Tiger-Cats will take to ground
By Sean Fitz-Gerald,
National Post
MISSISSAUGA, ON – There is a small sign affixed to each of the two doors leading into the pale blue room where Toronto Argonauts defenders plot the demise of their opponents, and they read “Defensive Room: FIFO.”
FIFO is the unit’s mantra, and it is an acronym.
It means, simply, “Fit in, or F— Off.”
Toronto’s defence has been among the stingiest in the Canadian Football League since Rich Stubler arrived to take the helm three years ago. It runs a complex system that values the performance of the collective over the flare of an individual, meaning it is also very friendly to veterans.
The only problem is that veterans have an annoying tendency to age. The Argos lost a pair of key players to retirement over the off-season when nose tackle Noah Cantor and cornerback Adrion Smith decided to call it a career, and their replacements might receive a baptism by fire when Toronto opens its regular season schedule this afternoon against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Nose tackle Marc Pilon was taken 10th overall in the Ottawa dispersal draft two months ago, and he is still learning the system. He is a seven-year veteran and a non-import, which is key, but not as crucial as his ability to replace Cantor in the middle of the defensive line.
Toronto only runs with three defensive linemen, and none are as unheralded as the nose tackle. Cantor would often be asked to occupy two or three offensive linemen to give the linebackers room to move and navigate behind him.
Filling or expanding inside a “gap,” the space between offensive linemen, is one of the nose tackle’s most important jobs. It makes the rest of the holes along the line smaller, which reduces the options for the running back.
The Argos have never been known as a solid run-stopping team under Stubler because they’ve had the confidence to let opponents run with the ball believing, in three-down football, the approach would fail. And more often than not, they’ve been right.
Toronto’s defence allowed more rushing yards (127.1 per-game) than any other team last season. But no defence was scored upon with less frequency (19.9 points per game).
“We want to run the football,” Ticats coach Greg Marshall said yesterday. “But we’re not going to run against a brick wall. If they’re going to commit to playing people in the box and stop the run, then we’re going to have to mix it up to beat them. We do have good running backs and a good solid offensive line, but it’s still coming together.”
Hamilton’s offence, predictable and flat last season, has been overhauled by former Ottawa head coach Joe Paopao.
Josh Ranek finished fourth in league rushing with a mediocre Ottawa team last year and is listed first on Hamilton’s depth chart. Running back No. 2? Corey Holmes, who finished second to Argos quarterback Damon Allen in voting for the CFL’s most outstanding player award last fall while with Saskatchewan.
“It’s a brand new season,” Argos safety Orlondo Steinauer said. “We will get tested.”
“Our defence has managed to give up fewer points than any other team, not just last year, but the last couple of years,” Argos coach Michael Clemons said. “And that’s what we’ll continue to try to do. We’ve got to strive to be that team that doesn’t necessarily stop the run every play, but that doesn’t give up a lot of points.
“And that will continue to be our mantra defensively until we deem it necessary to change.”
