Toronto Argonauts - What the heck are they doing?

santadevil

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I just heard this story over lunch hour
I know most of you don't follow the CFL, but here's the story

Argo's ask their starting QB (McLeod Bethel-Thompson) to go promote the East Final game (winner goes the the Grey Cup) happening this weekend against the Hamilton Tiger Cats, at the Raptors game last night
He arrives a practice this morning and is sent home for violating CFL Covid protocols and has to quarantine for 4 days. Game happens on Sunday, so he'd miss that
Argo's are owned by MLSE, which also owns the Leafs and Raptors.

More here: https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/argos-qb-bethel-thompson-could-miss-cfl-east-final-after-raptors-blunder-180132355.html
Bethel-Thompson, who was reportedly requested to go to the game by the Argos, violated the CFL's COVID-19 protocol and now must quarantine for four days. With his quarantine beginning on Friday, that means the QB must be in isolation until Tuesday, which would rule him out for this Sunday's tilt against the Ticats.
I assume the league may make this right and test him today, tomorrow and Sunday morning and let him play if all is well
But, maybe not, as it could set an ugly precedence

/edit: There's also been speculated that this weekend could possibly be the final game for the Argo's ever, as they may be sold, or fold next year due to such low attendance this year and no league play at all last year
 

worm0082

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Didn’t the Patriots have a early 2000s player named Bethel Thompson once?

But yea, seriously looks like some shenanigans going on behind the scenes.Not a good look at all.
 

santadevil

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Now being reported on the radio that the CFL will allow these players (Bethel-Thompson and 4 more guys) to play, but will be getting tested today, tomorrow and Sunday
As long as they report as negative, they will be allowed to play

Sounds like the Tiger Cats are already raising a stink, as the CFL is bending over backwards to help the MLSE ownership group again (they won't over salary cap in the past with no penalty)
Could be a very interesting weekend as this transpires

I think they should be held back from playing, unless the CFL sanctioned this promotion, which it doesn't sound they did
 

Awesome Fossum

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Sounds like the Tiger Cats are already raising a stink, as the CFL is bending over backwards to help the MLSE ownership group again (they won't over salary cap in the past with no penalty)
I obviously understand the TiCats frustration, but the CFL needs to do what's best for the league, and that's definitely not letting the Argonauts entrap their own quarterback ahead of the semifinals. What a bunch of morons.

Very interested to see how the MLSE stuff shakes out after the season. They were the ones pushing the hardest for an XFL merger and lost that power struggle. (I'm sure MLSE doesn't feel like the CFL is always bending over backward to help them.) Seems crazy to me that the Argos can't draw in that stadium, but it's definitely not working.
 

mwonow

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Go TiCats!

I just moved to Hamilton a week ago, and I am already on board. Nobody in TO cares about the Argos or the CFL or the Gray Cup (which is in Hamilton this year). People here are really behind the team. Hoping they win two more!
 

santadevil

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Go TiCats!

I just moved to Hamilton a week ago, and I am already on board. Nobody in TO cares about the Argos or the CFL or the Gray Cup (which is in Hamilton this year). People here are really behind the team. Hoping they win two more!
The Hammer - home to both the Gray Cup and the East Champs!
Grey Cup named after The Earl Grey ;)

Happy for the Ti-Cats win after this mess with Toronto and it's nice when the host city is representing in the game
Too bad my Riders lost yesterday, wish it would have been a Riders vs. Ti-Cats game, just like in '89 (Riders won that one, which was huge for young santadevil, even have a picture of myself with the Grey Cup)

Go Ti-Cats!
 

santadevil

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mwonow

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Grey Cup named after The Earl Grey ;)

Happy for the Ti-Cats win after this mess with Toronto and it's nice when the host city is representing in the game
Too bad my Riders lost yesterday, wish it would have been a Riders vs. Ti-Cats game, just like in '89 (Riders won that one, which was huge for young santadevil, even have a picture of myself with the Grey Cup)

Go Ti-Cats!
I was a Green Riders fan when I moved to Toronto (in 1988 or 1989) - much to the annoyance of my one CFL fan buddy, who was a Bombers guy - and remember rooting for them in that Grey Cup.

