Tale of Two Halves: Argos left searching after letting one slip

HAMILTON — The Toronto Argonauts aren’t playing like a 1-9 football team but their record is indicative of a football team that is capable of breaking through but not yet able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

For the second straight week, the Argos went into the locker room at halftime with a two-score lead and returned with their another loss under their belt.

In fact, the last two games are almost mirror images of one another.  In Moncton last week. the Argos had an opportunity to blow the game wide open inside the Montreal five yard line but fumbled just before the break.  They were unable to restore the intesity and execution set on both sides of the ball when they came out in the second.

In the Labour Day Classic, their defence posted four first half turnovers to accompany four sacks but the Argos only mustered three points off the takeaways.

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Despite dropping two straight games where they were in control, head coach Corey Chamblin said after the game that he was far from agitated at the way his team has been playing and at the very least, is seeing progress.

“I’m not frustrated at all.  Like I told the guys in (the locker room), we have shown what we can do”, Chamblin said. “It is always a tale of two halves and we put together some good things in one half but we need to find a way to put things together in the whole game.

“That’s what the team in the other locker room did.  They came out in the second half together.  We came out with a little bit of energy and some things didn’t go our way and we couldn’t’ find our way back.”

The other team was Toronto’s biggest rival who stormed out to an early 8-0 lead only to be held in check shortly thereafter off two highlight-reel touchdowns by Derel Walker.  The majors were part of a 203-yard performance, one that helped lift an Argos sideline that was firmly clutching to momentum in the first half.

A first half that had no shortage of bad blood from the outset. As the Argos took their second possession of the game, Labour Day officially got underway in the way of a scuffle which led to two ejections – Hamilton’s Frankie Williams and Tunde Adeleke – and a net 25-yard gain in penalties for the Argonauts.

The melee seemed to spark the Boatmen who fed off being challenged.  The may have won the emotional battle early but did not match with execution later on according to their head coach.

“This game is not just about emotion, it is about execution”, Chamblin stated. “Both sides were emotional — we executed better in the first half, they did a bit in the first half and overall they (executed) the best.”

Chamblin, who acts as defensive coordinator as well, had his defence dialed in following the opening drive touchdown by Dane Evans and the Ticats.  Pressure was the name of the game in the first half, leading to seven sacks in total and forcing the aforementioned four takeaways.

Evans had his way with the Argos secondary in the second half, however, putting up 28 points as part of a 400-yard-plus day.

“We had some missed assignment where one or two guys missed tackles and guys scored”, Chamblin said of his defence.  “There were some times where we were in man and maybe a bit too passive, not being on the press.  That’s football, you have to be able to overcome those things.”

Still with a chance to make the playoffs but urgency setting in, the Argonauts will attempt to turn their improved play into notches in the win column.  it is something Chamblin believes they can do but insists he must keep his locker room together.

“We won’t point the fingers at anybody and we won’t divide, that is my biggest thing that I tell (my players) — it can’t be an individual thing, it has to be a collective.”