Argos coach Milanovich says team needs win regardless of where it comes

“Obviously getting one at home, there’s that much more pressure because we want to do well in front of our fans.”

Montreal (1-2) is coming off a 31-7 home loss to Hamilton on July 15. Quarterback Kevin Glenn returns under centre after not playing versus the Ticats due to an inflamed eye.

Rakeem Cato earned the start and was 18-of-25 passing for 203 yards as Hamilton took control of the game by outscoring Montreal 26-3 in the second half. He was replaced by youngster Vernon Adams Jr., who was 4-of-9 passing for 35 yards.

Montreal is averaging a CFL-low 14 points per game and will be without slotback S.J. Green and tailback Tyrell Sutton, who are both on the injured list. Anthony Calvillo, pro football’s all-time passing leader, is his first season as the Alouettes’ offensive co-ordinator.

Regardless of Montreal’s offensive struggles, Milanovich said he has a healthy respect Glenn and veteran receivers Duron Carter and Nik Lewis, who’ve both publicly lashed out regarding the Alouettes’ offensive struggles thus far.

“Duron is as talented a receiver as there is in this league . . . You just can’t play him one on one or he’s going to get his opportunities,” Milanovich said. “Nik is as good an all-round football player as this league has (and) Kevin Glenn over the past 10 years has been one of the top quarterback in our league.

“Our defence will certainly have its hands full.”

Still, Montreal has recorded just two passing TDs and their passing average is a league-low 7.1 yards per play. The Alouettes are averaging 282.7 passing yards, ahead of only Toronto, and 336.7 total yards offensive.

So far this season, Toronto quarterback Ricky Ray has completed 86-of-122 passes (70.5 per cent) for 1,000 yards with six TDs and just one interception. Ray, 36, missed most of the 2015 campaign recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

Against Ottawa, Ray moved into fourth in all-time CFL passing yards and needs one more TD pass to move past Damon Allen (77) into second in club history behind Condredge Holloway (97).

But Milanovich feels Toronto has been its own worst enemy in its losses.

“The positive thing is you can see what we can be if we get out of our own way,” he said.

Ray agrees.

“We haven’t played one of our games where we feel really really good about it.” Ray said. “It’s just coming down to a handful of plays where we’re just not executing, whether it’s missed assignments, a penalty or just making a bad play.

“We just haven’t played well enough at home our first two games. It comes back to just executing better and giving ourselves better opportunities and then capitalizing on that. That’s been the story of our first two games, just shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit and then not making enough plays.”

The contest will be Toronto tackle Josh Bourke’s first against his former team. Bourke, a 33-year-old native of Windsor, Ont., spent nine seasons with Montreal — winning two Grey Cups and the CFL’s outstanding lineman award — before signing with Toronto as a free agent this off-season.

“It’s going to be weird but at the end of the day they have a job to do, I have a job to do and we both understand that,” he said. “It’s nothing personal.

“Whoever I am going against we’re going to play hard and shake each other’s hand at the end of the game.”

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Argos coach Milanovich says team needs win regardless of where it comes

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