argonauts-blue-bombers

11/14/2024 06:50 PM

VANCOUVER — The Toronto Argonauts are no strangers to being an underdog heading into a Grey Cup. It’s a position the team has embraced, and the Argos will have to do it again if they plan on beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday at BC Place.

Dating back to 1991 when Rocket Ismail avoided a tossed beer can to score a memorable touchdown on a kickoff return in frigid Winnipeg, the Argonauts have won the last seven Grey Cup games they have played in.

If they want to keep that streak going, they have to knock off a Winnipeg team making its fifth straight appearance in the championship game. The Blue Bombers are looking for some retribution after coming up short in their last two trips to the Grey Cup, including a loss to Toronto in 2022.  

After a record-setting campaign in 2023 that fell short of expectations, the Argos faced a tougher road to replicating that success in 2024. Starting quarterback Chad Kelly was suspended nine games for violating the CFL's gender-based violence policy, which led to them going with an inexperienced Cameron Dukes to start the season. 

To say the Argos’ path to this Grey Cup game was a grind might be an understatement, but the team also believes it prepared them for this stage. 

With Kelly suffering a fractured tibia and fibula in the East final against the Montreal Alouettes, veteran Nick Arbuckle was thrown into the starting job after joining the team late in training camp. 

"We've had some ups and downs, which you expect in professional sports, and it's not easy, but you got to be able to rally and overcome things," head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said at Grey Cup media day. "We didn't have our best start to the season but we kept growing. A lot of people had counted us out but we always know we're process driven and if we lose a game, we learn from it and move on to the next week." 

With Arbuckle now being asked to start in the most important game of the season, there are questions as to whether Toronto will be able to match a Winnipeg team that is coming off a dominant performance over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West final. 

So how do the Argonauts pull off the upset? Here are four keys for the team in the 111th Grey Cup. 

Find points outside of offence

The Argos have relied on a familiar theme in their two playoff games: Finding ways to score when the offence isn't playing at its best or is off to a slow start. 

Against the Ottawa Redblacks in the East semifinal, Toronto put the game away with a pair of interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. 

In their win over Montreal, it took another pick-six and a punt-return touchdown by Janarion Grant to book their ticket to the Grey Cup. 

It will be crucial for Toronto to find ways to generate similar opportunities against the Blue Bombers. Looking back at their Grey Cup win in 2022, the Argonauts had a couple of interceptions and a big punt return from Javon Leake to give them the win.

This season, the Argos led the CFL with four return touchdowns from their special teams (three punt returns and a kickoff return) and were tied for the league lead with three interceptions returned for touchdowns, so it's safe to say that it's a big part of their identity. 

Put the pressure on Collaros

There is no matchup more favourable for the Argos than their defensive line against the Blue Bombers’ offensive line. In the two meetings against Winnipeg, Toronto registered 12 sacks. 

Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros knows it won't be easy to neutralize the Argos pass rush given the depth their have along the defensive line. 

"They have eight guys that play at a high level. I think it starts with Folarin Orimolade and Jake Ceresna, they do an unbelievable job," Collaros explained. "It's hard when one's on one side and one's on the other side because can't really shift the offensive line to cover one of them." 

Expect the Blue Bombers to try and replicate their game plan against the Roughriders where they made it a priority to get the ball out of Collaros' hands quickly. Saskatchewan didn't register a single sack in the West final against Winnipeg but doing the same won't be easy against Toronto, which led the CFL with 48 sacks. 

Most will simply say the game plan should be to get the ball in Brady Oliveira's hands as much as possible, but Toronto has been a tough matchup for running backs. The Argos defence allowed the second-fewest yards on the ground per game and held Oliveira to 164 rushing yards combined in their two games this season.

Don’t take unnecessary risks 

The Argos don't expect to change the playbook that much with Arbuckle at quarterback, which means they do want to find a way to push the ball down the field, especially with playmakers like Makai Polk and Damonte Coxie capable of generating big plays. 

However, there is a difference between taking shots down the field and trying to manufacture plays that aren't there. 

Winnipeg knows that it needs to respect all the different options that the Argos have on offence.  

"You got to play a balanced game plan against a team that has that many weapons," said Blue Bombers defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger. "They have a balanced offence, so we need to counter that. We need to get guys ready and understanding that whoever they line up against, they need to know what they're good at."

That philosophy on defence brought a lot of success this season for Winnipeg, which allowed the fewest passing yards per game (225.5), the lowest completion percentage (60.9) and quarterback rating as well as being the second-best team in passing touchdowns allowed. 

However, the Argonauts have players capable of stepping up and making a play when called upon. No one embodies that more than David Ungerer, who was only targeted twice in the East final but made a big 20-yard catch on second down to move the chains.

While the Argos can be confident after notching two victories against the Blue Bombers this season, scoring points was a struggle. The Argonauts scored 30 points combined in those two games, so generating offence will be a challenge. 

Don't forget about Ka'Deem

With Kelly out, many expect the Argonauts to rely on their running game as they have all season. 

Toronto led the league in rushing attempts and was second in rushing yards per game this season.

The spotlight will be on running back Ka'Deem Carey, who had a bounce-back season after joining Toronto in free agency this past off-season. The 32-year-old rushed for 1,060 yards and seven touchdowns and had the second-best average rushing yards per carry behind Oliveira. 

The Argonauts like to involve their other running backs, such as Deonta McMahon and Daniel Adeboboye, but expect No. 25 to see the bulk of the workload. 

Carey knows the Blue Bombers will try to neutralize him going into this game but the Argonauts can't abandon the running game, especially if they want to try and get off to a strong start and keep Winnipeg's offence off the field.