2021 Toronto Argonauts season
| 2021 Toronto Argonauts season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Michael Clemons |
| Head coach | Ryan Dinwiddie |
| Home field | BMO Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–5 |
| Division place | 1st, East |
| Playoff finish | Lost East Final |
| Team MOP | McLeod Bethel-Thompson |
| Team MOC | Kurleigh Gittens Jr. |
| Team MOR | Peter Nicastro |
| Uniform | |
 | |
The 2021 Toronto Argonauts season was the 63rd season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 148th year of existence. The Argonauts improved on their 4–14 record from their previous season in 2019 with a win in week 10 against the Ottawa Redblacks on October 6, 2021. The team qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2017, on October 30, 2021, with a win over the BC Lions.[1] The Argonauts then clinched first place in the East Division after defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on November 12, 2021.[2] However, the Argonauts lost to the same Tiger-Cats in the East Final after holding a 12–0 halftime lead, but were unable to score a touchdown and lost 27–19.[3]
This was the first full season with Michael Clemons as general manager following his appointment mid-way through the 2019 season.[4] This was also the first season for head coach Ryan Dinwiddie.[5]
An 18-game season schedule was originally released on November 20, 2020, but it was announced on April 21, 2021, that the start of the season would likely be delayed until August and feature a 14-game schedule.[6][7] On June 15, 2021, the league released the revised 14-game schedule with regular season play beginning on August 5, 2021.[8]
Offseason
[edit]CFL Global Draft
[edit]The 2021 CFL Global Draft took place on April 15, 2021.[9][10] With the format being a snake draft, the Argonauts selected third in the odd-numbered rounds and seventh in the even-numbered rounds.[9] The team exchanged their third-round pick for a fourth-round pick as part of a three-player trade with the Calgary Stampeders.[11]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | University/Club Team | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Tigie Sankoh | DB | London Warriors |  Great Britain
|
| 2 | 16 | Toshiki Sato | K | IBM Big Blue |  Japan
|
| 4 | 30 | Max Duffy | P | Kentucky |  Australia
|
| 4 | 34 | Sammis Reyes | REC | Tulane |  Chile
|
CFL National Draft
[edit]The 2021 CFL Draft took place on May 4, 2021.[12][13] The Argonauts had seven selections in the six-round snake draft and had the seventh pick in odd rounds and the third pick in even rounds.[14] The team acquired an additional fourth-round selection after trading Shawn Lemon to the BC Lions in exchange for Davon Coleman.[15] The Argonauts also swapped their fifth-round pick for the Stampeders' sixth round-pick in a three-player trade and they exchanged sixth-round picks with the Blue Bombers in the trade for Cody Speller.[11][16]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | University Team | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Peter Nicastro | OL | Calgary | Calgary, AB |
| 2 | 12 | Sage Doxtater | OL | New Mexico State | Welland, ON |
| 3 | 25 | Luiji Vilain | DL | Michigan | Ottawa, ON |
| 4 | 30 | Tommy Nield | WR | McMaster | Guelph, ON |
| 4 | 33 | Trevor Hoyte | LB | Carleton | Gatineau, QC |
| 6 | 47 | Joshua Hagerty | DB | Saskatchewan | Regina, SK |
| 6 | 52 | Benjamin St-Juste | DB | Minnesota | Montreal, QC |
Preseason
[edit]Pre-season games were not played due to the shortening of the season.[8]
Planned schedule
[edit]| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | TV | Venue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Bye | |||||||||
| B | 1 | Thu, May 27 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | NA | BMO Field | ||||
| C | 2 | Thu, June 3 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | NA | Tim Hortons Field | ||||
Regular season
[edit]Standings
[edit]| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Argonauts | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 309 | 318 | 6–2 | L1 | Details |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 312 | 244 | 4–4 | W1 | Details |
| Montreal Alouettes | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 356 | 295 | 5–3 | L1 | Details |
| Ottawa Redblacks | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 224 | 384 | 1–7 | W1 | Details |
Schedule
[edit]The Argonauts initially had a schedule that featured 18 regular season games beginning on June 19 and ending on October 30.[6] The team was scheduled to be the home team for a neutral site game at an unannounced location on July 10 for a match-up with the Calgary Stampeders.[18] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the Canadian Football League delayed the start of the regular season to August 5, 2021, and the Argonauts began their 14-game season on August 7, 2021.[8]
On August 22, 2021, it was announced that the Edmonton Elks had several players test positive for COVID-19, so the August 26, 2021 game was postponed with the rescheduled date to be declared once the Elks pass health and safety protocols.[19] The CFL announced on September 2, 2021, that the game was rescheduled for Tuesday, November 16, 2021, where the Argonauts originally had a bye week.[20]
| Week | Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Sat, Aug 7 | 7:00 p.m. EDT | @ Calgary Stampeders | W 23–20 | 1–0 | TSN | McMahon Stadium | 23,921 | Recap |
