The 111th Grey Cup must be a bit of PTSD for Ryan Dinwiddie.

Dinwiddie’s only start in a Grey Cup in his career as a quarterback was due to a broken limb by the starting quarterback, Kevin Glenn, in the Eastern Final.

Dinwiddie, starting for the Bombers at the time, did not play well but did give the Bombers a chance to beat the Roughriders in Grey Cup.

The chatter back then was the Roughriders should be able to go into the Grey Cup and win. They had the MOP quarterback with Kerry Joseph after all.

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Saskatchewan did win that day, but the final score of 23-19 was a little too close for comfort for Rider Nation who though the Riders would win with ease.

But that’s just it. Nothing is easy in the Grey Cup.

While Nick Arbuckle has never started a playoff game, at least he has much more playing experience than his head coach had when he was pushed to the forefront in 2007.

So… how do I see this playing out?

Toronto vs. Winnipeg
Sunday, November 17
6:00 p.m. ET

Winnipeg and Toronto come into the 2024 Grey Cup as a rematch for the dramatic finish to the 109th Grey Cup two years ago in Saskatchewan.

A blocked kick on a game-winning field goal gave the Argonauts the victory as Chad Kelly was forced into the game late because of an injury to the starting quarterback.

Now, Toronto will lean on their backup to beat the Bombers one more time.

Nick Arbuckle has a tremendous amount of pressure on him after jumping from Calgary to Toronto to Edmonton to Ottawa and back to Toronto. It’s not like Arbuckle wasn’t highly sought after. He had multiple teams look to him as the potential answer at quarterback. He just could never establish himself as a No. 1 guy.

What takes pressure off of Arbuckle are players like Ka’Deem Carey, DaVaris Daniels, Makai Polk, Damonte Coxie and a strong offensive line.

As Dinwiddie said as the team arrived in Vancouver for Grey Cup week, Arbuckle just has to understand he doesn’t have to try to be a hero.

Winnipeg comes to Vancouver in a great mood after beating up on their rival in the Western Final. It was the most complete game we’ve seen from the Bombers all season. At no point did they lose control of the game – from start to finish they were the best team and there was no question.

Zach Collaros, Brady Oliveira and Kenny Lawler needed to be at their best and they were. Now, they come into the Grey Cup trying to up end a team they haven’t defeated this season.

Toronto went 2-0 against the Bombers this season. Both games were extremely tight, with one in overtime and just four weeks Toronto claimed the narrow victory in a three-point win.

In both those games, neither team scored 20 points. Let’s just say these defences are exceptional!

The big thing you watched the last time these two teams played was seven sacks by the Toronto Argonauts defence. They swarmed Collaros and stuffed the Bombers on a third-and-one from the goal line.

Winnipeg’s secondary and coverage linebackers create a huge problem for all quarterbacks, and that included veteran Trevor Harris last week. Now, Arbuckle will have to navigate things.

Yes, the Argonauts are without Chad Kelly, but the way to win for the Argonauts has been turnovers and special teams as much as it’s been about Kelly.

They were all over Dru Brown in the Eastern Semi-Final, and then made Cody Fajardo’s life difficult in the Eastern Final.

The Argonauts also have the better special teams. A more accurate kicker in 2024, a better punter, and the most dynamic return man in the league in Janarion Grant.

As good as the Bombers were last week, the Argonauts are going to create bigger problems than they faced from the Roughriders.

And the trend this year has been the East beating the West.

The Argos will hear all the noise… all week… that the Bombers are going to beat up on them because of the injury to Chad Kelly.

Yes, everyone should favour the Bombers, but I think Arbuckle will be able to handle the pressure and will write an incredible chapter to the Grey Cup story this week.

PICK: TORONTO