PINBALL REJUVENATED, BUT CAUTIOUS ABOUT 2021 ARGOS SEASON

By: Allan Ly
RP Show Intern

The Canadian Football League will finally come back on August 5 and it could not happen sooner.

One of the teams that had the biggest offseason was the Toronto Argonauts, and they have one of the hardest schedules in 2021.

The Argos signed impact players like Cameron Judge, Charleston Hughes, Martavis Bryant, and more.

“We were, actually, I would say, politely challenged by the place that we’re in,” said Argos GM Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons on Friday’s Rod Pedersen show.

Clemons further elaborated, “this 14 games schedule … 50% of our games are against the two guys that finished first [Hamilton Tiger Cats] and the other guy that won the Grey Cup [ Winnipeg Blue Bombers]”.

The upcoming schedule does not scare Clemons as he has faith in the players for the upcoming season.

“I think that we’re going to have to produce earlier than later,” said Clemons. “So that is our greatest plight; we certainly have talent.”

As mentioned earlier, they signed defensive end Charleston Hughes, and he will be a great help to the Argos because they were sixth in the league in sacks in 2019.

Another two guys that the Argos fans should get excited about are Martavis Bryant and Dejon Brissett.

Bryant got his start in the NFL and played for such teams as the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Las Vegas Raiders; he most recently played in the Indoor Football League.

Brissett, on the other hand, was the Argos’ second pick in the 2020 CFL Draft  and played for the Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA.

Both Bryant and Brisset are big-bodied receivers and would improve the Argo offence because in 2019, the Argos were second last in offensive points.

Clemons loves his new coach Ryan Dinwiddie, even though initially the GM was looking for someone with more experience. Dinwiddie will have his first head coaching job in the CFL with the Argos after spending four seasons in Calgary as their quarterback coach.

“My thoughts going in were to actually get someone who could stabilize the franchise, someone who was more proven, who had more miles on him,” said Clemons.

The job interview that Clemons had with Dinwiddie was amazing, or as he described it as “it blew me away” when he talked about the process of hiring Dinwiddie on the Rod Pedersen Show.

There is no better way to explain how happy Canada is right now with the CFL coming back than what Clemons said TGIF: Thank God It’s Football.

(Follow Allan Ly on Twitter at @AllanTheIntern)