Geoff Robins/CFL.ca
TORONTO — It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster season for James Wilder Jr.
The Toronto Argonauts’ running back is coming off his best performance of the season against the Ottawa REDBLACKS in Week 13, but he’d had some troubles prior to that outing, including an injury and multiple games served as a healthy scratch.
On the latest episode of The Waggle presented by Sport Clips, Wilder joined Donnovan Bennett and Davis Sanchez to discuss the season, his time as a healthy scratch, and the Argos’ attempt to make it into the playoffs.
Episode 175: Another man down, Burris explains + getting Wilder
EPISODE OVERVIEW: With Trevor Harris out, the Western playoff picture gets even more complicated. Henry Burris jumps on to defend his comments about how the best receiver is. Plus, it’s time to get Wilder as Argos’ tailback James Wilder Jr. drops in!
EPISODE RUNDOWN: The latest on Trevor Harris (2:30); Is Jason Maas’ job in jeopardy? (5:30); The West playoff picture (9:00); The crossover talk (12:45); James Wilder drops by (16:30); Henry Burris expands on who the best receiver is (26:00).
“I definitely enjoyed it; I definitely needed it — first of all, for the team, but I definitely needed it for myself as well,” Wilder said of his big game against the REDBLACKS. “We’re in the bye week now and we can’t live off the position we’re in now. We can’t live off our highs for too long so it’s all about getting back in that film room, getting some work in and taking care of our bodies.
“We’ve got to make a run. We’re far behind, obviously, and we have to win out. So we have to take that seriously and do our preparations during the bye week to everyday use that as a challenge.”
If there’s one man on the Argos’ roster that knows about making a run, it’s Wilder. In his rookie campaign in the CFL, he helped lead the team to the postseason and helped them capture the 105th Grey Cup with a win over the Calgary Stampeders.
Wilder’s efforts earned him the league’s Most Outstanding Rookie honours.
He signed a two-year extension with Toronto in 2018, but the team finished last year with a 4-14 record. They opened 2019 by losing their first six games — the first of which was a crushing 50-point loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. However, Week 8 seemed to be a turning point for the Argos.
Their incredible comeback victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers shows glimpses of hope, and while they lost their next two games to Edmonton and Montreal, they were taking strides in the right direction. Although those games all came without Wilder in the backfield.
He suffered a rib injury in the Argos’ Week 6 game against the Calgary Stampeders. After spending a few weeks out of the lineup, it looked as though the 27-year-old was ready to make a return to full-time duty. However, that didn’t quite come to fruition.
The team offered Wilder a spot on special teams to work him back into the fold. Wilder admittedly declined that, believing that it wasn’t what was best for him or the team.
Toronto Argonauts running back James Wilder Jr. celebrates a touchdown against the Ottawa REDBLACKS (Geoff Robins/CFL.ca)
“I was displeased, obviously, but I gave it a few days,” Wilder said. “I tried it out, but then I was just like ‘hey coach, I don’t think this would be the smartest thing coming off a rib injury and playing a special teams role. I don’t think that would be helping the team. I think you should put a guy there that really wants to be there who’s 100 percent healthy and would be fit for the job,’ and coach ended up pulling the plug and healthy scratching me and the two games after that. That was really frustrating on my part.”
After having a relatively quiet outing against the Tiger-Cats during the Labour Day Classic in Week 12, Wilder feasted on Ottawa. He rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown on eight carries while adding another 45 yards and two scores on three catches in the receiving game to help Toronto to a 46-17 victory — it was the second win of the year for the Boatmen and their first on the road.
Because of their tough start to the campaign, the Argos need every win they can get down the stretch to have a shot at the postseason. They do have another pair of games against the REDBLACKS to try and jump into third in the East, but their next three games come against West-Division competition.
Despite the odds being against them, Wilder and the rest of the Argos are going to continue to fight until the last second.
“Every guy in our locker room believes we have a shot so that’s what matters most. We all truly believe and everybody’s really buying in. Nobody is doubting each other; nobody is pointing fingers. Our record, I don’t believe it represents the team we truly are. We had many close games, many games shooting ourselves in the foot and a lot of games where we were up and just couldn’t finish.
“We’re finally coming together. It’s coming together a little later than we expected — later than we wanted to — but the main thing is that it is coming together. If we have even a one percent chance of getting in, that’s enough for the guys in this locker room.”
