The Ticats didn’t just beat the Argos Thursday night at Rogers Centre, they assaulted them.
Led by Jesse Lumsden, the Ticats ripped apart the Argos defence for a mind boggling 311 yards rushing.
When is the last time a team ran for over 300 yards in the CFL? It almost never happens.
The golden boy from Burlington, Lumsden was incredible - rushing for 189 yards and two touchdowns.
I have known Jesse since his days at McMaster. As is his character, Lumsden gave all the credit to his offensive line. The Ticats offensive line did an incredible job of controlling the line of scrimmage. Lumsden had a lot of room to work with and hung some huge numbers on a defence that most people, myself included, think is the best in the CFL.
When you consider the Ticats haven’t won a game in Toronto since 2001, the kind of season they suffered through in 2007, and how bad the Ticats looked in week one, Thursday night's win over the Argos was epic.
It doesn’t mean the Ticats are heading for the playoffs, but it does mean that this football team is heading in the right direction.
Credit also has to go out to Charlie Taffe and his offensive coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille. They devised a simple and very effective game plan and stuck to it. Casey Printers didn’t put up huge numbers. Mainly because the Ticats ran the ball so well he didn’t need to.
Next week, the Argos will be in Edmonton. The Eskimos will get one look at the Thursday night’s game film and attempt to do the same thing the Ticats did; pound the football right down the Argos throat.
Until the Argos stop allowing people to chew them up on the ground, opposing teams are going to keep running the football.
The way Lumsden and the Ticats ran the ball against the Argos, who’s in and who’s out at quarterback is the least of their worries.
--Jim "Clubber" Lang
One of Sportsnet's most versatile reporters, Jim covers the Leafs beat, can be seen regularly on Connected and can be read weekly on Sportsnet.ca.
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