Toronto Argonauts ready for 'business trip' against Roughriders at Touchdown Atlantic

It’s fair to say the CFL has taken criticism over the years for initiatives that haven’t worked out in the way the league anticipated but Touchdown Atlantic isn’t one of those.

On Saturday afternoon, more than 10,000 fans will gather at Huskies Stadium which is located at Saint Mary’s University for an event that has been well received across the league. It certainly helps that the Saskatchewan Roughriders, one of the teams playing in the game, have arguably the best-traveling fanbase in the CFL.

What the CFL has done right with Touchdown Atlantic is schedule it at a point in the season where they can benefit from fans looking to make a trip out to the East Coast. It’s a popular destination for Canadians in the summertime so having the chance for fans to watch their favourite team makes it an easy sell.

For the Toronto Argonauts, this game is one that is considered a home game but the team is taking a business approach like they do for any road trip. It also helps that most of the players got to experience this the year before when they played at Acadia University.

There shouldn’t be any concern about the team losing focus heading into this game as they don’t allow themselves to get too caught up being 5-0 to start the season.

“For us, there is no added pressure. We believe we are a special group and we believe that by coming to pratice each and every day and working towards something and that’s getting two per cent better,” receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. said after practice this week. “Once you got that feeling, a good core, coaching staff and training staff, it’s easy to come together.”

They also avoid getting stuck looking too far ahead and dwelling on the past as they want to keep the focus on being 1-0 for their next game. In any time I’ve talked to players they constant say their goal is to be 1-0 and while it might sound cliche, it’s something the entire team has bought into.

After their win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the celebrations of being 5-0 could be heard from the locker room. The mindset returned to the next task ahead of them.

“Every week is a new week, we go 1-0 every week,” said DaVaris Daniels after the win in Hamilton. “When we practice we try to get 2 per cent better. That's the goal and we'll see what happens in Halifax.”

Returning to the lineup for the Argos is linebacker Jordan Williams who has missed the past couple of games with a knee injury. He won’t be thrusted into starting duties right away with Jonathan Jones producing well enough to continue starting as the middle linebacker.

Shawn Oakman is also back after he was a healthy scratch while Isiah Cage still isn’t ready to return but appears to be getting closer. Unfortunately, special teams standout Daniel Adeboboye has been placed on the six-game injured list.

Fortunately, Cam Phillips will be able to play after he missed the first day of practice with a shoulder injury.  Damonte Coxie is questionable with an ankle injury that had him miss a day of practice but getting in a full session before the team travelled to Halifax which is a good sign that he will be able to play.

For Saskatchewan, this is the second start for Mason Fine after Trevor Harris was sidelined by a knee injury. Fine will get some help with receiver Jake Wieneke returning after missing the last three weeks with a knee injury along with Brayden Lenius who hasn’t ben able to play this season.

The Roughriders defence remains a tough challenge this season and they get Anthony Lanier II back after he missed the last two games with a foot injury.

At the same time, Toronto’s defence will like their matchup against Saskatchewan’s offence which failed to score a touchdown against the B.C. Lions. The Roughriders will likely try to open things up offensively with Wieneke and Lenius back but the Argos secondary has proven to be a tough unit to go up against as they will take advantage of mistakes made by the opposing quarterback.