THAT’S BETTER!
Wilder and Franklin power Argonauts to their first win of the season
The Argos were sharper, much better on both sides of the ball, a little bit more exciting, hungrier and definitely Wilder.
Throw in a better-thanaverage James Franklin and the end result was a pretty impressive first win of the season by the home side, the kind that is produced when a coach such as Marc Trestman has a bye week to make the changes required coming off an 0-2 record.
Franklin won in his Argos debut as starting QB, the defence forced turnovers and running back James Wilder Jr. was in vintage form as the Argos upended the Eskimos, 20-17 in a very uneven game.
Toronto’s best drive was one for the ages, and it led to the game-winning score with just less than three minutes to play — a five-yard strike to fullback Declan Cross out in the flat — that erased a 17-12 Edmonton lead. Franklin then hit Armanti Edwards with the two-point convert to complete the scoring.
The winning drive — a 12-play, 75-yard masterpiece that consumed 7:05 on the clock — featured ball-control, time-management possessions, two third-down conversions when Franklin called his own number to move the chains, timely runs and well-designed pass plays.
It was by far Toronto’s best offensive series of the young season.
“It wasn’t altogether pretty,’’ began Trestman following the game when summing up the evening. “But there was a sign of life in our football team. We played hungry, we played with a sense of urgency. We stopped ourselves a number of times just as they did. It was a twoway street with penalties and miscues.
“I was really proud at how we finished in the second half. We found a way to stop them and we found a way to score in the fourth quarter to take a lead and then keep a lead.”
For the first time in three games, the Argos started fast, taking the opening kickoff and driving the length of the field to score the game’s opening touchdown.
Toronto went with a no-huddle and its patented screen game featuring
Wilder, and looked to take shots down the field, everything the offence couldn’t do or was incapable of executing in the season’s first two games would go according to plan.
In fact, Franklin and
Wilder were the only Argos to touch the football on the opening drive which was capped off by a two-yard run by the new QB.
Then came an Edmonton turnover on its first possession and all of a sudden, two plays later, following a five-yard Wilder TD run, the Argos were out in front 12-0, having missed the extra point on the opening score and the two-point try on the second.
Toronto then went the entire game without scoring before embarking on its defining series.
The balance of the opening half would be dominated by the Eskimos, but they left far too many points on the field.
The end result was a field goal as the Argos led 12-7 at the break.
You could tell early on how the Argos used their bye week to prepare for the Eskimos. They were more aggressive on offence, more blitz-happy on defence.
Franklin looked in control and one throw to Llevi Noel — a 50-yard heave in the third quarter — highlighted how Toronto was prepared to push the ball downfield.
“Composed, and he did his job,’’ veteran tackle Chris Van Zeyl said of Franklin when asked to describe the kid’s demeanour in the huddle. “I felt he would do real well. We got a win and that’s what really matters.”
Mike Reilly wasn’t stopped as much as he was deprived of scoring TDs when the Esks self-destructed.
Whether it was gimme field goals that went awry, short-yardage conversions that came up short, penalties or simply turning the ball over, the Eskimos did more to stop themselves than any scheme the Argos would run.
In fairness, the Argos were putting pressure on Reilly, but it was mitigated by the QB’s quick release.
Down 12-7, the Eskimos picked off Franklin two plays after his bomb to Noel, then capped off an 87-yard drive with a Reilly-to-Derel Walker major as the Eskimos took a 14-12 advantage with 1:32 left in the third period.
The crowd was then announced at 12,196. The weather was great, the game was decent and the total was pathetic, which again speaks to the work MLSE must try to do to make attending an Argos game relevant, if that’s even possible.
The Jays were home to the Yankees, rugby’s Wolfpack was playing at nearby Lamport and the city was dotted with cultural events.
But only 12,000 bothered to show up to watch Mike Reilly, the closest thing the CFL has to an Aaron Rodgers.
Franklin did an admirable job in replacing an injured Ricky Ray, though he admitted following the game that chemistry with his receivers needs to be improved, but that’s understandable.