| 2 | 2 | Fri, Aug 13 | 8:30 p.m. EDT | @ Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 7–20 | 1–1 | TSN/RDS | IG Field | 22,143 | Recap |
| 3 | 3 | Sat, Aug 21 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 30–23 | 2–1 | TSN/ESPN2 | BMO Field | 9,866 | Recap |
| 4 | Bye (originally scheduled for Thurs, Aug 26, vs. Edmonton Elks; rescheduled to week 16)[20] | |||||||||
| 5 | 4 | Mon, Sept 6 | 1:00 p.m. EDT | @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 19–32 | 2–2 | TSN/RDS2 | Tim Hortons Field | 15,000 | Recap |
| 6 | 5 | Fri, Sept 10 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 17–16 | 3–2 | TSN/RDS2 | BMO Field | 9,702 | Recap |
| 7 | 6 | Fri, Sept 17 | 9:45 p.m. EDT | @ Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 16–30 | 3–3 | TSN | Mosaic Stadium | 25,883 | Recap |
| 8 | 7 | Fri, Sept 24 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Montreal Alouettes | W 30–27 | 4–3 | TSN/RDS | BMO Field | 7,758 | Recap |
| 9 | Bye | |||||||||
| 10 | 8 | Wed, Oct 6 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | Ottawa Redblacks | W 35–16 | 5–3 | TSN/RDS2 | BMO Field | 6,788 | Recap |
| 10 | 9 | Mon, Oct 11 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | @ Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 24–23 | 6–3 | TSN | Tim Hortons Field | 21,378 | Recap |
| 11 | Bye | |||||||||
| 12 | 10 | Fri, Oct 22 | 7:30 p.m. EDT | @ Montreal Alouettes | L 16–37 | 6–4 | TSN/RDS | Molson Stadium | 12,142 | Recap |
| 13 | 11 | Sat, Oct 30 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | BC Lions | W 31–29 (OT) | 7–4 | TSN | BMO Field | 9,011 | Recap |
| 14 | 12 | Sat, Nov 6 | 4:00 p.m. EDT | @ Ottawa Redblacks | W 23–20 | 8–4 | TSN/RDS2 | TD Place Stadium | 18,644 | Recap |
| 15 | 13 | Fri, Nov 12 | 7:30 p.m. EST | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 31–12 | 9–4 | TSN/ESPNews | BMO Field | 10,851 | Recap |
| 16 | 14 | Tues, Nov 16 † | 7:30 p.m. EST | Edmonton Elks | L 7–13 | 9–5 | TSN | BMO Field | 6,247 | Recap |
- # Games played with colour uniforms.
- # Games played with white uniforms.
- † Game rescheduled from August 26 due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among Edmonton players.
Post-season
[edit]Schedule
[edit]| Game | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | TV | Venue | Attendance | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||||
| East Semi-Final | Bye | ||||||||
| East Final | Sun, Dec 5 | 12:30 p.m. EST | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 19–27 | 0–1 | TSN/RDS/ESPNews | BMO Field | 21,492 | Recap |
- # Games played with colour uniforms.
Team
[edit]Roster
[edit]Coaching staff
[edit]Front office and support staff
|
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
→ Coaching Staff Archived 2015-11-28 at the Wayback Machine | |||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Argos punch playoff ticket in OT win over the Lions". Canadian Football League. October 30, 2021.
- ^ "Argos roll past Ticats to clinch 1st place in the East". Canadian Football League. November 12, 2021.
- ^ "Tiger-Town bound: Ticats down Argos in Eastern Final". Canadian Football League. December 5, 2021.
- ^ CFL.ca Staff (October 8, 2019). "Argos relieve GM Jim Popp of duties". CFL.ca. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "Ryan Dinwiddie named 45th head coach in Argos history". Toronto Argonauts. December 12, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b "Divisional games take centre stage in unique 2021 schedule". Canadian Football League. November 20, 2020.
- ^ "CFL Announces Plans To Return-to-play For 2021 Season". Canadian Football League. April 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Circle your calendars: CFL releases 2021 schedule". Canadian Football League. June 15, 2021.
- ^ a b "CFL calendar busy with free agency, virtual combines, drafts". Canadian Football League. February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ "2021 Global Draft tracker". Canadian Football League. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ a b "Argos acquire rights to three, including Rogers, in trade with Stamps". Canadian Football League. January 31, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ "CFL announces date for 2021 CFL National Draft". cfl.ca. Canadian Football League. March 30, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "2021 CFL Draft to feature some significant changes". CFL.ca. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "Ti-Cats snag first selection as CFL reveals 2021 order". CFL.ca. November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "Lions acquire Shawn Lemon, Argos land all-star Davon Coleman in trade". CFL.ca. August 12, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "Argos acquire Speller in trade with Bombers". CFL.ca. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ a b "2021 CFL Schedule". cfl.ca. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ "2021 CFL schedule announced". Toronto Argonauts. November 21, 2020. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
- ^ "CFL Statement on the Elks-Argonauts game on Thursday". Canadian Football League. August 22, 2021.
- ^ a b "Postponed Elks-Argos game rescheduled to Nov. 16". Canadian Football League. September 2, 2021.
- ^ "2021 Schedule". Canadian Football League. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- ^ "Nos émissions" (in French). Réseau des sports. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ "ESPN, Upcoming". ESPN. Retrieved August 3, 2021.