Despite a 2-2 record, the Toronto Argonauts have found themselves at the top of the East Division in the CFL. This has much less to do with the team actually playing well and more to do with the lack of success for the rest of the teams in the Division. In second place in the East we find the Alouettes with a 2-4 record and in third place we have the Tiger-Cats going 1-5. Rounding out the table are the Redblacks who have yet to pick up a win, standing at 0-6.
On the other side of the CFL, the West is stacked with top teams, as four of the five teams have winning records. The Argos have played fewer games than all other teams in the league thus far due to Covid issues. This could play well into their hands, as they will be able to see how the Division pans out before having to make their move.
Strong Defence, Inconsistent Offense
While the offence has been inconsistent, especially in the red zone when finishing off drives, the Argos defence has been keeping them in games. First-year co-ordinator Corey Mace has clearly made a difference, bringing out much of the latent potential found on the defensive end of the ball.
In Toronto’s 30-24 win against the Riders in the Touchdown Atlantic event last weekend in Nova Scotia, the Argos D recorded five sacks and produced three interceptions. They even came up with the game winner on a late pick-six by standout LB Wynton McManis. Another positive for the Toronto defence will be the return of all-star linebacker Chris Edwards from a three-game suspension. With McManis and Edwards in tandem in the back field, the Argos should present a frightening linebacking core to any offence.
It’s clear that the Argos are far from being a finished product that will be competing against the best teams in the league but there have been steps in the right direction. The D has improved against the run and the offence is starting to put things together in the air.
Only 4 games in, the team is still gelling together and we will need to see more from them before making any bolder predictions to the direction of their season. For now the team has had first place in the division fall into their lap, which would be extremely unexpected given they are only sitting at a 0.500 record. All the team needs to do to solidify a playoff spot at the moment seems to be keeping their record on the positive side with a couple more wins than losses.
