Naylor on Argos’ Grey Cup chances without Kelly: ‘Better prepared for this than any team could be'
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The Toronto Argonauts upset the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final to reach the Grey Cup for the second time in the past three years. However, the team will be without quarterback Chad Kelly after the starter sustained a broken ankle in the 30-28 victory.
Nick Arbuckle will get the start for Toronto as they take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at BC Place on Sunday. The veteran signal-caller threw for 799 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions with the Argos this season, his second stint with the team.
The Argonauts enter the game as a massive 10.5-point underdog against the Blue Bombers, who have won 10 of their past 11 games.
TSN’s Dave Naylor believes Toronto will surprise the oddsmakers and keep the game much closer than they are being given credit for.
"I think they'll keep it closer than that. I think the Argonauts are probably better prepared for this than any team could be,” Naylor said on TSN Radio. “One reason is that Ryan Dinwiddie is their head coach and he went through this exact same thing in 2007.”
Dinwiddie’s playing days may be best remembered for being the backup quarterback who had to start the 2007 Grey Cup game for Winnipeg, after starter Kevin Glenn was injured during the division final.
“The other, is that the Toronto Argonauts spent the first nine games of the season asking themselves 'How do we win without Chad Kelly?' How do we win with, frankly, inferior talent at the quarterback position? They went 5-4 and one of those games was Nick Arbuckle starting against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and they won,” Naylor continued. “I think as much as this is a daunting task for the Argos, there are some dynamics in the situation that make it a little less daunting for them than it would be for other teams.”
The Argonauts won both meetings against the Blue Bombers this season, including a 16-14 overtime win in July with Arbuckle at the helm.
Winnipeg is in the Grey Cup for the fifth consecutive season, looking to snap a two-game losing skid in the big game, after losses to the Argos and Montreal Alouettes the past two seasons.
With the ‘dynasty’ label floating around the Bombers, Naylor discussed the type of legacy that hangs in the balance as Winnipeg attempts to claim its third Grey Cup in five seasons.
"It reminds me a little bit of what happened to the New England Patriots. Because so many of the Patriots' Super Bowl wins, but for one or two plays, would have been Super Bowl losses. Along the way, there was a lot of winning by a bit and losing by a bit. All of their Super Bowl wins were so close they weren't dominant in the game,” Naylor said.
“Winnipeg has played in four of them. The first, they dominated as underdogs, the next one went to overtime, the next one was a fourth-quarter comeback from a backup quarterback, Chad Kelly off the bench, and then you have last year where Cody Fajardo makes an unlikely drive into the teeth of the Winnipeg defence in the final minute to win the game.
“They could be 4-0 in these Grey Cups or they could be 1-3 but I think this is a real defining one for Winnipeg because you could rationalize 3-2 with two really close losses as a pretty good stamp on the Grey Cup. But 2-3? I don't know if it matters what sentence comes after that. It's hard to call yourself a dynasty.”
The Blue Bombers are coming off a dominant 38-22 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Western Final and are operating as the clear favourites heading into Sunday’s clash.
However, Naylor says there is hope for the Argos, who stayed above .500 in nine games to begin the year while Kelly was suspended, with the biggest loss coming on June 28, 30-20, at the hands of the Alouettes.
“If it's a straight-up talent question of which team's going to win on its best day, the Bombers are going to win this game,” said Naylor. “You want as many things that can muck this game up as possible. I think in general, we think that underdogs favour mucky conditions but in this case, you've got a very polished team [in the Blue Bombers], an offence that is on a roll. When the talent is not equal, you want that third element [weather] and there's not going to be a third element in this game. I think that's another factor that favours Winnipeg in this game.
“10.5 points is a big number. How many times did the Argos get beat by more than 10 without Chad Kelly? They went 5-4. I think Toronto can keep this close."