Toronto Argonauts balancing rest and preparation in final stretch of season
With first place in the CFL's East Division locked up, the Toronto Argonauts have the advantage of resting players but also need to remain ready for playoffs.
There is certainly a benefit to clinching a playoff spot, or in the Toronto Argonauts' case first place in the East Division early in the season but it also has its own set of challenges.
With six games left in the season, Toronto has the motivation of being one of the best teams in franchise history and refining their game heading into the playoffs. The team also needs to balance their desire to be at their best while also making sure they give players a chance to rest any ailments.
When Toronto takes on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday most of the starters will play except for a couple of notable absences.
Running back A.J. Ouellette will not be in the lineup while Andrew Harris has landed on the six-game injured list with a knee injury. This provides Deonta McMahon a chance to start his first CFL regular season game with Daniel Adeboboye and Javon Leake are also expected to see some reps as well.
With Kurleigh Gittens Jr. out for an extended period, Rajae Johnson will start at slotback after signing with Toronto back in May. The former Troy University product had 713 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games in his final college season.
“I think everybody can play there's just some guys that I have to make a decision based on how they feel,” Dinwiddie said after practice this week. “Most of the guys want to play but we also rotated players around and put them all in different positions this week. We're kind of taking a training camp approach where we're getting everybody reps moving forward. Equal reps so guys are developing at the same time.”
One of those players taking advantage of the playing time is Tommy Nield who is coming off back-to-back games with over 80 yards and saw a team-high nine targets.
It has been a long road to this point for Nield who is in his third season with the club. In his first two seasons, the Guelph, Ont., native had some unfortunate luck with injuries that derailed any momentum he was putting towards earning more playtime.
Nield’s emergence shouldn’t come as a big surprise as he has the added benefit of working with starting quarterback Chad Kelly last season in practice. They did work together on the scout team and Nield said the duo did some work together in the off-season in preparation for this season.
On top of the physical battle to get back as an everyday player, Nield also had to deal with the mental hurdles that come with the tough injuries he’s had to overcome.
“Just take it one day at a time,” Nield said about how he dealt with the ups and downs of being sidelined. “Just getting little wins every day will help you or what helped me kind of just stay locked in and be mentally sharp when I'm ready.”
One player who embodies the next man up mentality is defensive back Mason Pierce who was thrown into his first professional action out of necessity. The 24-year-old has embraced the opportunity in his first three games registering 14 tackles and a forced fumble.
“He hasn’t always been a boundary halfback right, we had him at the corners and for him to go fill in the boundary halfback and he’s really grown into that role and made a lot of big plays for us last game,” Dinwiddie explained, “He continues to grow and we feel like he's a good player. I think Hamilton tried to attack him a little bit in our last game, so I think they'll try to take that same approach and I think he's up for the challenge.”
Pierce credits his teammates for putting him in the position to succeed especially injured defensive back DaShaun Amos who calls a third coach on the sideline.
On a defence that employs a lot of veterans, Pierce says it’s helped him feel comfortable on the field and getting ready for each and every game to be a part of a close group.
“They're, open to me. So I mean, they received me well, and they want to see me succeed, which is a big part of it,” Pierce explained.
Between now and the end of the season, the young players will certainly get more opportunities to show what they can do and it will be beneficial down the road if the Argos need to rely on them to contribute when called upon.
Some of them will get the opportunity against the Tiger-Cats on Saturday and it should be a competitive one considering second place in the division is up for grabs.