CFL Insights: A Ray of hope for the Argos?

TORONTO — Bad puns aside, the Toronto Argonauts are getting a major boost to their lineup with the return of franchise quarterback Ricky Ray on Wednesday night at BMO Field.

But in a key mid-season matchup against Jonathon Jennings and the BC Lions, just how big of a boost are the Argos getting?

First, consider the veteran leadership and calm that Ray brings to the Argos’ huddle. Ray has 176 career games and 5,562 passing attempts next to his name to go along with three Grey Cup Championships and three CFL All-Star honours. Even if the 36-year-old Happy Camp, Calif. native isn’t what he once was, Ray has a lot to offer an Argo offence that’s getting markedly healthier.

Set aside the intangibles and the numbers speak even louder:

Logan Kilgore was considered a talented prospect with high upside heading into his first career start against Ottawa and in his first game he showed why, eclipsing the 300-yard mark and leading the Argos to a road win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS for first place in the East.

Just when it started to look like life might be OK without Ray, things turned sour fast for the the first-time starting quarterback and the Argo offence.

In back-to-back games at BMO Field and a chance to build on a first-place lead, Kilgore was intercepted seven times in losses to Winnipeg and Edmonton. Against the Bombers he threw five interceptions, the most for a Bomber defence since 2001. Against Edmonton the Argo offence generated only 90 passing yards – the lowest number ever in 80 games under Head Coach Scott Milanovich (the previous low being 142 yards on Sept. 1, 2014 at Hamilton).

The last time an Argo offence generated fewer than 90 passing yards was on Sept. 24, 2011 in a win over Winnipeg when Steven Jyles went 11-for-21 for 88 yards and four interceptions.

This season, in all, the Argos’ production through the air dropped to a lowly 238.3 yards per game without Ray in the lineup vs. 267.7 with him there.

Argos at 90 or below

Currently ranking dead last in the CFL in yards per game (322.9) and passing yards per game (257.1), it would be a major stretch to say Ray’s return will make the Argo offence a juggernaut. But in the same breath, it’s hard to see that unit not improving.

Still shaking off some rust, Ray improved almost steadily early in 2016 despite missing a number of his key receivers due to injury. In Week 5, Ray’s efficient day (29-of-34, 235 yards and three touchdowns) before getting injured in the fourth quarter led the Boatmen to a 30-17 win over Montreal.

It’s also worth noting that even despite Ray’s recent absence and back-to-back blowout losses, the peripherals suggest the Argo offence is doing some good things, especially when Ray is under centre.

The Argos currently lead the league in time of possession (31:21 average) while Ray’s quarterback efficiency rating of 113.1 puts him third among starting quarterbacks, behind only Zach Collaros and Trevor Harris and ahead of the likes of Bo Levi Mitchell and Mike Reilly.

Last but not least, Ray is a quarterback who knows how to produce when it counts. While the Boatmen have been in the red zone a league-low 18 times this season, they’ve scored touchdowns on 13 of those attempts for a league-leading 72 per cent conversion rate.

With a full complement of receivers that now includes Kevin Elliott, Diontae Spencer and Tori Gurley among others, it’s reasonable to expect the Argo pivot to pick up where he left off in Week 5 and lead a much-improved Argo offence in Week 11.

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