2008 Toronto Argonauts season

Last updated
2008 Toronto Argonauts season
General manager Adam Rita
Head coach Rich Stubler (to Sept. 9)
Don Matthews (Sept. 9 to Oct. 31)
Home field Rogers Centre
Results
Record4–14
Division place3rd, East
Playoff finishdid not qualify
Uniform
CFL TOR Jersey 2008.png

The 2008 Toronto Argonauts season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and 136th season overall. The Argonauts attempted to win their 16th Grey Cup, but they failed to make the playoffs ending the season on a nine-game losing streak.

Contents

Offseason

CFL draft

In the 2008 CFL Draft, 48 players were chosen from among 752 eligible players [1] from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The first two rounds were broadcast on TSN.ca with host Rod Black.

RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool/Club Team
213 Mike Bradwell WR McMaster
321 Jean-Nicolas Carriere LB McGill
429 Delroy Clarke DB Ottawa
537 Richard Zulys OL Western Ontario
642 (via Edmonton) Mark Dewit OL Calgary
644 (via Montreal) Tyler Scott RECWestern Ontario
645 Matt Black DB Saginaw Valley

Notable transactions

Quarterback Kerry Joseph jogs offs the Rogers Centre field Kerry Joseph 4.jpg
Quarterback Kerry Joseph jogs offs the Rogers Centre field
DateTypeIncomingOutgoingTeam
March 5, 2008Trade
  • Kerry Joseph, Quarterback Flag of the United States.svg
  • Riders third round pick in the 2010 CFL Draft
  • Glenn January, Offensive Tackle Flag of the United States.svg
  • Ronald Flemons, Defensive Lineman Flag of the United States.svg
  • Argonauts first round selection in the 2008 CFL Draft
  • Argonauts second round selection in the 2010 CFL Draft
 Saskatchewan Roughriders

[2]

Allen retires as pro football's career passing leader with 72,381 yards. He played on four Grey Cup-winning teams and in 2005, he captured the league's outstanding player award. [4]

Rosters

Preseason roster

As of June 10, 2008

2008 Toronto Argonauts preseason roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Injured Reserve Injuryicon.jpg

Suspended list

Practice Roster

Italics indicates Import player
Roster updated 2008-06-10
Depth Chart • Transactions
69 Active, 3 Inactive

End of season roster

2008 Toronto Argonauts final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Receivers

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Practice Roster

Italics indicates Import player
Roster updated 2008-10-31
Depth Chart • Transactions
55 Active, 4 PR

Schedule

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentLocationFinal scoreAttendanceRecord
AJune 12@ Alouettes Molson Stadium T 34 – 3420,2020–0–1
BJune 19 Tiger-Cats Rogers Centre L 28 – 2121,4220–1–1

[5]

Regular season

WeekDateOpponentLocationFinal scoreAttendanceRecord
1June 27@ Blue Bombers Canad Inns Stadium W 23 – 1626,1551–0
2July 3 Tiger-Cats Rogers Centre L 32 – 1330,8221–1
3July 10@ Eskimos Commonwealth Stadium L 47 – 2831,7071–2
4July 20 Eskimos Rogers Centre W 35 – 3128,5222–2
5July 27@ Roughriders Mosaic Stadium L 28 – 2228,8002–3
6August 1 Blue Bombers Rogers Centre W 19 – 1128,5233–3
7August 7@ Tiger-Cats Ivor Wynne Stadium L 45 – 2119,4233–4
8August 15 Alouettes Rogers Centre L 32 – 1430,5213–5
9Bye
10September 1@ Tiger-Cats Ivor Wynne Stadium W 34 – 3125,9114–5
11September 7@ Alouettes Molson Stadium L 45 – 1920,2024–6
12September 12 Blue Bombers Rogers Centre L 39 – 928,4534–7
13September 20@ Stampeders McMahon Stadium L 34 – 433,1354–8
14September 27 Stampeders Rogers Centre L 44 – 1628,6724–9
15October 3 Lions Rogers Centre L 24 – 2028,2734–10
16October 10@ Blue Bombers Canad Inns Stadium L 25 – 1627,2684–11
17October 18 Alouettes Rogers Centre L 43 – 3430,2624–12
18October 25@ Lions BC Place Stadium L 55 – 3235,9944–13
19October 30 Roughriders Rogers Centre L 45 – 3828,6544–14

[5]

Regular season

Toronto started the season off well, winning against the Blue Bombers 23–16, but after that they compiled a 2–5 record the next 7 games. After the Bye week, everything went downhill, they won only one game and lost 9 start to finish the season 4–14 and missed the playoffs.

