# 2006 Toronto Argonauts season

The 2006 Toronto Argonauts season was the 49th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and 134th season overall. The Argonauts finished the regular season 10–8 and finished in second place in the East Division.

## Offseason

The Argos made a splash just before training camp when they lured high-profile RB Ricky Williams to Canada. The team also picked up QB and 2001 Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch.

### CFL draft

| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College |
| 5 | Toronto Argonauts | Daniel Federkeil | DL | Calgary |
| 10 | Toronto Argonauts | Leron Mitchell | DB | Western Ontario |
| 14 | Toronto Argonauts | Aaron Wagner | LB | Brigham Young |
| 31 | Toronto Argonauts | Obed Cetoute | WR | Central Florida |
| 39 | Toronto Argonauts | Brian Ramsay | OL | New Mexico |
| 47 | Toronto Argonauts | Clifton Dawson | RB | Harvard |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Location | Final score | Attendance | Record |
| A | June 2 | Tiger-Cats | Rogers Centre | L 31 – 3 | 21,469 | 0–1 |
| B | June 9 | @ Tiger-Cats | Ivor Wynne Stadium | L 21 – 11 | 25,398 | 0–2 |

## Regular season

Quarterback Damon Allen became professional football's all-time leading passer, moving ahead of Warren Moon on Labour Day in Hamilton. The team, however, was decimated by injuries at almost every position and the Argonauts stumbled out of the gate to a 2–5 record. Mid-season health bred new promise as the team gained the majority of its starters back including Allen and Williams, who both fell to injury early in the year. Upon his return, Williams joined forces with fellow RB John Avery to deliver a late-season one-two punch out of the backfield. Combined with the stellar play of their dominant defence, the Double Blue was able to turn the season around and win 8 of their remaining 11 regular season games to finish in a first-place tie with the Montreal Alouettes. The CFL tie-break rule landed the Argos in second place.

### Season schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Location | Final score | Attendance | Record |
| 1 | June 17 | Tiger-Cats | Rogers Centre | W 27 – 17 | 27,689 | 1–0 |
| 2 | June 23 | @ Blue Bombers | Canad Inns Stadium | L 16 – 9 | 26,524 | 1–1 |
| 3 | June 30 | @ Lions | BC Place Stadium | L 26 – 19 | 30,514 | 1–2 |
| 4 | July 8 | Blue Bombers | Rogers Centre | L 24 – 17 | 26,304 | 1–3 |
| 5 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 6 | July 22 | @ Roughriders | Mosaic Stadium | W 26 – 23 | 24,967 | 2–3 |
| 7 | July 29 | Lions | Rogers Centre | L 28 – 8 | 28,356 | 2–4 |
| 8 | August 3 | @ Alouettes | Molson Stadium | L 31 – 7 | 20,202 | 2–5 |
| 9 | August 12 | @ Tiger-Cats | Ivor Wynne Stadium | W 20 – 2 | 29,010 | 3–5 |
| 10 | August 19 | Alouettes | Rogers Centre | W 31 – 6 | 30,786 | 4–5 |
| 11 | August 25 | @ Blue Bombers | Canad Inns Stadium | W 18 – 15 | 25,014 | 5–5 |
| 12 | September 4 | @ Tiger-Cats | Ivor Wynne Stadium | W 40 – 6 | 28,891 | 6–5 |
| 13 | September 9 | Tiger-Cats | Rogers Centre | W 11 – 9 | 26,212 | 7–5 |
| 14 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 15 | September 23 | @ Stampeders | McMahon Stadium | L 39 – 18 | 31,539 | 7–6 |
| 16 | September 30 | Stampeders | Rogers Centre | W 23 – 16 | 32,410 | 8–6 |
| 17 | October 9 | Eskimos | Rogers Centre | W 28 – 23 | 26,891 | 9–6 |
| 18 | October 14 | @ Eskimos | Commonwealth Stadium | W 28 – 25 | 39,533 | 10–6 |
| 19 | October 20 | Roughriders | Rogers Centre | L 13 – 9 | 30,323 | 10–7 |
| 20 | October 28 | Alouettes | Rogers Centre | L 24 – 20 | 38,123 | 10–8 |

### Season standings

East Divisionviewtalkedit :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Montreal Alouettes | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 451 | 431 | 20 | Details |
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 359 | 343 | 20 | Details |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 362 | 408 | 18 | Details |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 292 | 495 | 8 | Details |

## Postseason

The Argos hosted the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a thrilling East Semi-Final at Rogers Centre. With the season on the line, QB Michael Bishop and LB Chuck Winters teamed up to lead the Boatmen to one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in recent Argo memory. The Argos fell to Montreal in the East Championship.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Location | Final score | Attendance |
| East Semi-Final | November 5 | Blue Bombers | Rogers Centre | W 31–27 | 26,214 |
| East Final | November 12 | @ Alouettes | Olympic Stadium | L 33–24 | 35,607 |

## Awards and records

Despite their early exit from the playoffs, the Boatmen finished the season with 11 East Division All-Stars and three CFL All-Stars. Kicker/Punter Noel Prefontaine was once again named the East's Most Outstanding Special Teams Player and elusive receiver Arland Bruce III finished with a division leading 1,370 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. A bright star on defence came in the form of CB Byron Parker. The speedy defender re-joined the Boatmen mid-season and made his mark in both the Argos and the CFL record books in only nine regular season contests. By season's end, the Tulane product had accumulated 8 interceptions for a CFL record 348 return yards and 4 touchdowns. Linebacker Mike O'Shea became just the third player, and first Canadian, in CFL history to record 1,000 or more defensive tackles in a career.

### CFL All-Stars: Offence

* WR – Arland Bruce III

### CFL All-Stars: Defence

* CB – Byron Parker

### CFL All-Stars: Special teams

* P – Noel Prefontaine

### CFL Eastern All-Stars: Offence

* WR – Arland Bruce III
* OT – Bernard Williams
* OT – Jerome Davis
* OG – Jude St. John

### CFL Eastern All-Stars: Defence

* DE – Jonathan Brown
* LB – Kevin Eiben
* DB – Kenny Wheaton
* CB – Byron Parker
* CB – Jordan Younger
* DS – Orlondo Steinauer

### CFL Eastern All-Stars: Special teams

* P – Noel Prefontaine