Last week, it looked like the Toronto Argonauts were turning the corner.
Kerry Joseph had finally shown his MOP form in driving the Argos to a last-second, game-winning touchdown over the Edmonton Eskimos. The defense had been solid, and receivers Tyler Scott and James Robinson came out of nowhere to help lead the double blue to victory.
Then came last night's 28-22 loss to the defending Grey Cup champ Saskatchewan Roughriders, and the Argonauts are back at one game under .500.
But what the score doesn't tell you is that the Argos played a very strong game last night and should have won. The Boatmen can attribute their loss to two awful calls in the fourth quarter.
The first came when, after two goal line stops by the Argo defensive line, Riders running back Wes Cates tried to go up and over for the touchdown.
Mike O'Shea leapt forward to meet him, and replays showed that O'Shea was clearly past the plain of the goal line when he made contact with Cates.
The ball was hard to see, but there was certainly no clear evidence of it being over the plain. But it was ruled a touchdown anyway, and the Riders went up 27-22.
Then, with less than three minutes remaining, former Argo receiver Michael Palmer fumbled the ball as he was being brought down and Toronto recovered. The play was ruled a fumble on the field, which means conclusive evidence was needed to overturn the decision.
Replays clearly showed that the ball was loose before Palmer's knee was down. It was clear as day. Yet the ruling was reversed with no video evidence whatsoever.
That ridiculous decision ended any chance the Argos had at getting back in the game. They did get the ball back one last time, but a poor pass by Joseph in the dying seconds gave the win to Saskatchewan.
The good news for the Argos is that they looked solid on most fronts last night. Joseph again looked comfortable behind centre, and he's beginning to use his legs more, which is a great sign for a Toronto team that has never had much of a running game.
The receiving corps continues to improve, anchored by Arland Bruce and supported by Andre Talbot, who has really stepped up with the loss of Tony Miles and the injury to Bethel Johnson.
Rookies Tyler Scott and James Robinson didn't do much last night but both showed all kinds of potential in last week's win over Edmonton. Obed Cetoute and Johnnie Morant have also shown some flashes of ability.
On the running side, Dominique Dorsey was merely average last night and Jamal Robertson hasn't really done anything since a solid opening game against Winnipeg.
No, running isn't as important in the CFL as it is south of the border, but you still need an effective back to open up more options for your quarterback.
The D continued to look good but not great. Something has been missing from this unit this season. It's been solid but hasn't shown the usual effectiveness we've grown accustomed to.
Of course, the absence of Kevin Eiben in the midfield may have contributed to that last night.
Maybe it's the loss of Rich Stubler as defensive coordinator or the loss of players like Khalil Carter and Jeff Keeping, but the defense doesn't seem to have that airtight quality to it, so far.
Ryan Dinwiddie and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are next up for the Argos. That game goes Friday night, and it's a crucial one for the Boatmen if they want to keep a leg up on Winnipeg and stay in the running for first in the East.
5 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Tim Owens 11 months ago
Wow, this guy is one biased Argos fan. On the Cates play, you can clearly see half of the football over the yellow line for the endzone. The writer also forgot to mention that Riders QB Jyles actually scored on the previous play, only to have the review say he didn't cross the line. Furthermore, Joseph fumbled the ball before his touchdown, it should have actually been first and goal on the one.
The funble with Palmer was close. I watched the reply numerous times and had trouble deciding if he was down or not.
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Kelly Bundle 11 months ago
I like your CFL articles Tim. We in the West need reaffirmation from Argo fans like yourself that there is still a passion burning for this club.
If you had done a piece on how awful the on-field refereeing or the review process has been then you would come off less biased and I'd have enjoyed the article a bit more. I can understand your frustration, however, as Tim says and as I can attest to having attended the game, the poor officiating went both ways to say the least. There was also a brutally obvious hold missed on the Joseph TD scamper that actually should have been called back due to his fumble. You could assume that he'd have scored anyways but we'll never know the outcome of those circumstances.
Being a Rider fan I am admittedly a little biased and I personally thought the Riders got the short end of the stick, perhaps in the less crucial moments. It seems our officials don't even make the calls on the field inside the 3 minutes and in portions of the rest of the game, for fear of being wrong. They just blow the whistle run around a bit faking a better view and then go to the booth. Let me remind everyone that the only question that is dumb id the one that goes unasked. In my opinion, the same goes for officials and the calls they may or may not make.
In closing, to be shocked about the state of CFL officiating following the 2007 campaign is mystifying. I'm sure it's not your first year as a CFL fan? I can assure you the officiating isn't getting any worse than it was last year. In fact, as much as I hate the makeup call and evening things out, I thought the zebras did AT LEAST that on Sunday.
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Jo-Ryan Salazar 11 months ago
I will have to say that the referees made up a bad call (challenged, even), with another bad call. Hopefully the officials are not doing it on purpose (backroom chatter) just to get the home fans energized and vocal et al.
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Kelly Bundle 11 months ago
That is a pretty ludicrous statement to make. Trust me, it's NOT on purpose. But I do hope Mark Cohon and Tom Higgins are listening. They need to hear this crap even if it does stink.
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Josh Lewis 11 months ago
Hey, I will admit to being a biased Argo fan, and yes, there were some questionable calls that went in the Argos' favour as well. But like you said Kelly, they came in less crucial moments and didn't affect the game's outcome in the same way as the two calls I mentioned.
I'm not accusing the officiating crew of being biased, and I'm not saying they're worse than last year. All I did was point out two calls that clearly changed the course of the game.
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