2017 Toronto Argonauts season explained

Team:Toronto Argonauts
Year:2017
Record:9–9
Division Place:1st, East
Coach:Marc Trestman
General Manager:Jim Popp
Stadium:BMO Field
Playoffs:Won Grey Cup
Mop:Ricky Ray
Moc:Sean McEwen
Mor:James Wilder Jr.
Shortnavlink:Argonauts seasons
Uniform:File:CFL TOR Jersey 2017.png

The 2017 Toronto Argonauts season was the 60th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 145th season overall. The Argonauts finished the season in first place in the East Division and finished with a 9–9 record.

The Argonauts improved upon their 5–13 record from 2016 with their sixth win after 13 games and clinched a playoff spot following a Hamilton Tiger-Cats loss on October 13, 2017.[1] The team hosted their first playoff game since 2013, in which they defeated the crossover Saskatchewan Roughriders in the East Final by a score of 25–21. The Argonauts made their 23rd appearance in the Grey Cup championship game and won for the 17th time in the 105th Grey Cup game in Ottawa against the league-leading Calgary Stampeders by a score of 27–24. It was the third largest fourth-quarter comeback in Grey Cup history (eight-point deficit) and the Argos became the first team in Grey Cup history with two touchdowns of 100-plus yards.[2]

With the 2018 Toronto Argonauts team failing to qualify for the playoffs, the 2017 Argonauts became the first championship team since the 1970 Montreal Alouettes to miss the playoffs in both the preceding and following years.

Going back to the beginning of the year, it was announced on February 28, 2017 that Jim Popp would assume the duties of general manager and Marc Trestman would take on head coaching duties.[3] The end result, as noted above, was a stark contrast to their 2016 season, with people calling for the dismissal for Jim Barker and Scott Milanovich toward the latter portions of the 2016 Toronto Argonauts season.

Offseason

CFL draft

The 2017 CFL Draft took place on May 7, 2017.[4] The Argonauts had six selections in the eight-round draft after trading the first overall pick for Drew Willy and their sixth-round pick for S. J. Green.[5] [6]

RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool/Club TeamHometown
2 10 Port Coquitlam, BC
3 19 Chilliwack, BC
4 27 Calgary, AB
5 36 Brampton, ON
7 54 Winnipeg, MB
8 63 Calgary Calgary, AB

Preseason

The Toronto Argonauts won their first preseason game with a dominant defensive performance, returning two Montreal interceptions for touchdowns in the game.[7] In the second preseason game, this time on the road, the Argos came back to win against their hated rivals Hamilton – while notably not giving any game reps to Grey Cup-winning quarterbacks Ricky Ray or Drew Willy.[8]

WeekDateKickoffOpponentResultsTVVenueAttendanceSummary
ScoreRecord
AThurs, June 87:30 p.m. EDTvs. Montreal AlouettesW 24–201–0NoneBMO Field5,532Recap
BFri, June 167:30 p.m. EDTat Hamilton Tiger-CatsW 23–162–0Ticats.caTim Hortons FieldRecap
[9]

Games played with colour uniforms.

