Andrus avoids QB controversy by naming Joseph as Argos starter

You are Here: Home > Andrus avoids QB controversy by naming Joseph as Argos starter
Andrus avoids QB controversy by naming Joseph as Argos starter By DAN RALPH, Canadian Press Jun 3, 2009 - 5:38:05 PM	Email this article Printer friendly page
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - There will be no quarterback controversy this year at the Toronto Argonauts training camp. First-year head coach Bart Andrus squashed any threat of one by naming veteran Kerry Joseph his starter Wednesday, the opening day of the CFL team's mini camp for rookies and quarterbacks. Andrus's announcement is in stark contrast to last year when head coach Rich Stubler decided to platoon Joseph and veteran Michael Bishop. "Kerry is listed No. 1 on our depth chart and in my mind he's the one everybody else has to beat out," Andrus said. "Right now he's our starter, he's our leader until he proves otherwise or someone else steps up." Andrus's words are definitely music to the ears of Joseph, who admitted the 2008 campaign was a painful one. "I pray that I never have to see a situation like that again as long as I'm playing the game of football," he said. "It's over with, it's done with. "You take and you learn from it and you get better in life and on the football field." Joseph, 35, tops the list of Toronto's four quarterbacks in camp. Joining him are Cody Pickett - last year's backup - and newcomers Kinsmon Lancaster and Stephen Reaves. Former NCAA quarterback Reggie McNeal will report with other veterans Sunday for the official start of training camp playing receiver while giving the Argos an emergency option under centre. The six-foot-one, 215-pound Joseph joined the Argos amid much fanfare in a trade from Saskatchewan in March 2008. He was named the CFL's outstanding player in 2007 and capped his stellar campaign by leading the Roughriders to a Grey Cup championship before becoming embroiled in a contract dispute with the Riders. Joseph quickly signed a new, lucrative, multi-year deal with Toronto, but couldn't mirror his '07 on-field success with the club. The Argos struggled to a 4-14 record - losing their final nine regular-season games - to miss the CFL playoffs for the first time since 2001. What's more, Stubler's decision regarding his quarterbacks created division in the locker-room and Toronto ultimately dealt Bishop to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in late August. Shortly afterwards, the Argos fired Stubler after a 4-6 start and replaced him with Don Matthews, the winningest coach in CFL history. But the move backfired as the Argos went 0-8 under Matthews, who led the team to consecutive Grey Cup titles in 1996-'97 and abruptly resigned at season's end. Joseph's plight didn't improve after Bishop's departure. Following his first game back with Toronto, Matthews made the shocking decision to bench Joseph and go with the unproven Pickett. Two weeks later, Joseph was back in the starting lineup. Joseph finished the season completing 307-of-536 passes (57.3 per cent) for 4,174 yards - the second-highest total in his six-year CFL career. But he had just 17 touchdown passes (his second-lowest total) and ran for just 493 yards and four TDs after rushing for 737 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2007. By naming Joseph as his starter, Andrus said the veteran can concentrate solely on football. "There was a little bit of a controversy within the quarterback position last year and I think that had an affect on (Joseph), it had an affect on the entire team," Andrus said. "By going in right away (and saying) he's our guy, we're going to avoid all that mess." And Joseph couldn't be happier. "That's my biggest thing, I don't have to answer the same questions I had to answer the first day of camp last year," he said. "Now, it's football because it's not about me. "I can't win the Grey Cup by myself. I need every last one of these guys on the field. So it's good to come in and answer questions about how I felt the guys practised today, about how did this guy or that guy look?" Andrus, who has previous coaching experience in the NFL and the now-defunct NFL Europe, will run the Argos offence and handle the play-calling duties, which is just fine with Joseph. In fact, Joseph sees a lot of similarities between Toronto's team this year and the '07 Roughriders, who were led by Kent Austin, their offensive-minded first-year head coach who was named the CFL's coach of the year after guiding Saskatchewan to its league title. "It's kind of deja vu to have a coach like Bart coming in, a guy who is smart and has a great offensive scheme," Joseph said. "Just looking at the playbook, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun in this offence. "I think he's going to allow me to go out and be myself." Andrus said Joseph's versatility gives Toronto's offence plenty of options. "He has all the intangibles that we're looking for as far as a quarterback with good athleticism," Andrus said. "He's a guy that can throw and move around and extend the play beyond the pocket if he needs to." Joseph said Andrus's offence ideally suits his abilities and summed up his head coach's offensive scheme in one word. "Attack," he said. "His offensive scheme is to attack and we're going to attack many different ways. "That's his whole mentality. Attack, attack, attack. We've got to move the ball and we've got to score points. That's the way you win football games." NOTES - The Argos signed running back Jay Lucas and receiver-kick returner Kenny O'Neal on Wednesday while also releasing veteran receiver Frank Murphy … The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have released receiver-kick returner Jason Armstead. The club also announced that Brett MacNeil, a former Bombers offensive lineman, will help with the club's offensive line during camp as a guest coach. Copyright 2007 - MOP Squad Sports Top of Page