Boatmen confident sailing into 2012 New coach a Ray of hope

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Ricky Ray (POSTMEDIA)

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Chris Young / the canadian press archives Scott Milanovich is a former quarterback and offensive coach who should be able to show the Boatmen a few things about attacking defences. (CP)

The CFL is conducting a series of team preview conference calls in the weeks leading up to training camp. Today, the Argos. Friday, the Eskimos.

Optimism always reigns supreme in the CFL at this time of year but no outpost has more juice flowing than the Toronto Argonauts. The arrival of Scott Milanovich has a lot to do with that.

Yes, star quarterback Ricky Ray will help create some noise around the traditionally buzz-less Argos and gives Toronto their first real quarterback option since Damon Allen, but it's the hiring of Milanovich that could have Canadian gridiron fans in the GTA (if there are any) salivating at the prospects of the Boatmen. When GM Jim Barker decided to move upstairs and hire the former Montreal Alouettes offensive co-ordinator this winter, he didn't just bring in a warm body to oversee the operation from the sidelines, he brought in arguably the hottest young coach in the Canadian game.

How long will it take Milanovich to put his stamp on the team?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, says Barker.

"It depends on the person, it depends on the coach, it depends on the situation," he said during a conference call Tuesday. "This situation is prime for Scott. If he would have come in two years ago, when he got offered the job, I'm not sure it would have been an easy transition for him.

"The offence obviously needs to be the main thing, and he's been the top offensive mind in this league as a co-ordinator the last few years.

"How long will it take? You just never know that."

It's early but the rookie head coach, who Barker snatched off the market in December before other clubs could even begin their courtship, has seen some positive signs the Argos are sailing in the right direction. He shared a story from mini camp where assistant coaches continually harped on the players to secure the football at all times, thus avoiding the easy turnovers that kill offensive rhythm. The next day it was the players, not the coaches, getting on one another about ball security.

Things like this might seem small and inconsequential to the casual observer, but when coaches talk of process and accountability on a football team -- subjects that often cause eyes to glaze over -- it's these progressions they hope to see.

"We've got a great core and it's going to be a process for us, but the time training camp is over, I think we're going to be happy with the guys we have," Milanovich said.

Milanovich said there's no grace period for him or his club -- even if they are in Toronto, where the CFL drifts into an afterthought at times. He'll put the heat on his roster to perform at a high-level right from the start, he says, and won't worry about players crumbling under the atmosphere he wants.

"It's a fine line," he added. "If you apply pressure to people, that's generally when they perform at their best."

The 39-year-old from Butler, Penn. says he won't know what a 'Milanovich-style' football team looks like until the end of June, but it's easy to forecast how the expectations from outsiders will track. His background has deep roots on offence, a former quarterback who's spent the last four seasons working inside the high-powered Alouettes offence as a coach and co-ordinator.

He probably has a few ideas on how to attack a defence.

And then there's Ray, who was acquired from Edmonton in the off-season, to handle the quarterback duties. At 32, he's coming off a campaign in which he threw for 4,594 yards, 24 touchdowns, and a 99 per cent quarterback efficiency rating -- tops in the league last year. His arrival immediately puts the Argos in the conversation for the East Division crown.

Add Ray's production to mainstays such as running back Cory Boyd (1,141 yards rushing; 6.1 yards per carry average) and receiver/returner Chad Owens (3,345 combined yards) and the Argos should put up more than the 22 points per game they averaged last season.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca

ANCHORS AWEIGH

With GM Jim Barker walking the sidelines the last two seasons, the Argos went 15-21 and played in two playoff games (both in 2010). A change was needed, so he gave up the headset to make room for rookie head coach Scott Milanovich, who drifted over from Montreal. Three areas of interest for the Boatmen:

1. Toronto appears headed to an all-Canadian offensive line -- something many CFL clubs strive for due the flexibility it provides on the roster. Cedric Gagne-Marcoux, Marc Parenteau, Chris Van Zeyl, Joe Eppele and Wayne Smith, who was let go by Hamilton earlier this year, appear to be the leading five candidates. Smith is penciled in as the starting left tackle. Free agent non-import Rob Murphy is not in the Argos plans, Barker said Tuesday.

2. Given Milanovich's quarterback pedigree and the new toy he has under centre, some are wondering how the Argos' running attack will look this year. The ground game isn't going anywhere, the coach said. He plans on using Cory Boyd, Chad Kackert, Chad Owens, Spencer Watt and the 'hybrid' skill set of Andre Durie (he wants to use him as both a receiver and a tailback) in different packages with a lot of motion at the line of scrimmage.

3. The secondary turned over slightly with the departures of Byron Parker and Lin-J Shell (both signed with B.C.). New Argos defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones hopes Brandon Issac, who, like Jones, comes from Calgary, and former NFLer Ahmad Carroll can shore up those positions. You might remember Carroll from the NFL police blotter: he was banned for a year after he was caught with a 9mm gun and ecstasy pills in his car in 2007.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 16, 2012 C4