A raucous Labour Day crowd of 25,911 at Ivor Wynne Stadium witnessed a game that ended with a 34–31 Argo victory, the team's first win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the season. Argo head coach Rich Stubler's job was rumoured to be on the line. [6] Argos receiver Arland Bruce III found time for a little theatrics, celebrating an 11-yard TD catch by donning a Spider-Man mask produced from his pants. [6] Several days later, the Canadian Football League fined the Argonauts receiver an undisclosed amount for his touchdown celebration. [7] Game officials had handed Bruce an objectionable conduct penalty after the incident. Bruce went on to have his best game of the season, catching 10 passes for a game-high 149 yards. [7]

On September 9, Stubler was released as head coach of the Argonauts after posting a 4–6 record. There was the belief he could not get along with those he worked with. [8] The Argos hired Don Matthews, the head coach with the most wins in CFL history and head coach during Toronto's back-to-back Grey Cup victories in 1996 and 1997, to return to the club as head coach for the third time in his coaching career. [9]

During the team's next game on September 12 at Rogers Centre, Winnipeg Blue Bombers slotback Milt Stegall became the most prolific receiver in the history of the CFL. [10] The slotback caught a 92-yard pass at 9:02 in the second quarter to raise his career total to 14,983, breaking the mark of 14,891 yards previously held by former Stampeders receiver Allen Pitts. [10] Stegall took a pass from Kevin Glenn and scored a touchdown, his second of the game. It put the Bombers ahead 28–3. [10]

On October 31, Matthews resigned from the Argonauts a day after the conclusion of the Argonauts 2008 regular season, which saw the Argos fail to win a game in the eight games under his leadership and finishing out of the playoffs for the first time since the 2001 CFL season. [11]

Season standings

East Division
TeamGPWLTPFPAPts
Montreal Alouettes 18117061044322 Details
Winnipeg Blue Bombers 18810043549016 Details
Toronto Argonauts 1841403976278 Details
Hamilton Tiger-Cats 1831504415936 Details

Statistics

Offence

Passing

PlayerAttComp %YardsTDINTRating
Kerry Joseph53630757.34174171482.0
Cody Pickett1046360.66101272.2
Reggie McNeal200.00002.1

[12]

Rushing

PlayerAttYardsAvg,TDFumbles
Jamal Robertson1176455.562
Kerry Joseph784936.347
Dominique Dorsey6441 06.422
Jeff Johnson8313.910

[12]

Receiving

[13]

PlayerReceptionsYardsTouchdowns
Arland Bruce 9212109
Andre Talbot 769154
Reggie McNeal 436062
P. K. Sam 364993
James Robinson 253811
Tyler Scott 193090
Dominique Dorsey 152860

Defence

Postseason

The Argos finished third in the East Division with a record of 4 wins and 14 losses. The Edmonton Eskimos, who finished fourth in the West, had a better record of 10 and 8, and under the cross-over rule eliminated Toronto from the playoffs and play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East semi-final.

Awards and records

Milestones

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Argonauts</span> Canadian professional football team

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1873, the team is the oldest existing professional sports team in North America still using its original name, as well as the oldest-surviving team in both the modern-day CFL and East Division. The team's origins date back to a modified version of rugby football that emerged in North America in the latter half of the 19th century. The Argonauts played their home games at Rogers Centre from 1989 until 2016, when the team moved to BMO Field, the fifth stadium site to host the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damon Allen</span> Canadian gridiron football player (born 1963)

Damon L. Allen is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played 23 years in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is currently fourth in all-time professional football passing yards and second in all-time CFL passing yards after he was surpassed for first place by the Montréal Alouettes' Anthony Calvillo on October 10, 2011. Allen retired as professional football's all-time leading passer with 72,381 passing yards after he surpassed Warren Moon's total of 70,553 yards on September 4, 2006, in the annual Labour Day Classic. He also retired in third place in all-time CFL rushing yards with 11,920 yards, behind Mike Pringle and George Reed. The 2007 season marked Allen's twenty-third season in the CFL and he officially announced his retirement on May 28, 2008, at age 44. Allen is the younger brother of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen.

The 2005 CFL season is considered to be the 52nd season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the 48th Canadian Football League season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arland Bruce III</span> American gridiron football player (born 1977)

Arland Richard Bruce III is a former Canadian football wide receiver. He is a two-time Grey Cup champion, having won in 2004 with the Toronto Argonauts and in 2011 with the Lions. He has played 10 seasons in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and BC Lions. During the 2011 season, he became the 14th CFL receiver to record over 10,000 yards receiving in a career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derrell Mitchell</span> American gridiron football player (born 1971)

Derrell Lavoice "Mookie" Mitchell is a former Canadian Football League (CFL) slotback with the Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos and former wide receivers coach for the Edmonton Eskimos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Dunigan</span> American football player

Matt Dunigan is an American broadcaster and former professional football player and executive. He is a Canadian Football League (CFL) sportscaster for Canadian sports television channel TSN. Dunigan is a former quarterback, coach, and executive in the CFL. In 2006, Dunigan joined the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, and was voted one of the CFL's Top 50 players (#39) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlondo Steinauer</span> Canadian Football League coach

Orlondo Steinauer is the president of football operations for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). As a player, he played professional Canadian football as a safety for 13 seasons with the Ottawa Rough Riders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts from 1996 to 2008. He finished his career second all-time in CFL history for interception return yards with 1178 yards. Steinauer was a two-time Grey Cup champion as a player after winning in 1999 with the Tiger-Cats and in 2004 with the Argonauts. He has also won a championship as a coach, winning the 100th Grey Cup as the defensive backs coach for the Toronto Argonauts in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milt Stegall</span> American gridiron football player (born 1970)

Milton Eugene Stegall is a former professional gridiron football player who played 17 years of professional football, three years in the National Football League with the Cincinnati Bengals and 14 years in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He is currently an analyst on the CFL on TSN studio panel.

