Toronto Argonauts inconsistent play limiting their ceiling as contenders

The Toronto Argonauts got a dose of their own medicine with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats engineering a second-half comeback that included 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter en route to a 34-27 loss at Tim Horton’s Field.

For those wondering what type of team the Argos are, look no further than their 4-4 record this season. They are struggling to overcome their inconsistent play which has been the downfall in their losses but they have also found ways to rally past it.

No victory has come easily for Toronto but only one of their losses was by a blowout. Friday’s loss to Hamilton was the first time since their 44-3 loss to the B.C. Lions that the Argos allowed 30 or more points in a game which shows the level of consistency the defence has played at.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said on the offensive side of the ball. The Argos picked up their first rushing touchdown of the season as Chad Kelly found his way into the endzone on the one-yard line, thanks to some help from Brandon Banks.

The only other touchdown they scored was on a pass to DaVaris Daniels at the end of the first half where penalties put the team in a position to score after almost having to settle for a field goal.

When you look at some of the top teams in the league right now, they are finding ways to get the most out of their opportunities to get six points in the redzone.

To some level of justification, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie has faced blame for some of his play-calling and decision-making during the game. However, it is always easy to point out mistakes while ignoring the positives as well.

Since the Argos won the Grey Cup in 2017, they went on a two-year stretch where they went a combined 8-28. Serious changes were made and it led to a 9-5 season and a loss in the East Division Final.

Now in just year two of the Dinwiddie era, the calls for change is perplexing. Are there issues that need to be fixed? Most certainly but they need to avoid following the same path that other CFL teams that lead to the same results.

This roster has the talent to be competitive but they can’t get there if they are held back by the same problems. Some will point to the questionable calls that Dinwiddie has made during games especially close ones but that is a symptom of a bigger problem.

Against the Tiger-Cats, Dinwiddie decided to punt on a third and a yard which is usually when you expect to see a QB sneak. Unfortunately, this has been something the Argos have struggled with all season and it has forced the coach to take a more conservative approach with his playcalling.

He also made it clear that the team needs to do a better job of pushing the ball down the field as evidenced by only two receptions on eight targets for Brandon Banks against Hamilton. Not having Cam Phillips took away one of the Argos deep threats while Tommy Nield injured himself right after making a catch on a big play.

This leads us to the play of McLeod Bethel-Thompson.

There is no player on the team that has seen both sides of the support from fans. Some see the stats he puts up each and every week and the comeback efforts while others focus on the lack of results and ability to put the team over the top in crucial games.

No position in the CFL is as crucial than quarterback. If a team has a good one, they do their best to keep them around.

The B.C. Lions are seeing the benefit of giving Nathan Rourke the keys to the offence as the Canadian has been the story of the 2022 season, and deservedly so. When you see the way the 24-year-old competes each and every week, you see how much a quarterback with elite talent can elevate a team.

Which brings us back to Bethel-Thompson. He is not in the top tier of CFL quarterbacks that Rourke is in (not many are) but he also isn’t in the bottom tier either.

It was pointed out that in his time with the Argos, Bethel-Thompson holds a 17-22 record which isn’t ideal as a starter. However, in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Bethel-Thompson wasn’t viewed as the team’s starting quarterback in training camp, it wasn’t until Dinwiddie was named head coach that the 34-year-old was able to grab hold of the job to start the season.

For all the flaws that get pointed out, Dinwiddie has found ways to get the most out of Bethel-Thompson. The question now becomes whether there is any more he can squeeze out of him at this point?

There have been calls to have Chad Kelly take over as the starting quarterback. Kelly continues to show progress as he adapts to playing the Canadian style of football.

However, this is not a situation like Rourke who was coming out of school had not played professional football and benefitted from spending a year learning from Michael Reilly. Kelly has some experience (albeit lmited) at the NFL level and has the potential to at least be effective in the CFL.

It would definitely be a gamble at this point for the Argos to decide to change things up and put Kelly in a position where he might not be ready to take the keys to the Argos offence. However, if Bethel-Thompson isn’t able to find some level of consistency, Dinwiddie might have to think about it.

This is a team that is built to compete now and with the East Division open for the taking, the Argos can’t let the opportunity slip from their fingers again. With Hamilton and Montreal on their heels, this could be the stretch of games that causes the boat to sink or push forward.