Any Argo News? anybody

Toronto Argonauts
1

Got to hand it to Fans of other teams especially the Ti-Cats. Almost daily news or conversations back and forth. Argo fans? not so much. All hiding in their closets from where they watch the CFL games by the thousands, so we are told.

They have signed three or four new "Internationals" and are scheduled to have a Free Agent camp in Florida this coming Saturday. But these Camps aren't really free if you are a player trying out at $100.00 dollars a pop. But that's another story.

Other than that not much news except a couple of Coaches left again this year. A step up the ladder for Jason Maas to the OC job in Ottawa and Chui making a lateral move with him as O Line Coach. Makes one think that Milanovich has somebody else available this year that he wants instead to Coach the O Line in Toronto.

Free Agency is about a Month away but Jim Barker doesn't like to get too involved there except sign his own FA's. I agree. He went off script last year signing Emry, and as Randy Carlyle likes to say, he was "OK". But they could have got by with a cheaper and better MLB in Greg Jones IMO. So if Jim is going to break the Braley Bank this year it has to be for Tyler Holmes.
Some Ottawa reports have him as good as signed for the RedBlacks. NFL? maybe if he just wants to go to a training camp without some kind of a signing bonus. But he is priority one in my books.

The big deal this year IMO is the CFL Draft for "Nationals". It is deep.
If Barker can resign Holmes than maybe they go for one of the top WR's or DT's with their first pick and take an OL in the second round. But if Holmes jumps ship I would think they have to grab one of those Calgary Dino's Chung Suuk or Sean McEwan to replace him. Might not be a bad idea to take one of them anyway. They have been well Coached by former CFL Coach Steve Buratto.
If they want to go for offense there are good WR's like Demski (Manitoba), Richards (Saskatchewan) and Durant of (SFU) as well as RB Varga (Yale). However most of them could wind up in NFL camps next summer.
Defensively you have guys like Waud (Western), Covington (Rice), and Tennent (Laval).
Going to take some long hours going over the available crop to try and make the right decisions after the NFL signs the cream of the crop, and that could be 6 or 7 IMO. But, Barker and his guys have done a good job drafting IMO especially in the later rounds.
My two cents would be take McEwan first as he can play Center or Guard than take one of the NFL signees in the second round and hope you can get them in a year or two. There should still be some real good players available in the third round this year.

2

Well the big free agent frenzy is just about over and the Argos did get picked over a bit. Losing useful Canadians like Watt, Brown and Woodson does hurt somewhat. OT Rogers is a good player but easier to replace. However, the best player they had going into free agency Tyler Holmes was signed so that is big IMO.

So now it is on the Draft which is suppose to be the deepest in years. Sounds like the NFL is going to snap up 5 or 6 of the top players which is going to hurt. They will be looked on or drafted as futures by whoever takes them, but some we may never see in the CFL. But the Argos have to be thinking offensive line with that first pick. Justin Dunk says he thinks it will be OT Jacob Ruby (6'7 315) out of Richmond. I still like the two guys in Calgary C/OG McEwen and OG Chungh. Last year's right guard Wayne Smith isn't getting any younger and a player like Sukh Chungh at 6'4 300 would fit nicely into that OLine spot.
Looking over the draft list I see about 8 or 9 O linemen, 5 or 6 D Linemen, 3 WR's, 1 RB, 3 LB's and 2 or 3 DB's worthy of first or second round picks. But some will still be there in the 3rd round because of the numbers. Argos did trade away a later round pick I believe, but they still have the #3 and #12 overall, so should get two pretty good players. There should be some 3rd and 4th round picks who will play in the league as well.

Veteran Offensive Guards Joe Eppele and Greg Wojt are still out there as free agents, but have injury issues. However, if healthy could change things if signed.

3

Fort Mac here we come. NOT. But there should be some Ontario boys out there working in the Oil Fields who will love having the chance to see a Live CFL game. Lots of stories to stoke up the rivalry with ex Argo Coaches nand players now in Edmonton and Ricky Ray and Himmie now in Toronto.

4

Je m'étonne de la relative absence de Barker sur le marché des joueurs autonomes.

