Cruel Argos bounce: Defending Ricky Williams from the Pen of Doom
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by user Neatesager
Ricky Williams is out for at least a month with a broken bone in his arm, two quarterbacks are injured and the Toronto Argonauts are a disappointing 2-3 to start the CFL season.
Yes, perfect time for the Pen of Doom -- Toronto Star scribe Dave Feschuk -- to swoop down and pronounce (or is that pounce?) on All Things Argonauts, even implying that Williams is somewhat less than a competitive person.
(Digression: For the uniniated, Feschuk is an undeniably talented scribe who is at his best when a Toronto team is at its worst -- when the Raptors had a 1-15 start to the '05-06 NBA season, he was required reading. After that -- when the Raptors played like a marginal NBA squad -- not so much..)
However, Williams hasn't been the problem for the Argos -- it's been a defence that has been ordinary and a sporadic passing game in the absence of injured quarterback Damon Allen.
It does however, somewhat justify the muted enthusiasm that yours truly had on May 18 when the signing was imminent: "Yet for reasons I can't pinpoint, I'm not overjoyed at increasingly likely prospect of the Argos signing a recent NFL rushing leader." Subsequently, it was predicted that Williams would not lead the CFL in rushing.
Here's something else that appeared back in mid-May:
"The Argos got a lot of bad press two seasons ago when they acquired John Avery - the incumbent at Williams' position, tailback -- and their running game remained in low gear. It wasn't Avery's fault. When a football team has a struggling running game, it usually stems from the blockers, the blocking schemes and the play-calling, not the guys carrying the ball.
"But those kind of nuances tend to get lost when the media are sharpening their knives like an actor in a Quizno's commercial."
Then as now, it seemed like Williams was a poor fit with the Argos personnel, so if this was a move from a purely football standpoint, it seemed like a bad move from a football standpoint. It also seemed like a gold-embossed invitation for Karma to give the Double Blue a good swift kick in the rear end, since the party line revolved around how the Argos were interested in helping Ricky find himself.
(After all, if they're so interested in that in helping sports-loving 29-year-olds with a history of depression, how come they don't call me up and offer me a job in the front office?)
It's also telling that the rather prescient May 18 post noted how the Argos most dangerous touchdown threat was actually kick returner and part-time defensive back Bashir Levingston. Maybe it's not for nothing that last Saturday, when the Argos won despite losing Williams and QB Spergon Wynn to injuries, Levingston scored two touchdowns (on a punt return and pass reception). That's probably neither here nor there.
Here's the rub. The I-told-you-sos and the declarations of disaster are a bit much. It's almost impossible to not empathize with Williams, who has struggled to abide by the shut-your-mouth, do-your-job ethos that frames big-time football south of the border, and not to give the Argos credit for making a "Why not?" move in a world that has too much "Why?" in it.
Let it be said that no one who knows how to read doesn't like Ricky Williams. Just look at who's always first to get on his case -- media types and fanboys on message boards -- and you'll agree. (Feschuk didn't really knock Williams, but probably thought he was playing it cool and slick by laying off him and going after the team.)
The Argos are knee-deep in it today, but the CFL regular season is 18 games long, and six out of eight teams make the playoffs. If, somehow, some way, the Argos pull through this difficult stretch -- as they did in 2004 when Allen missed time with a broken leg -- and end up in the Grey Cup game, it will be interesting to see what the Pen of Doom will write then.
(For more articles like this one, click on Out of Left Field, especially if you're Canadian.)
Date
Tue 07/25/06, 1:14 pm EST
