Marcus Brady’s job might be about to become a little more fun.
“It does, it does get fun,” Brady says of his job coordinating the Toronto Argonauts’ offence. The fun, it seems, really begins for a coordinator when his charges all feel comfortable and confident in how they move as a unit. That’s when a coach can start to really open up the playbook.
The Argos may be coming to that place, on offence. It’s no secret that their ‘pass first, ask questions later’ offence saw a major facelift to begin the 2015 season, with a bevy of first-year receivers and a back-up quarterback who was thrust into the starter’s role when the incumbent was not available.
“We had to keep it simpler, more basic, so that we’d know they could play fast, get lined up, know what they have to do,” says Brady of the early season Argos’ attack. “Now, we can get a little bit more creative in our game planning because now they understand what we’re going for and understand the scheme of our offence.”
“They’re startin’ to get it,” he says.
“They” – although we did not talk about them by name – would be the likes of first year receivers Tori Gurley, Vidal Hazelton and Kevin Elliott. The three of them were all brand new to what the Argos were doing on offence (you an add the name of Diontae Spencer to the mix, as he’s seen more and more action lately) and while they looked good from the get-go this season, it is only recently that the group has really found the range.
“Now, it’s more about scheme, what the defences are doing,” Brady explains. “Now that they kinda already know the concepts (of the Argos’ offence), they’ve just gotta learn how we want it done. Those guys are responding to that and I think that’s what leading to our success these past few weeks.”
Once receivers get used to the overall concept of how a particular offence is to be run, Brady says, they can be tutored on the finer points that each opponent’s defence possesses.
“You’re studying the technique for the defenders. How they play. Every defence is different, not just scheme-wise, but the way the DBs actually play routes.”
The Argonauts’ offence is near the top of the heap (3rd in the CFL) when it comes to passing yards per game (282). They are right at the top when it comes to completion percentage, at 70.6%, and lead the CFL in red zone success at 74%, with 26 touchdowns on 35 trips inside the opponent’s 20 yard line.
In some other offensive areas, the Argonauts find themselves in the middle of the pack (sixth in net offence, for instance) but trending up, despite languishing at the bottom of the CFL in rushing categories (68.4 yards per game). While Brady says the run game is not overrated, and in his mind the Argos do not ignore it the way some claim, the team has been very much a pass oriented crew since 2012. That made a lot of sense, since that is the year Ricky Ray joined the club.
With Trevor Harris looking, reasonably, a lot like Ray in style of quarterbacking, it has still made sense for the Argos to keep their air predilection in place and they have done so, standing third in attempts per game (35) and dead last in rushing attempts per game (15).
So it is with an accurate quarterback solidly in place and a fleet of more than capable receivers feeling comfy in their tasks that the Argos’ offence has been building, of late.
Momentum has come, but there might be even more, Brady says, if his pass catchers can really put it together. And really putting it together includes reducing miscues.
“We saw a lot of success on the field as a group,” he says of the Argos’ 38-35 win over Ottawa on Tuesday night. “But then you also saw some mistakes, where we’re holding ourselves back; the pre-snap penalties (that are) killing us. Once we stop doing that, then I think we can even reach a higher level.”
“We’re getting there,” he says. “We’re getting close.”
It’s a two way street, this getting comfortable thing. While players need to have the tumblers click in their minds, Brady and the rest of the offensive coaches, including Head Coach Scott Milanovich, have been slowly but surely putting together a book on those players’ plusses and minuses.
“Throughout the season you get to learn, exactly, their strengths and weaknesses,” Brady says. “We’ve got a good mixture of receivers. As coaches we’ve just got to put them in situations that get the most of them.”
Of course, the Argos’ offence does not get airborne without the play of Harris, the fourth-year pivot who confidently took over the quarterbacking duties in training camp with Ray continuing to rehab after shoulder surgery. Even though Harris looked good from the start, he might be entering another level, now, as the season hits the stretch drive.
“There might have been plays, earlier in the season, where he’s reading it but it wasn’t second nature,” Brady says of Harris. “Now it’s second nature where he just sees the coverage almost pre-snap and knows almost exactly where the ball should be going.”
“He’s just getting more comfortable with the guys, as well as the system.”
Which means the coordinator can open things up a bit more and have a little fun.
Positive Effects of Owens’ Catch Still Lingering
Brady got a good look at the incredible, one-handed catch Chad Owens made for the winning touchdown against Ottawa, as it came not too far away from the Argos’ bench. “When it first got in the air I was like ‘oh, he’s not gonna get there, he’s not gonna get there,’ then when he dove and made the catch, I was jumping on the field. I was excited, definitely.”
Outside of it providing the Argos with a crucial win, Brady believes that a catch like that can provide an emotional boost going forward.
“It instills a belief, in our guys, that no matter the situation, one of us is gonna make a play. So we never feel like we’re out of a game. It instilled a lot of confidence and energy throughout, probably, the whole organization, let alone the locker room because that was a big win against a very good team that’s right there, in the standings, with us.”
