On Sunday night, the Toronto Argonauts built up a 23-6 lead over the Calgary Stampeders through three quarters before getting outscored 21-0 in the final frame to lose 27-23. Below are my thoughts on the game.
The Duke returns (for a half)
Cameron Dukes looked sensational in the first half of this game, completing 10-of-11 pass attempts for 111 yards and a touchdown along with eight carries for 60 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
He was on the money to Damonte Coxie for a 48-yard bomb and he had the Stampeders guessing on every snap. In the second half, however, his production vanished along with his confidence.
The 25-year-old completed only seven-of-15 second-half pass attempts for a mere 66 yards with an interception. Unlike in each of the past two games when Nick Arbuckle came in for relief, Dukes, because of his hot start, saw the game through to its conclusion.
With one more game remaining before Chad Kelly is expected to return, it’s fair to wonder if head coach Ryan Dinwiddie will go back to the young quarterback one final time, or turn to the veteran Arbuckle.
Down with the ship
“We threw the ball too much,” said Ryan Dinwiddie in his postgame press conference. Instead of being angry at watching his team blow a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter, Dinwiddie was upset at himself, taking the blame for their lack of offensive production in the second half.
Ka’Deem Carey was expected to get a heavy workload as part of the league’s most productive rushing attack going up against his former team, but he ended up with only eight carries for 31 yards. Dinwiddie, instead, put his young quarterback in passing situations, resulting in several second-half incompletions, sacks, and his only interception of the game.
Dinwiddie always holds his players accountable for their performances and doesn’t shy away from calling them and their positional groups out when they misstep, but he holds himself to the same high standard. This isn’t the first time he’s taken the blame and protected his players from criticism, which doesn’t go unnoticed in the locker room.
Horseshoes and hand grenades
There were three defensive plays in this game that came extremely close to altering the final outcome, but being close doesn’t count in football.
The first such opportunity came in the third quarter when cornerback Benjie Franklin had a sure interception knocked away by his teammate Royce Metchie as the safety aggressively closed on the ball, unaware that Franklin was about to catch it.
The second was on the most marginal of pass interference calls that went against Fraser Sopik. The linebacker was tailing Peyton Logan down the field on a seam route when the running back appeared to lose his footing while hand-fighting. What would otherwise have resulted in a third-and-ten for Calgary instead was a 32-yard penalty, which launched an eight-play touchdown drive that got the Stampeders back in the game.
The third close play came on Calgary’s next possession when, from Toronto’s 40-yard-line, Jake Maier launched a bomb down the left sideline for Cam Echols with Tarvarus McFadden in tight coverage. The cornerback appeared to misjudge the ball, jumping too early as it just barely sailed over his fingertips and into the arms of Echols for Calgary’s second touchdown of the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, the loss can’t be pinned on either the defence or the officials. The fact of the matter is the offence managed to score only a single point in the second half, and that simply isn’t good enough.
Adjustment to the adjustments
As part of their second-half rally, the Stampeders appeared to change their defensive approach, shifting to a heavy dose of press-man coverage.
Dukes, who threw the ball so freely in the first half, was left standing in the pocket, undecisive with his first read taken away. A logical counter-attack might have included calling plays out of tighter bunch sets, calling quarterback and running back draws, or leaning on the running game more in general, but Toronto’s plan didn’t appear to change.
Offensively, the Stampeders started taking shots downfield. The consequence to these adjustments — or lack thereof on Toronto’s part — was the Argos scoring but a single point in the second half, while Calgary scored five times in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns, two field goals, and a rouge.
Dialing up DaVaris
DaVaris Daniels ranks No. 43 in the CFL in receiving yards and No. 41 in receptions, but make no mistake, he’s one of Toronto’s most talented players.
How is it that the 31-year-old play-maker out of Notre Dame had only one reception last week and not a single catch on Sunday night? Daniels has been playing a different position over the past two weeks, moving to the field side with rookie Makai Polk playing the boundary slot. That’s probably factored in, but you can’t expect to score points consistently when you don’t involve your best players.
Daniels wasn’t targeted until over halfway through the fourth quarter when Dukes threw to him on a double move that missed the mark, and he targeted him again on Toronto’s final drive with under 30 seconds remaining.
Getting Daniels more involved should be a high priority moving forward, regardless of who is under centre.
The Dead Marshes
As a visiting coach, player, or fan, there are certain stadiums that give you a bad feeling from the moment you walk in. McMahon Stadium in Calgary definitely gives off that vibe for the Argos.
Nowhere has been tougher to play over the past decade for the Boatmen. Since 2014, the Argos have only won at McMahon Stadium once, a 23-20 win in Ryan Dinwiddie’s head coaching debut back in 2021.
One has to wonder if McMahon Stadium is cursed for Toronto, given how many players and coaches once called Cowtown home. The vibes are simply off.
Royce Rolls
This was one of safeties Royce Metchie’s best games as an Argonaut. He was all over the field, finishing second on the team with nine tackles, including a downhill stuffing of Peyton Logan for a three-yard loss late in the game to give the Argos one final crack at the win.
The University of Guelph product had a forced fumble on Calgary’s opening drive of the game where he punched the ball out of Reggie Begelton’s grasp just before his knee hit the ground, and he had a gorgeous interception and return that led directly to Toronto’s second touchdown a play later.
Closing bell at the Toronto Sack Exchange
The Argonauts got Folarin Orimolade back in the lineup against a banged-up Calgary offensive line that featured a rookie at right guard and a former Toronto backup at right tackle. After a five-sack game against Winnipeg last week, it would have been fair to think the Argonauts might have set a new season-high for sacks.
Instead, Toronto failed to register a single sack. They rushed a number of Maier’s throws, especially in the first half, and they got to him a few times just as he released the ball. But, on a day when their own quarterback was hauled down six times, the Argos’ defensive line missed an opportunity to be difference-makers.
Jonesing for Wynton
Earlier this week, Wynton McManis was put on the six-game injured list with a groin injury. A CFL all-star in each of the past two seasons, McManis’ level of play hasn’t changed this year, but his leadership style has.
With some of the team’s more extroverted leaders moving on, McManis has been noticeably more vocal at practice and during games, and the value of this can’t be understated. As a testament to this, despite not being able to play, McManis made the trip to Calgary where he continued to be active on the sideline.
He appeared to be in constant communication with his replacement at middle linebacker, Jonathan Jones, who performed admirably in McManis’ absence. Jones led the team with 11 tackles, including a tackle for a loss, and added another tackle on special teams.
Return to sender
The Argos came into this game leading the league in non-offensive points, thanks in large part to three touchdown returns from Janarion Grant. Grant has been one of the league leaders all season long in both punt and kickoff return averages, but Calgary did a fantastic job shutting him down on both units.
Grant averaged 18 yards on three kickoff returns and 7.3 on three punt returns, and, though two returns generated penalties for no yards, there’s no saying that can’t be part of the strategy in limiting a gifted return man.
Vegemighty
One of the few positives for the Argonauts in this game was the play of global punter John Haggerty. The Australian giant, whose current numbers have him first all-time in Argos history for average yards-per-punt, booted the ball seven times for an average of 58.9 yards, including an 88-yard blast.
Up next
The Toronto Argonauts (4-4) will return to BMO Field on Friday, Aug. 9 at 7:30 pm EDT to take on these very same Calgary Stampeders (4-4) for the second half of this home-and-home series.
