The off-season paper champions were given a dose of reality from the real reigning Grey Cup champions.
The Toronto Argonauts ran into an elite football team in Winnipeg as the Blue Bombers used a methodical approach to throw cold water on the boatmen 20-7 who drop to 1-1 on the season.
“It let us know where we’re at and where we need to get to be one of the top teams. That was a great challenge for us, we knew that going into this game,” head coach Ryan Dinwiddie said.
“I was confident going in, I thought we had a good plan. I knew the crowd noise was going to be an issue for us offensively, and it was, but that is no excuse for anything.”
Two Argos quarterbacks struggled in the Manitoba capital. McLeod Bethel-Thompson started the game for the double blue, but after missing DaVaris Daniels for what would have been a wide open touchdown in the third quarter, he was benched for Nick Arbuckle.
“I thought the fair thing to do was to let him start the third and see how it was going to play out. The one double move I thought we could’ve scored on that one, we overthrew it, I thought it was time to make the change,” Dinwiddie said.
The most expensive free agent signing the Argos had all off-season provided an immediate boost, completing his first four passes of the season on a touchdown drive, but finished 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) for 96 yards with one interception.
“I thought we needed some momentum and I put Nick in there to give us a spark. I thought Nick did some good things, the one pick was unfortunate,” Dinwiddie said.
“It came down to switching quarterback but we still rallied behind Mac, we still rallied behind Nick. Arbuckle waited for his chance and Bethel-Thomspon had his chance,” John White, who rushed 12 times for 11 yards and the lone touchdown, said.
Diwiddie’s group had a difficult time staying on the field, the offence only possessed the ball for 26 minutes and six seconds. Part of the issue was turning the football over four times, two fumbles, one interception and one turnover on downs. The other costly mistakes were penalties, the Argos were flagged 13 times for 112 yards.
“We put ourselves in a hole, special teams and offensively we had too many darn penalties,” Dinwiddie said.
“I told those guys after the game, I gotta be better. I take the blame for this one, offensively that was on me.”
The 40-year-old former quarterback needs to look at the film before making a decision on who his starting QB will be for the Argos home opener on Saturday, August 21 at 4 p.m. ET in a rematch versus the Bombers at BMO Field.
“We got ’em again next week,” linebacker Henoc Muamba, who recorded four tackles and one sack, said. “It’s not often in pro football where you get an opportunity to get back at a team that just beat you the very next week, this is our opportunity.”
