TORONTO (Sep. 21) — I’ve been on this bandwagon for weeks now, but I didn’t believe Ryan Dinwiddie would directly cost his team a win. Until it happened on Friday night at BMO Field. So, I’ll say it again: If the owners of the Toronto Argonauts — whoever they may be after the Rogers takeover of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment — allow Dinwiddie to remain on the sideline, the club’s 10–point lead over Hamilton early in the season will fully disappear. The Argonauts, now only four up on the Ticats, will finish last in the Canadian Football League East a year after posting a 16–2 record. At 7–7, Dinwiddie has already lost more than three times the number of games as in 2023. It’s only a matter of time until he guides the Boatmen from first to worst in the span of one season.

Any football fan that watched the final 90 seconds of the Argos–Hamilton tussle would agree that a new coach is sorely required. It looked as if Dinwiddie was trying to throw the game. All night long, and so predictably, he ran the ball on first down. Almost every time. In the fourth quarter, it began to pay off. Ka’Deem Carey, Deonta McMahon and Daniel Adeboboye were gobbling up yardage along the ground. Now, the Argos, trailing 30–28 with 1:43 left, were in easy position to work the clock by continuing to run… and kick a field goal with little time remaining. So, what did Dinwiddie do? The genius instructed quarterback Chad Kelly to pass the ball for a quick score.

Of course, a pass incompletion stops the clock until the next snap. Not so a running play, when time begins as soon as the ball is spotted. Even if the Argos had scored a touchdown, there was no way the porous defensive secondary would prevent Bo Levi Mitchell from answering. Dinwiddie’s glaring ineptitude left Mitchell nearly a full minute to guide Hamilton into field goal position. A blind quarterback could have done so against the terrible Argo pass defense. Predictably, Hamilton won (33–31) with no time remaining on a Mark Leigghio kick.

THIS WAS TOO EASY: A TWEET I POSTED AFTER ARGOS COACH RYAN DINWIDDIE DESTROYED ANY CHANCE OF HIS TEAM WINNING ON FRIDAY NIGHT. HIS CLOCK MISMANAGEMENT AND PLAY CALLING IN THE LAST TWO MINUTES WERE, IN MY VIEW, A FIRING OFFENSE. YET AGAIN.

Dinwiddie is largely to blame, but not solely. The club’s rabble–rousing personnel director, John Murphy, has proven adept at filling holes on the Argo roster. But, he failed miserably to find replacements after cheap ownership allowed defenders Jamal Peters, Adarius Pickett and Quan’tez Stiggers to sign elsewhere (Stiggers made the New York Jets). It was nearly comical to watch Mitchell eviscerate the Argo secondary throughout Friday’s game. He rarely looked so spectacular during his prime years in Calgary. It was pitch–and–catch for gobs of yardage against the horrid Argo pass defense. I’ve rarely seen receivers so wide open in the flat and over the middle. The roster deficit left Dinwiddie zero margin for error. Let alone a flagrant schematic blunder in the waning moments.

What seems inarguable is that Dinwiddie spent all of last off–season resting on his coach–of–the–year laurels… even after riding Kelly’s coattails throughout the 2023 campaign. While opposing defensive coaches were studying film of Kelly, Dinwiddie assumed he could return with the exact offense from a year ago. On Friday night, I was calling the plays before they occurred. It’s one thing for Tony Romo to accomplish such a feat on CBS telecasts of the National Football League. And, quite another for Howard Berger to be doing so from Sec. 225, Row 9 at BMO Field. One can therefore imagine the simple task for the Tiger–Cats spotters. Dinwiddie made no adjustments to his offense from a year ago. As such, Kelly was running for his life on virtually every play as the choreographed Toronto attack was easily subdued most of the night. The same receivers as last year — Damonte Coxie, DaVaris Daniels and David Ungerer — are no longer getting open. Only newcomer Makai Polk, the club’s best performer this season, can wiggle free. Otherwise, it was as if the Tiger–Cat coaches had a copy of the Argonauts playbook.

RYAN DINWIDDIE, HANDS ON HIP, WATCHED HIS POROUS SECONDARY FLOUNDER ALL NIGHT. THEN, HE COST THE ARGOS A VICTORY WITH MICKEY MOUSE PLAY CALLING IN THE FINAL MOMENTS.

The sad part is that fans are beginning to show up at the CNE. Nearly the entire lower bowl was sold out for Friday night’s game (attendance was 18,210, excellent for the current-day Argonauts). But, every time a big audience assembles (as in last year’s Eastern final), Toronto sh**s the bed. Almost never has there been such a comedown for a local sports team in the span of one season. The Argos have regressed from a championship–caliber outfit to marshmallow–soft and predictable on both sides of the ball.

Pinball Clemons must be sick to his stomach.

EMAIL: HOWARDLBERGER@GMAIL.COM