Just about everything went right for the Toronto Argonauts in their season-opener as they unfurled their 2022 Grey Cup banner and handed their rivals a devastating loss on Sunday. Here are my thoughts on the game.
QB1
Chad Kelly didn’t break any records with his play at BMO Field, but he looked every bit the starting quarterback the Argos need him to be if they hope to defend their Grey Cup title.
The 29-year-old completed 14-of-23 passes for 213 yards and avoided turning the ball over while adding three touchdowns on the ground. He only made one ill-advised throw — well within acceptable limits for a gunslinger — and looked every bit the leader head coach Ryan Dinwiddie felt he could be.
Dinwiddie expressed concern after the game that Kelly still needs to learn to protect himself, as he slid too late and took unnecessary hits on Sunday.
In the dying minutes of the game, Kelly pulled the ball on a read option and ran for a first down, but Dinwiddie felt that while the read may technically have been on point, the correct play given the situation was to hand the ball off.
Kelly’s seven-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was a reminder of how effective a runner he can be, juking Hamilton defensive lineman Ja’Gared Davis out of his shoes on the way to the end zone.
Very sneaky
It took a few months last season but after a number of failed experiments, Chad Kelly eventually asserted himself as the team’s short yardage quarterback. A quick experiment this season may have yielded the same result.
Facing a second-and-goal situation from the one-yard line, Toronto sent in third-string quarterback Cameron Dukes to sneak it home, but he was stuffed at the goal line, and Kelly returned on third down to punch it in. Dukes is a good running quarterback, but he’s not built for sneaks, so unless they sign another quarterback, Kelly may need to stay on the field in these situations going forward.
He goes deep
As well as McLeod Bethel-Thompson played for the Boatmen last season, his inability to connect consistently with receivers on passes downfield allowed opposing defences to crowd the line of scrimmage and sit in underneath zones. It’s not surprising then that there was an extra loud burst of excitement from the crowd when Chad Kelly dropped a 59-yard bomb in perfectly for Damonte Coxie.
He also caught Tiger-Cats rookie corner Dexter Lawson Jr. out of position on a 40-yard incompletion that drew a pass interference penalty.
Chemistry
Whether it’s players, coaches, or front office staff, when you ask any Toronto Argonauts’ employee about receiver Damonte Coxie, the first thing they do is smile. It was Ryan Dinwiddie’s turn Sunday night as he broke into a grin when asked about the second-year receiver. He’s an entertaining character with a highly engaging personality, but it was his play on this night that had Argos fans grinning ear-to-ear.
Coxie had six receptions on seven targets including two “circus catches” for 131 yards. Chad Kelly got a lot of reps in with Coxie last season as the Memphis receiver worked his way up the depth chart, and their chemistry together showed Sunday night.
It’s a trap!
There were a number of new wrinkles in Ryan Dinwiddie’s 2023 offensive playbook, especially in the running game. Running backs A.J. Ouellette and Andrew Harris ran many plays out of pistol, which didn’t happen a lot last season, and they spent a number of snaps on the field together.
Dinwiddie sometimes used them to create mismatches, starting one back in the backfield, motioning him out, then motioning the other back in behind Kelly, and sometimes one blocked for the other. With both backs on the field, the Argos ran a number of Urban Meyer-influenced inside zone trap plays, known as “whams.”
Lined up as a wing or a tight slotback, Harris or Ouellette would motion inside on the snap and look to blow up an unsuspecting defensive tackle while the other back ran off their block. Harris scored a 10 yard touchdown on this play after Ouellette opened a giant hole by turning Hamilton defensive tackle Ted Laurent upside-down.
Pickett (de)fence
Not only was cover linebacker Adarius Pickett the best player on Toronto’s defence Sunday night, he was their best special teams contributor as well. Pickett led the team in tackles and special teams tackles and showed great leadership, directing traffic in the secondary and on his special teams units.
Pickett’s perfectly-timed blitzes — some of which were from deep — disrupted Bo Levi Mitchell’s timing all night long. In the third quarter, Pickett undercut a hook route in what would have been a pick-six had he been able to hang on to the ball.
Mac attack
Jordan Williams, who was filling in for injured Grey Cup MVP Henoc Muamba, didn’t play the position like a traditional MAC linebacker, but was a nuisance in coverage and did a great job disguising fire zone blitzes. He narrowly missed hauling in an interception as Hamilton receiver Duke Williams somehow found a way to catch a poorly-timed throw.
Go with the Flo
Hamilton clearly game-planned for Toronto defensive end Flo Orimoldae, but he still managed to find ways to create pressure. The undersized pass rusher got low to the ground ducking under the block of Hamilton left tackle Joel Figueroa and brought down Bo Levi Mitchell for a six-yard sack.
The rookie
It was somewhat surprising that reigning CFL all-star cornerback Jamal Peters didn’t suit up in this game despite having tallied the league’s most interceptions on this coaching staff’s defence last year. Peters arrived in camp this week after being cut by the Atlanta Falcons, but the team opted to go with 21-year-old rookie Qwan’tez Stiggers instead.
Dinwiddie confirmed Peters will be the starting boundary corner once he’s ready but Stiggers’ play showed why the staff has so much confidence in him. He played sound football and didn’t commit costly mistakes or get beat downfield. Given his early success, it’s not likely he’ll return to the practice squad, so he may be in a position to battle field corner Tarvarus McFadden for his starting spot when Peters returns.
Philosophy major
Defensive coordinator Corey Mace’s defence looked a lot different Sunday night than it did last season. In 2022, Mace played it safe with a “bend-but-don’t-break” style of play, but against the Tiger-Cats last night he brought nothing but heat, often sending six and seven pass rushers from every different direction.
What remains to be seen if this is Mace’s new philosophy for this season or if was simply the game plan against Hamilton given their struggles on the offensive line.
Global sensation
Australian punter John Haggerty might be the most valuable Global player currently in the CFL. He punted eight times for an average of 53.3 yards per punt including back-to-back net punts of over 60 yards. He also pinned Hamilton deep in their own end on three occasions.
One ring to rule them all
The Argonauts gave away replica 2022 Grey Cup rings to the first 10,000 fans through the gates. Though obviously not as spectacular as the real rings, these replicas are impressive to look at making for great souvenirs. For fans who missed out on receiving a ring, they’re available for purchase at the team shop.
A banner day
Instead of unfurling the 2022 Grey Cup banner from the rafters, the Argonauts had six longtime season ticket holders raise the banner from the ground in the pregame ceremonies by letting out a rope fixed to a giant helium balloon with the banner attached.
The banner was then displayed in the corner of the stadium where season ticket holders could pose for photos with it before it joins its 17 friends above BMO Field.
Home crowd
Not nearly as many Hamilton fans as usual made the trip down the QEW to take in this game against their division rivals. Of the 15,967 fans in attendance, a very small minority were wearing black and gold and they weren’t nearly as boisterous as they’ve been in games past.
Tiger-Cats fans will probably represent better when these teams meet at BMO in September, but it’s likely many couldn’t stomach the idea of watching Toronto give out Grey Cup rings and raise their banner.
Turf war
TFC fans spend an inordinate amount of time blaming the Toronto Argonauts for poor field conditions at BMO Field. In truth, the field is generally in great condition, and the Argos have very little to do with field degradation as they practice at nearby Lamport Stadium and generally use the natural grass at BMO Field once every two weeks during the season.
Aside from a short walkthrough yesterday, Sunday’s game was the first time they’d played on the grass this season, yet it looked to be in rough shape before the players even took the field. It’s clear that TFC has far more to do with the grass conditions than the Argos.
