu has connected on a league-leading 21 field goals, at a conversion rate of 80.8%. The Western product’s 26 field goals attempts are also nine more than the next closest place kicker.
- 2016 CFL Draft pick Llevi Noel caught his second career touchdown last week vs. the Riders. Noel, who also serves as a special teams ace for the Double Blue, is currently tied for fourth in the CFL with nine special teams tackles. Noel trails the league-leaders by just one special teams tackle.
- WRs SJ Green and Armanti Edwards rank second and seventh in CFL, respectively, in receiving yards. Green currently leads the Boatmen with 37 catches for 587 yards and two touchdowns while Edwards has caught 31 of 41 targets for 428 yards and a touchdown.
- Third-year Argo Marcus Ball registered four tackles for the second consecutive week. Ball now has 28 tackles and an interception on the season and has registered 4+ tackles in all six games.
- DE Troy Davis made his first career start last week vs. SSK, registering three tackles, one sack and one quarterback pressure a week after tallying his first career sack in relief of Victor Butler.
- Despite playing in just four games this season, Argos RB/KR Martese Jackson ranks fourth in the league in combined yards with 736. Jackson has 476 kickoff return yards, 218 punt return yards and 42 receiving yards, and he is currently on pace to record over 4,000 all-purpose yards this season.