Game Thread: Toronto Argonauts "@" Hamilton Tiger-Cats

[ARGO57]

Kelly almost looked like he was going to run it all the way to the end zone on that last drive. In retrospect he should have.

In hindsight yes, but the O did exactly what was needed to set up a last second FG and win.
Hajrullahu looked like a deer in the headlights before attempting the final kick which shows where his confidence level is.
As OV previously posted I would give the newly signed kicker a chance to show what he can do, couldn’t be any worse than Liram at this point.
The O-Line wasn’t great again last night, Kelly was constantly pressured.
Judging by the performance of the D so far this season Greg Quick is not a good DC.
No excuses losing to Hamilton with Bo Levi not in the lineup.

[paulwoods13]

Someone wrote on riderfans that Lirim's personal kicking coach (since he was a kid) died recently of cancer. That might explain how out of sorts he seems.

[ARGO57]

Someone wrote on riderfans that Lirim's personal kicking coach (since he was a kid) died recently of cancer. That might explain how out of sorts he seems.

https://3downnation.com/2026/03/26/coac ... years-old/

[ArgoRavi]

Kelly almost looked like he was going to run it all the way to the end zone on that last drive. In retrospect he should have.

Ben Grant thought he could have had another 7 or 8 yards there at least. The offside to Kahmann a play earlier was also costly as they had gotten to the 20 on that play.

[Scooter McCray]

That one hurt. Watching the game again on TV Lirim looked the exact opposite of confident on the sideline on that last drive. He looked like a guy who had never kicked a football before in his life. Like panicked. On the Xs and Argos post game, Ben Grant mentioned the passing of his kicking coach.

Deep down, I thought he would miss watching in real time, given the PA miss earlier. I know its risky but I would have greenlit the offence to go for the endzone, continue to pass. They had time and a timeout I believe. Kelly and the receivers put up 240 yards in the second half.

Having said that, they have next week to still finish 3-4. I hope the team can laser in over the next week on the Lions and beat a team without Rourke likely. They can wrap this 7 game hell up feeling positive, take a break, forget about football for a few days and get back home.

Go Argos!

[AngeloV]

It really sucks making the drive there to see the heartbreaking loss. I saw things on Barton St I can never unsee now. Could haunt me for years.

Regarding the offence, it is hard to get into a rhythm when the D can’t get off the field. Maybe the Argos should just go no huddle all game. The theory of long drives to keep defence fresh doesn’t matter when you can’t stop 2nd and 8 or more on a regular basis.
What more can you say about Lirim? His personal coach’s loss may be a factor, but he’s not a kid. I’m ready to try someone new.
Regarding the running game, I understand some thinking they go away from it too much, but Hicks has been hit and miss. He breaks big one every game, but then has 1 and 2 yard runs in the rest of his carries. That keeps his average looking good, but also puts you in 2 nd and long a lot, and you are not facing your own D, so not a good situation to be in.
One move I would make when Judge is healthy is flipping him and Darkangelo. Judge has more range in the middle and can maybe help take those underneath routes away better. And Darkangelo did a pretty good job playing weak side on the ‘24 cup winner

On the positives, keep Dymere Miller in. He looks explosive on returns. Keep James Burnip punting. Let’s see if he gives more consistency than we have had from Haggertty the last year. And finally, yes, Kelly is still as mobile as he was prior to the injury. Let’s put that to rest.

[paulwoods13]

Argos actually suffered for getting as close as they did. If the kick had been 10 or 15 yards longer, the ball might have stayed in play and Ticats would have had to get it out of the end zone.

[AngeloV]

Argos actually suffered for getting as close as they did. If the kick had been 10 or 15 yards longer, the ball might have stayed in play and Ticats would have had to get it out of the end zone.

Or the returner would have just let it bounce through the end zone.
I didn’t like the 2 - 1 yard runs to set up for the FG. I wasn’t confident in Lirim and was saying they need to try and score major. Of course there are risks, but the offence was humming at that point

And I hated the decision to kick the FG on 3rd down from the 5

[paulwoods13]

And I hated the decision to kick the FG on 3rd down from the 5

Me too. And Hamilton kicked one from the four, IIRC. It sure would be nice if some coaches started playing aggressively.

[ArgoRavi]

Argos actually suffered for getting as close as they did. If the kick had been 10 or 15 yards longer, the ball might have stayed in play and Ticats would have had to get it out of the end zone.

Or the returner would have just let it bounce through the end zone.
I didn’t like the 2 - 1 yard runs to set up for the FG. I wasn’t confident in Lirim and was saying they need to try and score major. Of course there are risks, but the offence was humming at that point

And I hated the decision to kick the FG on 3rd down from the 5

Yes, I agree with you on all of this. I am still pissed over this loss. Anyway, hopefully they can force Brice into a lot of mistakes next Saturday and the offence can exploit a BC secondary that is vulnerable to the big play.