Bishop, defence anchor Argos lopsided 48-15 victory over Stampeders
DAN RALPH
July 13, 2007
TORONTO (CP) - A lopsided win might have come at a huge cost for head coach Mike (Pinball) Clemons and the Toronto Argonauts.
Michael Bishop threw three touchdown passes before injuring his right wrist in the third quarter of Toronto's 48-15 victory over the Calgary Stampeders at Rogers Centre on Thursday night.
Bishop enjoyed a second straight solid start, completing 18-of-23 passes for 273 yards with two interceptions before suffering the injury while running to the Calgary one-yard line. He went to hospital for further examination and backup Mike McMahon finished up before a Rogers Centre gathering of 29,304.
"At this point anything that I say to you would be speculation," Clemons said. "We do know it's a wrist, we do know it's his throwing hand and we do know it's more than a mild sprain."
Also injured for Toronto were Jamel White (suspected concussion), Adriano Belli (calf) and Ken Wheaton (unspecified).
But Bishop's was the biggest blow, and his reaction upon getting hurt certainly painted a bad picture for Toronto. After getting hit, Bishop laid on his back, then got up and ran towards the far sidelines seemingly headed towards the lockerroom before hitting a knee. Argos medical staff quickly began treating him, then led Bishop off the field.
"When someone like Michael Bishop reacts like that you take notice because he's a tough customer," Clemons said.
Bishop's injury overshadowed a simply dominating performance by Toronto's defence, which forced 10 Calgary turnovers (five interceptions, three fumbles, twice on downs) and also blocked a punt. Safety Orlondo Steinauer had three interceptions while linebacker Kevin Eiben had a pick and two fumble recoveries.
"It's fun to contribute that way when you get a team win, but this is two points, it's one step on the journey of what our mission is, which is win the Grey Cup," Steinauer said. "It (Bishop's injury) is a blow to our team.
"All three of our quarterbacks are going to be an integral part of us getting to the Grey Cup. Hopefully, it's not serious . . . we're not extremely worried because we're very deep at that position this year."
McMahon finished 6-of-13 passing for 68 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. If Bishop is out indefinitely, McMahon will likely become the starter, with veteran Damon Allen, pro football's career passing leader, moving up to backup.
Toronto (2-1) scored 38 points off Calgary turnovers to record its seventh straight home victory over the Stampeders, whose last win here came in 2000. As impressive as the Argos were, though, they had five turnovers (four interceptions, one fumble).
But whatever could go wrong did for Calgary (1-2), which also had 18 penalties for 155 yards. Henry Burris and Akili Smith both played yet neither did much as the Stampeders suffered their second humiliating road loss in four nights. On Sunday, they were embarrassed 49-8 in Regina.
Then again, Calgary was a CFL-worst 2-7 away from McMahon Stadium last year. The Stampeders and Argos meet again next weekend in Alberta.
Burris finished 13-of-27 passing for 164 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Smith, a former NFL first-round draft pick, was 6-of-10 for 68 yards but also had three interceptions.
"It's not an easy thing to stand on the sideline and watch everything fall apart," lamented Stampeders coach Tom Higgins. "Nothing is anywhere close to where we want it to be.
"All aspects have to improve and some adjustments have to take place. There aren't a lot of answers right now."
Burris could only shake his head when trying to assess Calgary's last two games.
"Two embarrassing losses - the only consistency is turnovers and missed chances," he said. "We held ourselves back by doing stupid things."
Toronto was also playing on five days rest, but Clemons said the Stamps had a more difficult plight playing so quickly between road games.
"What they had to do, it's very difficult to prepare and put a sound gameplan together and be able to rehearse it," Clemons said. "They were playing in a very difficult situation and I think our guys really took advantage of that and did early."
Toronto certainly did that, with Bishop staking the Argos to a convincing 27-0 half-time lead, thanks in large part to six Calgary turnovers.
"We wanted to strike first and get the lead and put them on their backs," said receiver Arland Bruce III, who caught one of Bishop's TD strikes. "We know they had a short turnaround as well so the first team that comes out striking, I think it's going to look good for them."
Andre Talbot, Tony Miles, Jeff Johnson, Derrell (Mookie) Mitchell and rookie Andre Durie had Toronto's other touchdowns. Noel Prefontaine added two field goals and six converts.
Jeremaine Copeland and Brandon Browner had Calgary's TDs. Sandro DeAngelis had the converts while Burke Dales added a single. All of the points came in the fourth.
NOTES: Mitchell had five catches for 64 yards, leaving him 28 short of Paul Masotti's club-record career mark of 8,772 yards. Masotti was present in case Mitchell eclipsed his record . . . The Rogers Centre roof remained closed for the game due to setup for a weekend Roger Waters concert . . . . Durie, whose football career seemed over two years ago when he suffered a horrific knee injury at York, made his first CFL start on special teams before scoring on a 33-yard run in the fourth on his first CFL carry . . . Calgary had Bishop on its negotiation list before dealing him to Toronto in 2002.