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateKickoffOpponentResultsTVVenueAttendanceSummary
ScoreRecord
1Sun, June 254:00 p.m. EDTHamilton Tiger-CatsW 32–151–0TSN/ESPN2BMO Field13,583Recap
2Fri, June 307:00 p.m. EDTL 15–281–1TSN/ESPN2BMO Field11,219Recap
3Sat, July 87:00 p.m. EDT@ Ottawa RedblacksW 26–252–1TSN/RDSTD Place Stadium24,347Recap
4Thurs, July 138:30 p.m. EDT@ Winnipeg Blue BombersL 25–332–2TSN/RDSInvestors Group Field25,085Recap
5Mon, July 247:30 p.m. EDTOttawa RedblacksW 27–243–2TSN/RDS/ESPN2BMO Field15,801Recap
6Sat, July 296:30 p.m. EDT@ Saskatchewan RoughridersL 27–383–3TSNMosaic Stadium33,350Recap
7Thurs, Aug 37:30 p.m. EDTCalgary StampedersL 24–413–4TSNBMO Field11,616Recap
8Fri, Aug 117:30 p.m. EDT@ Montreal AlouettesL 9–213–5TSN/RDSMolson Stadium19,712Recap
9Sat, Aug 194:00 p.m. EDTMontreal AlouettesW 38–64–5TSN/RDSBMO Field16,326Recap
10Sat, Aug 269:00 p.m. EDT@ Calgary StampedersL 7–234–6TSNMcMahon Stadium26,150Recap
11Mon, Sept 46:30 p.m. EDT@ Hamilton Tiger-CatsL 22–244–7TSNTim Hortons Field23,926Recap
12Bye
13Sat, Sept 164:00 p.m. EDTEdmonton EskimosW 34–265–7TSNBMO Field13,182Recap
14Sat, Sept 237:00 p.m. EDTMontreal AlouettesW 33–196–7TSN/RDSBMO Field12,862Recap
15Sat, Sept 306:30 p.m. EDT@ Hamilton Tiger-CatsW 43–35 (OT)7–7TSN/RDS2Tim Hortons Field24,067Recap
16Sat, Oct 74:00 p.m. EDTSaskatchewan RoughridersL 24–277–8TSN/RDS2BMO Field15,102Recap
17Sat, Oct 147:00 p.m. EDT@ Edmonton EskimosL 27–307–9TSN/RDS2Commonwealth Stadium26,738Recap
18Sat, Oct 214:00 p.m. EDTWinnipeg Blue BombersW 29–288–9TSN/RDSBMO Field15,532Recap
19Bye
20Sat, Nov 410:00 p.m. EDT@ BC LionsW 40–139–9TSNBC Place19,233Recap
[9] [10] [11] [12]

Games played with colour uniforms.

Games played with white uniforms.

Post-season

Schedule

GameDateKickoffOpponentResultsTVVenueAttendanceSummary
ScoreRecord
East Semi-FinalBye
East FinalSun, Nov 191:00 p.m. ESTSaskatchewan RoughridersW 25–211–0TSN/RDS/ESPNewsBMO Field24,929Recap
Sun, Nov 266:30 p.m. ESTCalgary StampedersW 27–242–0TSN/RDS/ESPN2TD Place Stadium36,154Recap

Games played with colour uniforms.

Team

Coaching staff

Notes and References

  1. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/10/13/playoff-scenarios-stamps-argos-eye-division-crown/ Updated Playoff Scenarios: RedBlacks & Argos clinch; Ticats eliminated
  2. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/11/27/record-breaking-night-nations-capital/ Recapping a record-breaking night in the nation's capital
  3. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/02/28/new-captains-ship-popp-trestman-reunite-lead-argos/ New Captains Ship - Popp and Trestman Reunite to Lead Argonauts
  4. https://press.cfl.ca/marquee-moments-highlight-2017-cfl-schedule-in-canadas-150th-year-95599 Marquee moments highlight 2017 CFL schedule in Canada's 150th year
  5. https://www.cfl.ca/2016/09/11/bombers-trade-willy-to-toronto-acquire-glenn/ Blue Bombers ship Willy to Argos; acquire Glenn in trade with Als
  6. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/04/20/double-blue-acquire-sb-sj-green-trade-als/ Double Blue acquire SB SJ Green in trade with Als
  7. Web site: 2017-06-08 Game Tracker - Montreal Alouettes vs. Toronto Argonauts (2363).
  8. Web site: 2017-06-16 Game Tracker - Toronto Argonauts vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2369).
  9. http://www.argonauts.ca/schedule/?season=2017 2017 Schedule
  10. https://press.cfl.ca/marquee-moments-highlight-2017-cfl-schedule-in-canadas-150th-year-95599 Marquee moments highlight 2017 CFL schedule in Canada's 150th year
  11. http://www.rds.ca/football/lcf/calendrier 2017 RDS CFL Schedule
  12. https://www.cfl.ca/2017/06/20/cfl-espn-unveil-2017-u-s-broadcast-schedule/ CFL, ESPN unveil 2017 U.S. broadcast schedule