Playing with the urgency of a team hoping to catch the midnight redeye out of town the Argonauts brought an end to their 2011 season on Thursday night, gaining victory over the visiting Tiger Cats, a team that provided all the competition you would expect of a team that just wanted to finish the game without any injuries..
it was the wrap on a most frustrating season for the Double Blue, who clearly didn't have the right recipe for the CFL stew in 2011. With any number of ingredients missing as the pot was kept on simmer through the five months of the regular season.
The problems for the most part, seemed to stem from Jim Barker's dedication to stay with Cleo Lemon as quarterback, an experiment that offered up moments potential countered by games of futility and misery. All of the Argo woes surely don't rest on the shoulders of Lemon, but the slow pace of his learning curve did seem to put the Argos behind the pack early on, a situation that they never really gained any traction on.
The move to stick with Lemon as the Argos began to take on water, was a decision which set the Argos back at least three months, that at least judging by the moderate success of Stephen Jyles since taking over the reins from Lemon. Granted, it's a fine bit of season ending sideline coaching for Argo fans to wonder what the fate of their team may have been had Jyles been healthy from training camp on, but the late season successes do suggest that a very different outcome may have arrived had a change been made earlier.
Still, despite that ray of hope, you have to wonder if an upgrade of QB is not at the top of the list for Barker whether as coach, GM or again both, heading into the off season.
One of the first decisions of the off season will be the status of Barker, whether he continues to hold the dual posts of this season, or gets some help to spread out some of the burden of making the Argos competitive again.
After that it will be time for the player assessments and picking up available talent or making trades for key components.
With Henry Burris seemingly dropping on the Stampeders depth chart these days, the rumblings of a move East continue to grow, Burris at least offers some name brand recognition for CFL fans in the east and if he can recapture his skill set of the previous seasons he might be the right player at the right time for a rebuilding Argo team.
There is also some thought that the Argos may go after Andy Fantuz, who as a free agent could be lured back to his Ontario home, making for a key part of a new offensive push for the Double Blue.
There are other spots that need shoring up or out right renovation, but securing some quality players at the key offensive positions could turn around the Argos free fall in a much quicker timeline than seems in place at the moment.
Adding the likes of a Burris and a Fantuz to some of the current line up might make 2012 a very different year, the Argos may not get all the way to home team status at the 2012 Toronto Grey Cup, but in an Eastern Division that has shown the top runners do stumble from time to time, a revamped Argo lineup may yet prove to be a competitive force in the East.
Cold comfort for Argo fans, who once again find themselves on the outside looking in on any Grey Cup Party plans for this year.
For Toronto, the term, "wait til next year" is used for pretty well all of the city's pro sports teams, this time around it's the Argonauts who fit the billing.
National Post-- Toronto Argonauts end dismal year on high note
National Post-- Argos left to figure out how it all went wrong
National Post-- The Argos reflect on their disappointing season
National Post-- Argos' Boyd looking to build on strong season
Globe and Mail-- With change in the air, Argonauts enter off season
Globe and Mail-- Argos sign off with a win
Globe and Mail-- Argos need shakeup to rekindle passion
Toronto Star-- Argos contemplate changes from top to bottom
Toronto Star-- Stiff challenges ahead for Argos, says Bob Nicholson
Toronto Star-- In Argos, they still believe
Toronto Sun-- Johnson's an Argo survivor
Toronto Sun-- No Argo is safe
TSN-- Argonauts head into off-season with many questions
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