Sad to say it, but might it be that the guy whose leadership needs to be questioned at this point is the sainted Pinball? The TV commentators kept saying that the Argos didn't show up tonight, and that's sure as hell the way it looked. When the players themselves look like they'd rather be somewhere else, it isn't going to be great for us fans. Offensive coordinators coordinate, but they aren't a law unto themselves. The buck stops, of course, with the head coach. And when you have a team that never attempted a balanced attack even before the worst of the injuries, you have to ask why the coach was letting Austin get away with this crap strategy. And when the team shows up for a big game like this, injury-decimated or not, and doesn't show the pride or the motivation to at least put on a decent effort, you have to wonder whether the players have tuned out Pinball's touchie-feelie, happy-happy ministrations. Austin's head should have rolled a long time ago - might have been the only thing that actually moved on the ground - but now...? Just sayin'.

I hear Matt Dunigan might be available.

Obviously, the head coach has to be held somewhat responsible when the team is listing. But bottom line is, it all comes back to the offence.

The defence, in general, has been pretty good; even in last night's debacle, the Als only managed one offensive touchdown in the first three quarters. The special teams have been fine. But their offence isn't just bad - it's so bad that last night, I was actually looking forward to the defence taking the field because I thought it had a better chance of scoring (as it eventually did).

It's not fair to blame Austin for the whole thing, since no offence would be particularly good with all these injuries. But good coaches make the best of what they have, as Rich Stubler has consistently done with the defence; bad coaches make excuses. And Austin - or at least his surprising number of apologists in the Toronto media - has been spouting excuses all season,

As tuning Pinball out, all the motivational tactics in the world won't keep players from getting deflated when they know that their offence is incapable of even moving the ball.

I'd put some blame with Pinball, sure. But I'd put Austin - and Adam Rita, who failed to upgrade a woeful o-line in the off-season - much higher on the list.

It a bad time to be facing the Ticats, especially with Jason Maas heating up behind the pivot. Hopefully, Damon Allen will be ready to take some snaps this week in preparation for the game on Saturday in Hamilton.