Argonauts.ca
CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO — Different but the same, the Toronto Argonauts hope that continuity in 2015 can be the key to a better season.
General Manager Jim Barker admitted during a Toronto press conference last week that the team can’t afford to repeat last year’s result, after missing the playoffs for the first time under Barker and Head Coach Scott Milanovich’s three-year tenure as head coach and GM.
“Last year was a learning experience for us and it’s not acceptable,” says Barker, now entering his fourth season as a general manager only. “It’s not acceptable for us to not be in the playoffs and it’s not acceptable for us to not win the Grey Cup.”
“We’re focused on learning from last year and being able to put that knowledge forward this year into a quality year.”
The sudden pitfall was never part of the plan, one that started out so well when the team won the 100th Grey Cup Championship on home turf in Milanovich’s first year as a head coach. After a winning a division title the very next year, the Boatmen seemed well on their way to becoming a perennial CFL powerhouse.
That sunk with a loss in the 2013 Eastern Final, while 2014 fared no better – an Argos season sailed off course with a slew of injuries and off-field distractions.
After winning five of their last seven games last year but still missing out on the post-season, the Argos return refreshed, refocused and ready to start anew.
“Obviously Hamilton for two straight years has gone to the Grey Cup, and that’s not acceptable for us,” says Barker. “We’re the last Eastern team that’s won it and we expect to be the next Eastern team that’s won it.”
Barker points out that the East Division is getting stronger, as the Ticats are just hitting their stride while the REDBLACKS have gone on an off-season talent binge. The Montreal Alouettes, meanwhile, returned to their elite ways on defence last season, while also finding some late-season success offensively.
“The Eastern Division is going to be a very difficult division, and we get that,” Barker adds.
But the Argos are no slouches either. It’s easy to forget that they were one late-season win against the Alouettes away from winning their second straight division title, as opposed to missing the playoffs altogether.
This year, unlike last, there’s continuity to be excited about on the defensive side of the ball, as Defensive Coordinator Tim Burke returns for a second straight season. The starters are yet to be sorted out through training camp battles, but the competition should be stronger and the terminology is already clear.
“We needed last year,” says Barker. “Our secondary, for example – we’ve gone from Orlando Steinauer to Chris Jones to Tim Burke, and all three want somebody different.”
“It takes time to get the right guys back there, and the bottom line is it’s a work in progress.”
Barker recalls the time Milanovich was hired and the Argo defence went through a similar transition under then-Defensive Coordinator Chris Jones.
“Chris Jones came in and did a great job in his first year and completely changed what we were doing,” recalls Barker. “Now we’ve done the same thing with Tim last year. It should be a bonus having it be his second year.”
“There’s no doubt,” he continues. “The terminology, the things the coaches are talking about and things they’ll know about.”
“Any time you change coaches, there’s going to be a transition stage.”
Add Ricky Foley to the mix and the Argos should have an improved defence, but what about the offensive side of the ball?
Despite virtually every top offensive playmaker missing time, including Chad Owens, Andre Durie and Anthony Coombs, the Argos finished third in the league in total offence. Throwing to what was often a makeshift group of pass-catchers, quarterback Ricky Ray led the CFL in passing yards.
His status for the start of training camp isn’t yet certain after going off-season shoulder surgery, but whenever Ray returns he’ll hope to have a healthy core of receivers to get the ball to. Durie and Owens are among the CFL’s best, while Coombs emerged as a promising young rookie before sustaining a season-ending injury.
“He played enough to know what it’s like, so he’s not going to be a true rookie,” Barker explains, noting that Coombs should be a player the Argos can lean on. “He’s a guy we have high, high hopes for, and I think he’s got a taste of the offence now so Scott can be a little more creative with him with the things he does.”
A lot did go wrong for the Argos in 2014, and it’s possible that can happen again. Usually, like in any sport, a lot has to go right in order to win a football championship. With veterans Jason Barnes, John Chiles and Spencer Watt out of the equation, the Argos will hope that their talented core of playmakers can stay healthy.
If that happens, the Argos believe they have the pieces to repeat as Grey Cup Champions. Now it’s only a matter of those pieces falling into the right spots.
Just like last year, a tight race is expected in the CFL East Division. The Argos expect not only to be part of it, but to navigate the way from atop.
