Article content continued

“We take on that (leadership) role because we know we have a lot of new guys. I was with the Argo last year, he’s been in this league for a while (Yell is in his fifth season) and we know we have to hone in. We have to make it happen through our actions. We know a lot of guys follow us. They like our character, they like what we’re all about. We’ve always done the right things and that makes it easier for guys to follow us. We take it upon ourselves and we enjoy it.”

Say what you want about the Argos and their wretched record, but effort and intensity have never been issues.

You can argue they may lack talent and depth and even make a case that many are playing out of position in the wake of injuries, but they do care and they do take pride in their craft.

Darby Jr. and Yell are shining examples.

As Darby Jr. explains it, it’s a leadership by committee on defence where everyone is free to speak their minds, every person encouraged to add their voice when something needs to be said.

“If you see something, say it,’’ said Darby Jr. “We respect each other. Jonathan Dowling (a first-year Argo who began the season in the secondary, moved to SAM and who now starts at safety) is in his third, second game in there, we don’t care. If you see something, say it and let us know.

“Jeff Knox (a recent starter at linebacker), if you see something, just let us know. Will Likely (who will play in his third game Saturday), whatever you see, however you want to play, we all understand that and we all respect each other as men. At the end of the day, we’re men. We’ve all played in the NFL, we’ve all played at a high level and we all respect each other as grown men because we all expect to get the job done.