Toronto, ON (Best E Casino) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - East. 2007 record - 11-7-0. Playoff result: First in East Division, lost 19-9 to Winnipeg in division final. Stadium - Rogers Centre. Capacity - 44,700. Colors - Cambridge blue, oxford blue.
It was anything but a quiet offseason for the Toronto Argonauts. After their disappointing loss to Winnipeg in the East final, the Argos made headlines by a) changing coaches, b) acquiring the CFL's outstanding player via trade and c) re-signing one of pro football's top kickers.
Longtime defensive coordinator Rich Stubler became the Argos head coach after Mike (Pinball) Clemons stepped down to become the club's chief executive officer. Stubler was the architect of a Toronto defense that for years has been the CFL's best. Now that he's in his first official capacity as a head coach, Stubler hands off the defensive responsibilities to assistant Kavis Reed.
The Argos landed Stubler a starting quarterback this offseason, acquiring Kerry Joseph from the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Joseph had an '07 season to remember, capturing the CFL's outstanding player award, then guiding the Riders to a Grey Cup championship.
The arrival of Joseph gives Toronto two bona fide starters. Michael Bishop was the club's No. 1 quarterback last year, amassing an impressive 11-1 record. However, all too often the offense struggled under Bishop and did just enough to support a stout defense that many times anchored Argos victories.
Just before training camp, the Argos re-signed kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who helped Toronto capture Grey Cups in '96 and '97 before joining the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. During a nine-year NFL tenure with Indy and the Dallas Cowboys, Vanderjagt emerged as the league's all-time leading kicker. However, he didn't play last season after being released by Dallas.
But the arrival of Vanderjagt made popular kicker-punter Noel Prefontaine expendable. The Argos dealt the nine-year veteran to Edmonton.
Other newcomers of note for Toronto are receivers Bethel Johnson and David Boston. Johnson, who earned two Super Bowl rings with New England, joined the Argos before training camp and had a solid training camp with the CFL team. Boston, a former NFL first-round pick, signed with Toronto prior to camp but had to leave the team due to a pre-existing foot ailment. Fortunately for Boston, he didn't require surgery and re-joined the team shortly after training camp and is expected to be in the lineup sometime soon.
While re-tooling the offense was a priority, the Argos defense remains pretty much intact. The only abstention is all-star cornerback Jordan Younger, who was sent to Edmonton. But among the newcomers is former NFL first-round pick Willie Middlebrooks.
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