Year-By-Year History
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100th Grey Cup Champions Toronto Argonauts

2011 - Expectations were high as the Argos tried to build on where they’d left off in 2010. A slow start, however, saw the club go 2-7-0 into Labour Day and finish 6-12-0 on the year, which put them out of playoff contention for the third time in four seasons. But there were a few bright spots on the field. Star RB Cory Boyd became the second player (RB Michael Jenkins) in Argos history to compile 1,000 rushing yards in back-to-back seasons, and WR/KR Chad Owens became the first player in pro-football history to achieve back-to-back seasons with at least 3,000 combined yards while also setting a number of club records. CB Byron Parker established a new CFL record by returning his ninth career interception for a touchdown. Finally, veteran WR Jermaine Copeland reached 10,000 career receiving yards in 2011 and then announced his retirement from football following the season. QB Steven Jyles came to Toronto in an off-season trade with Winnipeg, but shoulder surgery and rehabilitation prevented him from achieving his potential as he was added to the nine-game injured list for the start of the season. Instead, Argos’ incumbents QB Cleo Lemon and QB Dalton Bell battled for the starting position. Ultimately, Lemon opened the season as the team’s starter and was released in the days following the club’s Labour Day contest at Rogers Centre (the game was played at Rogers Centre against the B.C. Lions, instead of Ivor Wynne in Hamilton for the first time in many years due to a scheduling conflict). The athletic Jyles took over but another injury sustained in the second-last game of the year in Winnipeg prevented him from finishing the season. Dalton Bell started team’s final game of the year. Changes and turmoil continued throughout the season and with the team coming off its fifth consecutive loss, the Argonauts parted ways with Defensive Coordinator Chip Garber and Defensive Backs coach Orlondo Steinauer was promoted in his place. The club lost starting middle LB Jason Pottinger in the first game of the year, which kept him out of the lineup until the second half of the season. Star LB Kevin Eiben sustained a season ending injury which forced him to play his final game as an Argonaut. In an effort to boost the offence, WR Maurice Mann was acquired in a trade from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats just before the trade deadline. Despite the team’s on field challenges, they finished with seven CFL East All-Stars and two CFL All-Stars. The Double Blue was also the focus of a documentary entitled, The Extra Yard. Financed by TSN, camera crews were given access to team meetings, coaches meetings, practice, the players’ personal lives and more. In all, there were four episodes aired online, on TSN and on CTV, which were met with positive reviews. Before the end of the calendar year, Jim Barker relinquished his Head Coach title and became the club’s General Manager. His first order of business was to appoint Scott Milanovich, who had been the Offensive Coordinator in Montreal, as the teams 42nd head coach in December. Barker then continued the momentum, and just days later shocked the CFL by pulling off a blockbuster trade with Edmonton. The Boatmen sent QB Steven Jyles, K Grant Shaw and the Argonauts’ first-round pick in the 2012 CFL Canadian Draft to the Esks in return for QB Ricky Ray. Off the field, the team officially announced in the spring that the city of Toronto would be host to the 100th Grey Cup championship in November 2012. The team continued to make strides with its Huddle-Up Bullying Prevention program, presented by Tim Hortons, and Level the Playing Field program, presented by Tim Hortons. Through LTPF in 2011, football teams were returned to three Toronto-area schools, bringing the total number to 10 teams returned to Toronto-area schools. The club also continued to help schools fight against childhood obesity by running its successful Argo-cise Recess program.

 

 

 

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