Johany Jutras/Argonauts.ca
TORONTO — With their season in the balance, the Toronto Argonauts appear to be getting healthier at the right time.
The Argos, 4-7 and sitting in second place in the East, received some positive news this week with the return of Cleyon Laing and Victor Butler to their defensive line.
Defensive back Johnny Sears also returns to the lineup along with receiver Chandler Worthy, meaning a different-looking Argos club will take the field on Saturday vs. Edmonton.
Laing’s presence in the middle of the defensive line has been missed ever since he was injured on July 24 vs. the Ottawa REDBLACKS nearly two months ago. The 26-year-old recorded three sacks and a forced fumble in five games for the Argos after re-signing with the team this off-season.
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After re-signing with the Argos, Cleyon Laing recorded three sacks in five games so far (Johany Jutras/Argonauts.ca)
Victor Butler, injured in the same game as Laing, remains the league’s sack leader (tied with teammate Shawn Lemon, Micah Johnson and Jamaal Westerman) despite playing in only five games this season. His seven sacks and three forced fumbles helped the Argos to a 3-2 start through the month of July.
While the Argos’ defence remains on top of the CFL sack chart with 33, Corey Chamblin’s unit hasn’t quite been the same since Laing and Butler went down. Since then, the Argos have lost five of their six games, all but one coming by 11 points or more.
However, that’s not to say that the defence has struggled. On the year, that unit allowed the fewest yards in the CFL by far — an average of 314.1 per game, 24.5 clear of the next closest team (Edmonton, 338.6 per game).
It could now get even stronger.
Just a point back of first with a game in hand on the REDBLACKS, the Argos have an opportunity for a strong finish and a home date in the Eastern Final with a chance to play in the Grey Cup. The other good news is four of their final seven games are at home, where they’re 3-2 this season.
On the other hand, the Argos’ remaining schedule is a difficult one, with five of their seven remaining games against West Division opponents. Marc Trestman’s club has yet to win a game against the West this season, going 0-5 in those contests.
While the Double Blue has dealt with a spate of injuries in 2017, better days appear to be ahead.
The Race is On: The East Division playoff picture
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS | RECORD VS. EAST | GAMES REMAINING | VS. EAST | AT HOME | POSSIBLE POINTS |
| 1 | REDBLACKS | 9 | 2-3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 21 |
| 2 | Argonauts | 8 | 4-2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 22 |
| 3 | Alouettes | 6 | 1-3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 20 |
| 4 | Tiger-Cats | 4 | 2-2 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
Although Shawn Lemon was placed on the six-game, the Argos’ D-line is better than it was last time out.
While Jermaine Gabriel’s injury lingers in the secondary, the return of Johnny Sears Jr. and the signing of Grey Cup-winning cornerback Mitchell White (who isn’t in the lineup this week) will bolster the back-end.
Finally, while Jeff Fuller has landed on the one-game injured list, Worthy’s return along with the addition of Brian Tyms provide secondary options to S.J. Green and DeVier Posey.
The argument’s been made that the Argos, on paper, should be the best team in the East Division. And they have a chance to be, with the possibility of finishing with 22 points — more than anyone else in the East.
With some key cogs back in the lineup, we’re about to find out whether that’s true.
Saturday’s game vs. Edmonton will be a telling sign of whether the Argos are ready to contend.
