From the Pressbox

Here I am, barely finished proclaiming Pinball Clemons a genius for unexpectedly yanking Damon Allen one week ago, when Clemons waits one series too long to do it a second time.

The result – Mark Estelle’s 78-yard interception-return touchdown – was a disaster for Toronto, one of two plays that mortally wounded them in Montreal. (The other came after the Argonauts got within 30-24 inside three minutes. Following a stop of Robert Edwards on first down, Kerry Watkins somehow eluded everybody for a 31-yard completion that led to the clinching field goal. And while I’m on a tangent here, what on earth was with Damon Duval waving goodbye to the Argos? You’re a kicker. Just get off the field.)

Two issues: 1) What is Damon Allen’s future? And 2) Who will play quarterback in Toronto next year?

The only way Allen will be back in Toronto is if he agrees to be the backup, and even then I’m not certain it’s a good idea. I am loathe to write off the guy – God knows it’s happened several times before – and Allen has proved to be like Jason from Friday the 13th: every time you think you’ve killed him, he comes back for more.

But there are some things that make this a different scenario:

• Until two weeks ago, I’d never heard Allen make any concessions about his age. That’s when I asked him why he had only run 25 times this year, a career low. (His average of two carries per game was his fewest since 1986, his second CFL season.) He said, “I am 43, you know.” Understand that as recently as last season, he would tense up at retirement-esque questions, hating even the mention of the word. Allen is not as effective when he doesn’t run, and he clearly feels the pain when he does so.
• Is being a backup really a good idea for Allen, or for the team he joins? Allen’s got enormous pride – and he should – so, I’m not certain he could handle it. Not that I blame him for that. Think about it: How many big-time quarterbacks in the CFL or the NFL accept a backup role late in their careers? Chris Walby came up with a good example in Danny McManus, but the two men’s personalities are not similar.
• Any team that signs him is all but guaranteeing a quarterback controversy. The first time the starter struggles, a halfway decent reporter is going to start asking about playing Allen.
• With 20-20 hindsight, it’s now clear one of the biggest mistakes the Argonauts made this year was firing offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin. Maybe the two weren’t going bowling together, but under Austin’s tutelage, Allen was MVP of the 2004 Grey Cup and of the league itself in 2005. Everyone on the planet has bosses/co-workers they don’t like, but if these people are helping you – and Austin was – you just have to suck it up and deal.

But the real answer should come from inside. There is nothing worse than watching a great player/athlete hanging on too long. I’m too young to remember Willie Mays as a Met, but I’ve heard horror stories. (And I do remember Jack Morris as a Cleveland Indian.) Quick story: Myron Cope is a legendary Pittsburgh broadcaster who created the Terrible Towel that annoying Steelers fans use. After more than 30 years, he was declining as an announcer. Last year, a representative of the Rooney family – which has owned the Steelers since the Paleozoic era – went to him and told him it was time. It was hard for the Rooneys to do it, but they did it because they didn’t want to see a legend tarnished.

I hope Allen has such a friend, if he doesn’t make the decision himself.

As for next year, the Argonauts host the Grey Cup. And, while it’s admirable that they sold more than 20,000 tickets during the opening 24-hour window, that leaves 30,000 to go. Logic dictates Michael Bishop would be the guy, but this is an illogical world.

One week before his playoff heroics, Bishop signed with the Arena League’s Kansas City Brigade. The AFL ended this past year on June 11 (next year’s schedule is not yet posted). The CFL season began days later. Unless the Argonauts and the Brigade could work to extricate Bishop from that contract – and there are no guarantees the arena team would want to do that – he won’t be available for Toronto training camp.

Sources say: That’s not good.

That brings up two other, popular names. First up is Dave Dickenson. Dickenson has one year left on his Lions’ contract, rumoured to be in the $400,000 range. Win or lose on Sunday, I don’t understand why B.C. wouldn’t keep both Dickenson and Buck Pierce. The latter also has one more year left in his current deal, and – as Wally Buono has pointed out on numerous occasions – is still a quarterback neophyte.

Why not keep both of them, so Pierce can continue to learn from the best?

Should Buono decide to trade his current starter, there would be interest elsewhere. Winnipeg and Hamilton would gladly wrestle Toronto for the chance to get him.

But don’t forget Casey Printers. Printers attended the West Championship on Sunday, with skeptics such as CBC panelists saying he was doing so to remind CFL executives he is still alive. He turned down a three-year, $1.2 million offer from the Lions to go to Kansas City, where he currently sits on the practice squad. The Chiefs recently signed him to a three-year contract, but that was more of a bookkeeping manouevre than a shot of confidence so they could dress him when Trent Green was injured. NFL deals are not guaranteed, so the three-year provision is about as solid as a Lite Beer.

The Ricky Williams signing last year shows that Toronto ownership will go for the biggest name, the biggest splash, to generate interest. Printers is probably that guy, especially since he is a CFL free agent. Plus, his bad reputation for ripping apart the room is something Pinball Clemons could handle.

The major question with him is: Will Kansas City keep him?

Whatever the answer Argonaut ownership will demand a change and get it. Then again, Hamilton fans screamed for the same after last season, and look how well that worked out.

Later in the week: Thoughts on Danny Barrett, Dave Dickenson and the Vancouver Canucks.

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