Argos lose to Eskimos 46-23

Toronto – If you were late getting to your seat or had trouble finding the remote control you essentially missed all that was good in Argo land. A Keon Raymond interception for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage marked the highlight on a tough Saturday afternoon at BMO Field for the Double Blue.

Logan Kilgore struggled mightily in his third start of the season completing only 7 of 14 passes with 2 interceptions.  He would eventually be replaced by rookie quarterback Cody Fajardo who would later leave the game injuring his shoulder after a red zone scamper for a rushing touchdown.

You really had to feel for Scott Milanovich who you would assume spent of the afternoon looking up and down the sidelines hoping to find anyone who could provide and spark and wasn’t able to do so. Just how bad was the Argonaut offense on this day? Not one receiver gained more than 40 yards on the day. Vidal Hazelton returned to action only to go 0 catches for 0 yards. Not the stat sheet he or the team was looking for.

Unfortunately the defense didn’t help much. Outside of the Raymond interception the Argos gave up big plays after big plays. Of growing concern are yards after the catch. This team just isn’t tackling well and seems to be lacking a real leader on the field who can intimidate another team with big bruising hits. The Lemonator had a decent game with 2 quarterback sacks but nobody else stood out at all as Mike Reilly was able to stand in the pocket and have one of his more easier games of the season.

The Double Blue have now lost 2 in a row and have a disappointing 1 and 4 record at BMO Field. That isn’t much substance for the teams marketing department to work with at all. There undoubtedly will be discussion about another lackluster day in terms of attendance but until the Argos start playing more competitive, entertaining, winning football games like yesterday will continue. The move to BMO was nice and necessary but can’t be the only enticement for anyone’s entertainment dollar.

Extra Point.

The old adage in football is that you run the football to set up the pass. Not sure how the Argos struggled so much through the air then given that Brandon Whitaker ran the ball 15 times for 108 yards.

Game Ball.

Hats off to rookie receiver Devon Wylie you racked up 124 yards on 7 kickoff returns.  Wylie at the very least is a spark plug and frankly the Argonauts need 3 or 4 guys to provide that same spark each and every game.

Irrelevant Point.

I didn’t like at all the colour combination of the Argos yesterday. The blue jersey and pants with the white helmets reminded me too much of the Tennessee Titans. Stick to the classic look, it’s what works best.

Next Game.

The Argos will return to action in Week 11 against the B.C. Lions on a Wednesday evening at BMO Field. Will that game mark the return of Ricky Ray? Let’s tune in and find out.

 

Anthony Ciardulli

Follow Anthony on twitter @comicanthony.