Argofans

ARGOFanIan wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 11:27 am One of the morning TSN 1050 personalities... I think name is A.K.... was side line reporter ...did a real good job especially on post game interviews....nice to see a local sports person on ARGO broadcast...

OV Argo wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 10:01 am

gilthethrill wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 6:26 am On the positive side, Ottawa has now found its starting QB for the next decade, so the talk of Kelly going to Ottawa next season can stop.

The number of young QBs who looked very good or even fantastic in their first real pro action, who then go on to be average to mediocre to useless, is a big sample size. I wouldn't anoint this Barnes kid a superstar yet (though seeing him live last night had me impressed with his arm, his scrambling ability and his moxie or toughness). And CFL defences are so bad/porous this season (worst overall i have witnessed in decades), sometimes offences look spectacular but it's dumb/simple defences that make them look that way). Dustin Crum led the "crum-backs" in Ottawa, and IMO they should have kept him from what he showed.

Barnes' performance does have Ottawa fans asking WTF did Dinwid not give this kid some sort of shot about 10 games ago - post game radio was full of this with long-time commentator James Duke Ellingson leading the charge there. Maier & MBT were obviously not the answers or going to lead a competitive team - worst starters in the league by far = Dinwid is a clown. Shoulda brought in 3 or 4 new young QBs to TC and had real competition and auditioned all of them on the season - can't get worse than 0 & 16.

argolio wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 11:37 am

OV Argo wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 10:01 am

gilthethrill wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 6:26 am On the positive side, Ottawa has now found its starting QB for the next decade, so the talk of Kelly going to Ottawa next season can stop.

The number of young QBs who looked very good or even fantastic in their first real pro action, who then go on to be average to mediocre to useless, is a big sample size. I wouldn't anoint this Barnes kid a superstar yet (though seeing him live last night had me impressed with his arm, his scrambling ability and his moxie or toughness). And CFL defences are so bad/porous this season (worst overall i have witnessed in decades), sometimes offences look spectacular but it's dumb/simple defences that make them look that way). Dustin Crum led the "crum-backs" in Ottawa, and IMO they should have kept him from what he showed.

Barnes' performance does have Ottawa fans asking WTF did Dinwid not give this kid some sort of shot about 10 games ago - post game radio was full of this with long-time commentator James Duke Ellingson leading the charge there. Maier & MBT were obviously not the answers or going to lead a competitive team - worst starters in the league by far = Dinwid is a clown. Shoulda brought in 3 or 4 new young QBs to TC and had real competition and auditioned all of them on the season - can't get worse than 0 & 16.

Unless all your QBs are rookies (which no team wants), there are not enough reps for that many rookie QBs. Most if not all the "real competition" in camp is for the back end of the roster and the practice roster.

OV Argo wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 12:11 pm

argolio wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 11:37 am

OV Argo wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 10:01 am


The number of young QBs who looked very good or even fantastic in their first real pro action, who then go on to be average to mediocre to useless, is a big sample size. I wouldn't anoint this Barnes kid a superstar yet (though seeing him live last night had me impressed with his arm, his scrambling ability and his moxie or toughness). And CFL defences are so bad/porous this season (worst overall i have witnessed in decades), sometimes offences look spectacular but it's dumb/simple defences that make them look that way). Dustin Crum led the "crum-backs" in Ottawa, and IMO they should have kept him from what he showed.

Barnes' performance does have Ottawa fans asking WTF did Dinwid not give this kid some sort of shot about 10 games ago - post game radio was full of this with long-time commentator James Duke Ellingson leading the charge there. Maier & MBT were obviously not the answers or going to lead a competitive team - worst starters in the league by far = Dinwid is a clown. Shoulda brought in 3 or 4 new young QBs to TC and had real competition and auditioned all of them on the season - can't get worse than 0 & 16.

Unless all your QBs are rookies (which no team wants), there are not enough reps for that many rookie QBs. Most if not all the "real competition" in camp is for the back end of the roster and the practice roster.

Yeah, thanks for the tired, predictable cliche about TC reps. Guess you were good with Ottawa going 0 & 16 with their "experienced" QBs?

AngeloV wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 10:29 am

ArgoRavi wrote: ↑Fri Oct 16, 2026 11:28 pm

AngeloV made the point on Twitter that the Argos didn't play with much intensity at the start of the game and we saw it on those first two possessions. Kelly was running for his life. The o-line played better after that.

You can see it from the opening kickoff. Grant runs running unusually slowly, perhaps looking for blocks that never developed. And to be honest, Kelly, before leaving the game didn’t look 100% interested either. He usually doesn’t get sacked on back to back passing attempts as he did. Honestly believe the Argos mailed it in thinking there is no way they are going to lose.
I am sure we will see a completely different Argos team come Oct 31

Some positives though, most notably MacKenzie at LB. I think we see him starting next year possibly as Judge’s replacement. He’s been listed on depth charts at both LB positions, and possibly even in the middle while moving Darkangelo to WILL where he played so well in the ‘24 Grey Cup run. If they get near the goal line in the finale next week, try giving it to Bell again and see if anyone really wants to get in the way of a 280 guy with a head of speed. I feel comfortable trying this seeing as how he played RB in high school. It is not foreign to him.

shatto wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 11:35 am My thoughts abut game:
Good
.Arbuckle again showed he is the best backup QB in the league
.Mital had a great game and should hit one 1000 yards nest week.
.Some of the backups looked very promising (McKenzie especially)
.Loved the move to have 280lb Bell in for the short yardage

Not so good
.Allowing Ottawa to drive the field in 27 seconds to win the game
.The DBs were having real trouble covering the Ottawa receivers (Toomer didn't impress)
'Bolden is a great tackler but not that good at covering receivers.
.Not running the clock and kicking a FG was a mistake

OV Argo wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 12:25 pm

shatto wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2026 11:35 am My thoughts abut game:
Good
.Arbuckle again showed he is the best backup QB in the league
.Mital had a great game and should hit one 1000 yards nest week.
.Some of the backups looked very promising (McKenzie especially)
.Loved the move to have 280lb Bell in for the short yardage

Not so good
.Allowing Ottawa to drive the field in 27 seconds to win the game
.The DBs were having real trouble covering the Ottawa receivers (Toomer didn't impress)
'Bolden is a great tackler but not that good at covering receivers.
.Not running the clock and kicking a FG was a mistake

Yep - all of the above; run the clock down to 10 seconds even and kick the go ahead FG and game is pretty well over (barring a kick return TD, so you just kick a grounder even 30 yards or so).

CFL defences have been really bad across the board this season IMO - giving up way too much yardage / way too many points. DCs are afraid to bring lots of extra pressure against all pass offences and when there are no dominant D-lines, but like to sit back in soft zone to allow mostly experienced QBs to play pitch & catch with wide open receivers ? Defensive players have to make plays - lots of them - not just rally to make tackles after yardage is gained easily. DCs need to direct their guys way smarter and bring more looks / variety.

Agreed on McKenzie looking good; and does that D-lineman Bell maybe have previous RB or ball carrying experience? - cause though he is a load for sure, not sure I would trust him to be the consistent short yardage maker. Agreed on Bolden too - excellent tackler, big hitter, but does not do much in coverage; maybe he learns safety on a Canadian field going forward, but it's just not the same as safety in American ball; he might make a conversion to a LB tweener type (Slwyka has got plenty of time there this season), and CFL teams just do not need 2 big inside LB types with so little run game to worry about (RedBlacks have been playing former AUS all-star safety Lucas Cormier at W-OLB and he has been very good there IMO) - guys who have more mobility / coverage skills AND are good tacklers are more versatile vs. old school bigger LB types