We ended up going to Grey Cup in - 1991, I guess? - in Winnipeg. Coldest I've ever been at a sporting event, maybe just the coldest, period.

I wanted to go to Sunday's game, but man, the tickets are CRAZY expensive!

(edited to get the vowel right...)
 

MiracleOfO2704

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After one quarter, 4-0 Bombers after a field goal and a single. Hamilton has been unable to move the ball at all against Winnipeg’s defence. The one play they’ve had was because of a fumble by the Bombers on a punt return, and that was nullified by an interception. Evans started for the TiCats, but how much longer until Massoli comes on?
 

MiracleOfO2704

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Evans started for the TiCats, but how much longer until Massoli comes on?
I didn’t mean it like this, but 10-0 since Masoli came on, and offence that can move the ball better. Granted, the TiCats moved with the wind in the 2nd, but I didn’t think Evans was doing all that much with it.
 

MiracleOfO2704

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Zach Collaros falling apart and throwing his first two Grey Cup picks within 4 attempts of each other is an unexpected twist. I can’t think of a worse possible quarter, especially the last few minutes, than what Winnipeg had.
 

MiracleOfO2704

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NCAA style, kind of.

Dunno how the broadcast is down there, but TSN put up the rules.

-Possession starts at the opponents’ 35
-No PAT, offences have to go for 2
 

MiracleOfO2704

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Gotta feel for Hamilton. So much that went perfectly for the Bombers: the rouge after the FG, Acklin dropping the TD before the tying field goal, the offsides turning a 2nd and 6 to 2nd and 1, everything about that last possession…
 

santadevil

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Gotta feel for Hamilton. So much that went perfectly for the Bombers: the rouge after the FG, Acklin dropping the TD before the tying field goal, the offsides turning a 2nd and 6 to 2nd and 1, everything about that last possession…
I thought the same thing on the Acklin pass, but replays showed it was tipped right at the end

Going to OT because the returner took a touchback.
I just read an article on 3downnation about the decision on the rouge and apparently, it was left up to the player whether to run it back or not
After the game, Ticats head coach Orlondo Steinauer explained that the bizarre game strategy wasn’t a fluke, but rather an option freely given to White.

“We gave him the option that he could bring it out or not,” Steinauer said. “I’m okay with the decision.”
For what it's worth, Winnipeg's coach, Mike O'Shea defened that play as well, and not just because it gave his team a chance to win
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone else who felt the same way, with many considering the play the pivotal turning point in the contest, but Hamilton’s special teams’ play-calling does have at least one unlikely defender. That would be the Grey Cup-winning head coach Mike O’Shea, who didn’t see the conceded single as a contributing factor to his team’s victory, but rather as a savvy chess move by an opponent.

“The field position they gained from that was very important. Now the plays after dictated or showed that they got down and they might have been inside the red zone [regardless], but all those yards would’ve been very important for their field goal kicker,” O’Shea noted post-game. “I thought it was really smart.”

Many others disagree, citing the fact that Hamilton cut its potential paths to victory in half in exchange for a few yards which turned out to be irrelevant as the offence moved downfield with efficiency. O’Shea believes that point of view simply ignores the nature of the situation, with the Ticats about to advance into winds gusting upwards of 50 kilometers per hour.

“They could go for the win, but they’d have a really bad field position,” he emphasized. “It’s a smart decision, I believe. It obviously worked out for them.”
 

MiracleOfO2704

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I honestly didn’t pay attention during the game, but where is the ball placed after a rouge? I’d have to think it’s further upfield than an NFL touchback to their own 25 for the trade-off to be worth it.
 

santadevil

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I honestly didn’t pay attention during the game, but where is the ball placed after a rouge? I’d have to think it’s further upfield than an NFL touchback to their own 25 for the trade-off to be worth it.
Start on your onw 35 yardline

So, potentially may have lost 15 yards, as I would think he'd at least make the 20 yard line. But I think you also have a chance to bust it through and get even better field position than the 35, just need a good block or two
 

MiracleOfO2704

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Right, and the way Masoli moved the ball, starting at the Hamilton 25 down 2 is likely better than the 35 down 3.