5

Argos sign another ex-NFL running back in Bernard Scott. The guy is 31 years old though and after 5 years most RB’s are pretty beat up. But there are exceptions. Maybe he can contribute. Teams seem to need 3 or 4 backs in camp anymore to keep a couple healthy at all times.

6

From: Argonauts Client Services clientservices@argonauts.ca
Sent: Wednesday, March 11, 2015 12:09 PM
To:
Subject: Letter to Argos Season Ticket Holders from Jim Barker

Dear ,

Since being hired in 2010, it has been my personal and professional goal to put a team on the field of which Toronto Argonauts fans can truly be proud. Every decision made has been made with the vision of winning Grey Cups at the forefront. We have put together a group of professionals that are committed to this goal and I ask you, our loyal fans, to band with us and become a part of our army as we set out to once again achieve competitive greatness and bring the Grey Cup home to Toronto.

This past year was very difficult for all of us. I can assure you that we have worked diligently to overcome whatever obstacles that may lie ahead in the coming year. We have a unique situation here in Toronto and the challenges we face will make this season’s successes that much sweeter. While this market and team are special, all of us in this organization are proud to be a part of the oldest and most storied professional sports franchise in North America. I am blessed to be surrounded by a group of people, including fans, who believe in what we are doing and are committed to being better than the rest regardless of the situation.

In spite of the challenges we faced last year, we were one win away in Week 17 from again winning our Division and hosting the Eastern Final. We understand fully that missing the playoffs is not acceptable and our front office, coaches and players have worked tirelessly this off-season to make sure none of us go through the pain of watching other teams play in games meant for us this year.

When the 2015 regular season begins there will be so much different than last year. We will be at our fulltime practice facility, with coaches’ offices, at Downsview Park from day one. We anticipate holding training camp again at York University so that there will be a sense of familiarity for players and coaches. Our practices are always open to the public and we encourage you to check the schedule and come out whenever you can. Our players draw energy from the support they get from you. Again, this is OUR team and I will always be around to answer questions you may have about what is happening with our team.

While we endure another long road trip this year to start the season, the coaching staff is working hard to make sure we turn this into an advantage. One thing I can assure you, which you have witnessed over the past 4 years, is that our players and coaches do not make excuses and they will find a way to use this trip as a tool to solidify our Club for the long season. We expect our veteran players such as Chad Owens and Andre Durie to be healthy and ready to lead a number of new players in training camp this year that we’re particularly excited to watch make our team. Every year, in this salary cap world, you will see a 25% to 35% turnover in roster composition which puts pressure on our scouting staff to provide players that our coaches can work with and that fit our scheme.

Our organizational philosophy is to build our club through the draft and solid scouting – not free agency. We made trades to acquire Ricky Ray and Chad Owens, and have signed very few players through free agency. Our goal, as always, was to hold on to as many of our key free agents as we could. While we lost a couple of players we couldn’t afford to keep, the re-signing of Tyler Holmes, Jarriel King and Curtis Steele were key moves for us this year. Near the end of last season we signed Canadian linebacker Cory Greenwood, whom we drafted in 2010, and we expect him to be a player that will step in and be ready to lead our defence. The signing of Greenwood allowed us to make the trade with Saskatchewan to bring home veteran DE Ricky Foley, a three-time Grey Cup winner who is still among the best rush ends in the league, a native Torontonian and a man that truly loves being a Toronto Argonaut. His experience and leadership will also help many of our younger players on defence mature and understand what it takes to win in a big way.

Our young Canadians drafted in the past few years are now ready to step up and we feel our core Canadian talent is second to none in the CFL. In addition to national stalwarts Andre Durie, Ricky Foley, Chris Van Zeyl, Cory Greenwood, and special teams standouts James Yurichuk and Matt Black, former East Division Most Outstanding Lineman Jeff Keeping, veterans Wayne Smith and Mike Bradwell, and newly signed Tyler Holmes, we have added bright young prospects such as Jermaine Gabriel, who started most of the season at free safety last year, Cleyon Laing, our outstanding young defensive tackle, 2013 first round pick OL Matt Sewell and last year’s first round pick RB Anthony Coombs.