The 2008 CFL season was the 55th season of modern-day Canadian football, the 51st season for the Canadian Football League. It was also the first CFL season in which all of the league's regular season and post-season games, including the Grey Cup game, were aired on TSN. This meant the CFL was no longer aired on broadcast television in Canada. As of 2008, TSN was available in approximately 8.8 million of Canada's 13 million households. Montreal hosted the 96th Grey Cup at Olympic Stadium on November 23, when the championship was won by the Calgary Stampeders.

Archie J. Amerson is an American former professional Canadian football running back and slotback who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1997 to 2004, appearing in 122 regular season games for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and one regular season game for the Toronto Argonauts. In 1999, he was part of the Tiger-Cats team that won the 87th Grey Cup. He missed the entire 2005 season due to injury and was released by the Tiger-Cats afterwards. At the time of his release, Amerson was one of the most prolific receivers in Tiger-Cats history, ranking third in receptions, fourth in receiving yards, fifth in kickoff return yards, and sixth in touchdowns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Stubler</span> American football coach (1949–2023)

Richard Stubler was an American football coach, primarily in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was most recently an assistant coach for the Toronto Argonauts. He is a five-time Grey Cup champion, all as a defensive coordinator, and was formerly the head coach of the Argonauts. He has been coaching since the 1970s and has coached at the high school level, NCAA, Arena Football League and the CFL.

Gerald Alan Alphin is a former professional gridiron football wide receiver and slotback who played eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1986 to 1996, mainly for the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Alphin played college football at Kansas State University. Alphin recorded four 1,000-yard receiving seasons, including a period of three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with the Rough Riders during which he was considered one of the best receivers playing in the CFL. He was named an East all-star in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andre Durie</span>

Andre Durie is a former professional Canadian football running back/slotback who played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 2007 to 2016. He signed with the Argonauts on May 10, 2007, as a free agent after he went undrafted in the 2007 CFL Draft. He played CIS football for the York Lions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Toronto Argonauts season</span> CFL team season

The 2006 Toronto Argonauts season was the 49th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and 134th season overall. The Argonauts finished the regular season 10–8 and finished in second place in the East Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Toronto Argonauts season</span> CFL team season

The 2009 Toronto Argonauts season was the 52nd season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 137th overall. The Argonauts attempted to win their 16th Grey Cup championship, but they failed to make the playoffs for the second straight year, finishing the season with a 3–15 record for the first time since 1993.

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Ted Alford is a former professional gridiron football wide receiver. After playing college football at Langston University, he played for seven teams in the Canadian Football League (CFL), including the Edmonton Eskimos, BC Lions, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Montreal Alouettes, Toronto Argonauts, and Calgary Stampeders. In his rookie season with the BC Lions, Alford became a consistent starter and was nominated for the Most Outstanding Rookie award. He spent the next several years moving from team to team, playing in only 8 CFL games from 1997 through 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llevi Noel</span> Canadian gridiron football player (born 1991)

Llevi Noel is a former professional Canadian football wide receiver. He is a Grey Cup champion after winning the 105th Grey Cup with the Toronto Argonauts in 2017. Noel was a member of four different teams in the Canadian Football League (CFL), the Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Redblacks, Edmonton Elks and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

References

  1. ↑ "Draft List for Year 2008" (PDF). Canadian Football League. 2008-01-28. Retrieved 6 May 2008.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ McCormick, Murray (March 5, 2008). "Dealt to Argos". Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2008-04-12– via Canada.com.
  3. ↑ "Argonauts add former NFLer Bethel Johnson". CBC News. May 26, 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  4. ↑ "(no title)". Canoe. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012.{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. 1 2 "2008 Toronto Argonauts" . Retrieved 2010-11-07.
  6. 1 2 Zelkovich, Chris (September 2, 2008). "Argos hang on to beat Ticats". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  7. 1 2 "Posted Sports". network.nationalpost.com.
  8. ↑ Simmons, Steve (2009-09-10). "Stubler just didn't fit". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved 2008-09-10.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ↑ "Argos fire Stubler, bring back Matthews". CBC Sports. 2008-09-09. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  10. 1 2 3 "CFL on Yahoo Canada Sports – News, Scores, Standings, Rumours, Fantasy Games". Yahoo Sports.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ "Matthews quits as Argos coach". CBC Sports. 2008-10-31. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  12. 1 2 "CFL.ca". Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  13. ↑ "2008 Receiving Statistics". CFL.ca. Archived from the original on 2008-10-10. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  14. ↑ "CFL.ca - 2008 East & West Division All-Stars". Archived from the original on 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2017-08-23.

Further reading

On training camp
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