A tale of two five-win teams: Argos fall further off a cliff as Riders trend up

All the changes in Toronto haven't worked so far. Trading for and turning to Drew Willy at quarterback has worked out miserably for the Argonauts, and their decision to jettison receivers Vidal Hazelton, Tori Gurley, and Kevin Elliott doesn't appear to be paying off either. Toronto's 29-11 loss to Saskatchewan at home Saturday was not only their fifth-straight defeat, but also their fifth-straight loss by 17 or more points, and it dropped them to 5-11 and was yet another blow in their quest to make the playoffs and make it to a home Grey Cup. The Argos haven't been completely eliminated yet despite the loss, but their postseason hopes are getting increasingly slim, and they appear to be heading in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, the Riders picked up their fourth-straight victory to improve to 5-10 and continue their rebuild, and while they're already out of playoff contention, they're at least making some progress.

The cliff the Argonauts have fallen off this season has just been incredible. After starting the year 4-2, they've gone 1-9 since then, and it's gotten particularly bad in recent weeks. On the year, Toronto has now been outscored 496-353, and their last five games have seen them lose 46-29, 29-12, 38-11, 48-20 and 29-11. A big part of the problem has been recurring injuries to quarterback Ricky Ray, but the Argos struggled even in many games where Ray was in the lineup. The latest attempt to replace him with Willy, which saw the Argos pay a higher price than they even paid for Ray in the first place, has been particularly disastrous, though.

When Ray initially went down this latest time, the Argos first turned to Dan LeFevour, and they were rewarded with their fifth win of the season. They immediately traded for Willy, though, and then turned to him partway through that 29-12 loss (to Ottawa). Since then, the offensive production has completely gone into the gutter, and that was evident again Saturday; Willy completed just 11 of 23 passes (47.8 per cent) for 83 yards. Toronto got a little bit of a resurgence when they went to LeFevour, who completed 11 of 16 passes (68.8 per cent) for 107 yards with a touchdown and an interception (which came on his final pass of the game), and they scored all 11 of their points in the fourth quarter, but that was too little, too late. The offensive production was just dismal for most of the day, with Toronto averaging just 2.8 yards on first down partway though the fourth quarter, as per the TSN broadcast. You have to wonder if these continued struggles will make the Argos reevaluate their idea of having Willy as their starter going forward.

In any case, the pressure on Toronto head coach Scott Milanovich and general manager Jim Barker is certainly growing. Both were signed to extensions through 2018 last year, but if this tailspin continues, it's possible to see the team parting ways with one or both of them following the season. More was expected in the Argos' first new season under new owners (who spent heavily in free agency for the first time in a while) with a home Grey Cup on the line, and it's clear that this team hasn't delievered. Both Milanovich and Barker played key roles in the Argos' past success, including their 2012 Grey Cup win, but the last three seasons (8-10 outside the playoffs in 2014, 10-8 with a first-round playoff loss in 2015, 5-11 so far this year) have not been inspiring, and the chances of a playoff appearance this year are slim.

Toronto can only reach 7-11 this season, which would make them victim to a crossover if they finish third in the East, as fourth-in-the-West Edmonton is already 8-7 and guaranteed to finish with a better record than the Argos. Thus, Toronto would have to pass 6-9 Hamilton to get into the playoffs (7-7-1 Ottawa is out of reach). Hamilton also holds that tiebreaker, so the Argos would need to get at least a win and a tie in their final two games and have the Ticats lose their remaining three in order to make the postseason. It seems highly unlikely that's going to happen. Of course, Milanovich, Barker or both may be able to keep their jobs even without a postseason appearance if the team finishes strong with two wins, but that also doesn't look too likely at the moment, and big changes may be coming to Toronto this offseason.

Meanwhile, the Riders' extensive rebuild looks like it's continuing to make progress.They also only have five wins this season, but their story is the opposite of the Argos' four early wins; Saskatchewan has now won four in a row. New pieces like Joe McKnight (17 carries for 150 yards, an 8.8 yards per carry average) and Henoc Muamba (three tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble) made an impact in this one, and the Riders could have won by even more; they took their foot off the gas after leading 20-0 at halftime, playing substitutes and only scoring nine points in the third quarter and none in the fourth. Given the Argos' issues, this win doesn't mean all Saskatchewan's issues are assuredly solved, but it's another data point that they're headed in the right direction. Unlike Toronto, they're already out of this year's playoffs, but for now at least, their future looks much brighter.