Ferguson: Is the run game key to Toronto’s post-season success?
Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
The Toronto Argonauts are finally at the doorstep of clinching the East Division.
A Toronto win in Montreal on Saturday clinches first place and means the Double Blue will host the Eastern Final on November 13 at BMO Field.
If they are able to accomplish the feat in back-to-back years, it will be the first time Toronto fans have been able to claim the regular season Eastern crown consecutively since 1996 and 1997. That was when some guy named Flutie was leading the offensive huddle, and in both of those years Toronto claimed not just the East, but the league crown as the last back-to-back Grey Cup champions until the Montreal Alouettes of Anthony Calvillo in 2009 and 2010.
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At the controls of Toronto’s offensive scheme Saturday afternoon is McLeod Bethel-Thompson who – don’t look now haters – is leading the CFL in passing yardage with 5,694 yards, attempts with 550 and drives led with 221. The last number is 34 possessions ahead of second place Zach Collaros, as McLeod has refused to make room for much discussed backup Chad Kelly at any point this season.
As any CFL fan knows the aerial attack will always be king in the 150-yard long, 65-yard wide Canadian football field. The Argos chances of claiming the East either this or next week, and winning a single game at home for the right to take on the best of the West in a Regina Grey Cup, will ride on the right arm of Bethel-Thompson and his collection of talented pass catchers, but quietly last Saturday in Edmonton the ground game made an appearance.
The Argos rank dead last in the CFL for rush yards per game (79.9) rushing attempts (275) and rushing touchdowns (seven). When prized free agent acquisition running back Andrew Harris had his season ended with a pectoral injury requiring surgery, backup A.J. Ouellette stepped in and embraced more touches with his trademark physicality but the results and opportunities have been sparse.
The Argos have 560 pass attempts on the year, second to only Ottawa (568), who have been constantly trying to throw their way back into games when behind. With so much emphasis on the passing attack, Ouellette and the Argos run blocking front have little chance to get in rhythm and move the football when needed.
Any Argos running game success appears to come through the element of surprise; a jet sweep to receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. here, a quarterback draw there. That was the case until Saturday in Edmonton.
With second and nine from the Elks 25 yard line, Toronto was trailing by two but were well within field goal range for the booming boot of Boris Bede when head coach Ryan Dinwiddie dialled up a simple off tackle run play from the right hash. With some backfield window dressing and receiver Markeith Ambles getting just enough of a defender off the edge, Ouellette was off to the races untouched as Toronto scored the game-winning touchdown.
Now, scoring a rushing touchdown against Edmonton this year isn’t exactly impressive. The Elks rank dead last in the CFL in rush yards allowed per game (116.7) and opponent rushing touchdowns (29) but in a weakness vs. weakness battle, the Argos clearly won the day.
I’m not here to play the ‘as the weather gets colder you must run the ball’ card or try to convince you the Argos’ Grey Cup chances land squarely on the shoulders of a backup running back and the – maximum – ten carries he’ll get per playoff game. To attempt either would be insulting as the average fan reading this knows that’s simply not true.
BUT, what if.. maybe just maybe.. the Argos got a few unexpectedly big contributions from the running game come late November? Would it be enough to push them over the edge or be wasted with other aspects of the game failing to hold up their end of the bargain?
It certainly wouldn’t hurt. If Bethel-Thompson can avoid turnovers, hit on the deep ball at a higher clip than previously reached and get more than the current 4.7 yards/carry from his running game, the Argos just might go from a team many view to be the kings of a weak East, to a legitimate contender potentially writing a uniquely CFL tale that could be capped with a Grey Cup.