Former third round pick Zander Robinson has become one of the league’s top tight ends while third round WR Natey Adjei, fourth round picks Thomas Miles, Herve Tonye-Tonye and Alexander Dupuis have all shown tremendous ability and proven that they can be contributing members to a championship team. As you can see, the core of our Canadian players has been acquired through the draft and this May we will have the third pick in the 2015 CFL Draft and we will use it to continue to build this football team from the inside.

We are paid to win. Every player, coach and staff member associated with this proud organization understands this. We will continue to focus on gaining your respect as professionals dedicated to achieving at the highest level. We all understand that the only way this level of excellence will be attained is through hard work, sacrifice, belief in one another and true enthusiasm for the task at hand. Together, with a premise of respect and trust for one another, we will achieve competitive greatness and, ultimately, another championship.

I ask you to stand and fight with us as we overcome whatever challenges are in front of us this season. The satisfaction gained will be immense and the knowledge that you were a part of the army every step of the way will be gratifying to you personally as well as appreciated by every other person in the ranks.

I would like each of you to join me for a live Reddit AMA on Wednesday, March 18 where I will answer as many of your questions related to our football team as I can. Watch the Argonauts Facebook and Twitter accounts for the specific time.

Jim Barker
General Manager
Toronto Argonauts Football Club

7

Barker has been pretty sharp when it comes to the draft since being HC, HC/GM, Then GM hiring a great HC. He saw ahead how things worked when it came to drafting players who were to be singed by the NFL. Now they are returning North still in prime years. Holmes is a great example. Greenwood now as well. How many LB types where drafted in the first round abut the time Barker tenure started in Toronto and have never gotten past being a top team player. Greenwood became a top teams player in the NFL. Now he will hae a full season and camp as starting LB.

8

We have the official draft list out now and barring trades the Argos have the third pick in the first five round and then have two picks in the seventh round.
So numbers 3, 12, 21 and 30 will be critical picks, especially the first three rounds. This year is almost like a kid in a candy store. I want this guy first, or no I like this guy but then this guy could be a ratio changer. Tough choices to make but good to have this kind of potential talent in the draft this year. IMO they have to be looking at picking a WR, OL and DL (not necessary in that order) in the first three rounds. Then add four depth guys with their last picks, and there will also be a couple of free agents signed after the draft.

9

Got to keep some Argo news going on here even if I have to answer myself. Good job by Jim Barker picking up McEwen first and then Waud in the second. Never thought Daryl would make it through the first round, but just shows the depth in this years draft.
Cam Walker wasn't touted that highly by some experts but the lights went off in my knower when I saw him in a game last year. Great closing speed on the pass rush. Probably won't play alot to start but when he fills out to becomes his Man Size he is going to be a very good DE down the road IMO.
WR Norzil has speed and size so may become a good receiver down the road as well. We will have to see if he can get separation and catch the ball at the pro level.

So another good job by Jim Barker and his scouts for the Canadian content.

Off topic: Am I the only person who gets tired of seeing all this long hair hanging down the backs of half the players? Can't see their names.
I know if I was an owner I wouldn't interfere with the Football people, but I would make one rule: No Hair past the top of the shoulders. The New York Yankees have it right IMO.

10

sure, lets go back to the 50's :slight_smile:

The song Hair says it for me

11

I was willing to compromise halfway for these long hairs. :slight_smile: But would really love to see hair cuts similar to Cory Greenwood. Buzzed right off. :twisted:

12

Ricky Ray est placé sur la liste des blessés pour 6 parties.

13

The way things are going this year it may be the Team with the best back up QB's who succeed. Four teams already playing back ups and BC hasn't played yet, so that could soon be five.
One game doesn't a season make, but for Teams playing back ups I like the Argos chances.

Calgary and Hamilton had to be the pre-season favourites and if Mitchell and Collaros stay healthy it will now be easier for them to repeat. I think the Argos will now be Hamilton's main threat in the East. After Calgary it's wide open now in the West for second place IMO.