I’m not going to second guess the guy that has to run out the kick, but if you have the confidence to make the 20, I’d think it’s a run you try. He must not have.
 

santadevil

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I’m not going to second guess the guy that has to run out the kick, but if you have the confidence to make the 20, I’d think it’s a run you try. He must not have.
Ya, definitely can't find any better camera angles to show where the Bombers were, but watching him catch it near the front of the endzone and his blockers taking off, they obviously didn't know he was taking a knee
Seemed like a clean catch and all

Bombers field goal for the 24-22 lead and the subsequent kick off right after showing the rogue
View: https://youtu.be/RYH0JE-BklM?t=640
 

OCST

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I love Canadian football. The bigger field, the 3 downs, the 12 guys, the rouge, all of it. So much fun.

there was a good piece about Manziel bombing out of the CFL re just how hard the game is for American QBs unused to the length of the sideline throws and the extra defender. I bet the NFL seemed like half speed to Warren Moon after playing several years of Canadian ball.

the best thing is that it’s on random weeknights in the summer to annoy my wife who hates football.

MrsO: It’s not football season yet
Me it’s CANADIAN FOOTBALL!
Mrs O (storms off)
 

Papo The Snow Tiger

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I started following the CFL in the early 2000's when some games were shown on NESN. You can probably tell by my name and avatar that I like tigers in general, so the TiCats became my CFL team. Mrs. Papo, who also likes tigers, and I once vacationed in southern Ontario and we based ourselves in Hamilton; there are buses running on a regular schedule to and from Toronto (IIRC it's called GO Transit), it's not too far from Niagara Falls, there's an African Lion Safari park close by that our then very young daughter really liked, and while we were in town we made it a point to see the TiCats at old Ivor Wynne Stadium. The time we saw them they were winless going into the game but beat Winnipeg. We watched the Grey Cup last Sunday on ESPN2 and were more than a little bummed out that they came so close but lost. Once the Covid pandemic is really over it's on our bucket list to go to a game in the new stadium. Oskee Wee Wee . https://cflpass.ca/2019/11/21/simmons-history-of-oskee-wee-wee-and-what-does-it-all-mean
 

mwonow

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I started following the CFL in the early 2000's when some games were shown on NESN. You can probably tell by my name and avatar that I like tigers in general, so the TiCats became my CFL team. Mrs. Papo, who also likes tigers, and I once vacationed in southern Ontario and we based ourselves in Hamilton; there are buses running on a regular schedule to and from Toronto (IIRC it's called GO Transit), it's not too far from Niagara Falls, there's an African Lion Safari park close by that our then very young daughter really liked, and while we were in town we made it a point to see the TiCats at old Ivor Wynne Stadium. The time we saw them they were winless going into the game but beat Winnipeg. We watched the Grey Cup last Sunday on ESPN2 and were more than a little bummed out that they came so close but lost. Once the Covid pandemic is really over it's on our bucket list to go to a game in the new stadium. Oskee Wee Wee . https://cflpass.ca/2019/11/21/simmons-history-of-oskee-wee-wee-and-what-does-it-all-mean
I just moved here from Toronto, and it seems like a nice place to live - interesting restaurants, a very short (like, 10 minute) drive from downtown to farm country where you can buy fresh veggies/etc., Royal Botanical Gardens, and pretty close to Toronto (though not to the east end where we still have extended family).

I happened to be driving past Tim Horton's field on Grey Cup Sunday, and it was great - people everywhere in TiCats gear, even an honest-to-goodness tailgate party in a parking lot a couple of blocks from the stadium. It's really too bad they didn't win, people here would have been talking about that for decades.
 

Awesome Fossum

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there was a good piece about Manziel bombing out of the CFL re just how hard the game is for American QBs unused to the length of the sideline throws and the extra defender. I bet the NFL seemed like half speed to Warren Moon after playing several years of Canadian ball.
Definitely an adjustment, but I have to point out that Manziel was getting better each week and got kicked out of the league because he blew off a mandatory drug test after the season ended. If he had been able to stick with it, I think he would have been a great CFL quarterback. Of course, if he had that kind of conscientiousness, he never would have been in the CFL at all.