Euclid Cummings got a taste of three-down football late last season after his days in the NFL with Tampa ended.

He came to Toronto when CFL teams were able to expand their practice rosters, learned the ropes and was thrust into action in the season finale, an Argos win over visiting Ottawa.

Experience is invaluable, allowing Cummings to grow more comfortable in his surroundings when he auditioned this season.

In last week’s win over the host Riders, Cummings produced the Argos’ lone sack on a day when veteran QB Kevin Glenn threw for 477 yards.

“He’s got some skill set we’re looking for from an interior D-lineman,’’ said head coach Scott Milanovich of Cummings, a charismatic and happy-go-lucky native of Atlanta, Ga. “He can dent the pocket and win his one-on-one when he’s soloed up.

“He needs to be more consistent, but he shows flashes during the game, but all our defensive linemen need to be consistent.”

There’s talent along the line and depth, but the unit took a step back last week, even though the Argos came out with a win, following a very good showing a week earlier in Fort McMurray in a victory over Edmonton.

Against the Eskimos, the game’s first points came when the Argos forced a safety, the defensive line imposing its will as the game’s tenor was quickly established.

“We played better in the Edmonton game than last week,’’ said Milanovich of the defensive line. “We’ve addressed it and they are aware of it. We expect them to perform better this week.”

With Martez Wilson hurt, his neck injury remains a source of uncertainty with no official word of a potential return date, veteran Jason Vega got the start in Regina.

“Everybody was just kind of okay,’’ added Milanovich of the defensive line. “They’re all going to be fine, they are all going to be fine football players, but it wasn’t our best night.”

In Calgary, the Argos play the 1-1 Stamps, the defending champions who have struggled on offence.

QB Bo Levi Mitchell has thrown more picks than touchdowns and Jon Cornish has yet to produce a 100-yard rushing game.

“Stay in your gap and every gap has to be accounted,’’ added Milanovich of the keys along the line of scrimmage. “And guys have to be able to tackle.

“If Cornish gets downhill, he’s so strong and so fast that he runs through an arm tackle and if you’re a hair late getting into your gap he’s in the secondary.

“The thing people always say, whether it’s true or not, is to make him stop his feet and not let him get downhill, but that’s easier said than done usually.”

Cummings attended Georgia State. He was named after his father, Euclid, who derived his name from a mathematician.

“My dad’s a math guy,’’ smiled Cummings, who is not a math guy.

The numbers from Regina weren’t good and Cummings knows his defence needs to step up against the Stamps.

It’s not necessarily a case of delving into what Calgary does best, but concentrating on what the Argos need to do, assignment-wise and execution-wise.

“First week (versus Edmonton) we were proud of ourselves,’’ said Cummings in assessing the line play. “This past week we weren’t too proud of ourselves.

“Today (Thursday) we took it back to the drawing board, everything from scratch, trying to do better. We didn’t have a good performance, myself included, but we’ll get it up.”

COACH TALKS UP COOMBS

Life without Andre Durie continued for the Double Blue on Thursday, a day when the fallen all-star made an appearance at the team’s Downsview Park facility.

It’s a tough blow for Durie, who has experienced more than his share of injuries, but players say Durie’s spirits are up and his appearance helped inspire the team.

Football wise, the Argos are likely to tweak some of their schemes given how Durie was so unique and versatile.

In his absence, second-year player Anthony Coombs will step in.

Coombs also handles kickoff returns and it remains to be seen how the Argos address that area, likely dependent on health and the ratio.

“We’ll adjust some things, but we’re fortunate Coombs is a similar type of player, similar skill set,’’ said head coach Scott Milanovich.

“I think he can do a lot of the things Andre did. He hasn’t proven it over a period of time like Andre has, but we have a lot of faith that Coombs will get the job done.”

Durie was a running back and was converted to slotback by then Argos GM Adam Rita, a great offensive mind who was also head coach of the Boatmen when the team won the 1991 Grey Cup.

HARRIS STILL ON HOLD

Given his druthers, head coach Scott Milanovich wouldn’t have starting quarterback Trevor Harris handle the holding duties on field goals.

In a perfect world, any team’s starter would be on the sideline getting ready for the next offensive series, leading many teams to employ a backup as their holder.

But kickers are a rare breed and anything that messes up their routine is never a good thing.

It’s why Harris will continue to be used as the Argos’ holder, even though it’s not an ideal situation.

He did it for Swayze Waters when Harris served as Ricky Ray’s backup and Harris continued to handle the role this season.

With rookie Ronnie Pfeffer filling in for an injured Waters, Harris is at it again.

“I’d rather not,’’ said head coach Scott Milanovich of Harris being asked to hold on field goals.

“But kickers are very particular about who holds for them.

“It’s not worth screwing the kicker up.”

THE GOOD WITH THE BAD

A.J. Jefferson has shown flashes of brilliance, but he’s also shown how he can get burned in the secondary.

And when there’s no over the top to help, any breakdown leads to a touchdown.

In two games, Jefferson has yielded two touchdowns, but he’s also made plays.

Against Edmonton, a penalty, dubious at best, negated an interception, while in Regina his pick six turned the tide in Toronto’s favour late in regulation.

“He’s made some big plays and he made some mistakes last week,’’ said head coach Scott Milanovich. “He’ll tell you that and that it probably wasn’t his best game either.

“But that’s what you have to expect from the young secondary we’re putting out there now. You hope you can find ways to win, and it’s the same with our receivers, while they are learning the game and getting more comfortable.

“I’m still confident we’re going to have a good secondary, but there are going to be some growing pains.”

And physical pains.

Jermaine Gabriel (groin) and Brandon Underwood (ribs) are out, two of the more consistent players in Toronto’s back-end.

The team brought back Isaiah Green, who practised on Thursday, with Travis Hawkins getting reps as well.

The only true defensive back with legitimate CFL experience heading into Monday night’s game in Calgary will be Matt Black, who filled in for Gabriel last week in Regina.

Gabriel, a Scarborough kid, played his junior football in Calgary.

GOTTA GET BETTER

In football, the eye in the sky never lies and there was no sugar-coating the Argonauts’ play from Sunday in Regina, a wild double OT win over the host Riders.

“The truth is we played poorly against Saskatchewan,’’ said head coach Scott Milanovich after watching film. “Offensively and defensively. Our guys are doing some good things, but they made way too many mistakes in this past game.

“The positive from a coaching stand point is that even when we didn’t play well we found a way to win.”

When the Argos gathered to review game film of their 42-40 win, which improved Toronto’s record to 2-0 heading into Monday’s kickoff in Calgary, it was a tough session, periods when the offence couldn’t stay on the field, stretches when the defence couldn’t force any two and outs.

“It was not what you might think after a win,’’ said Milanovich of the mood. “It was: ‘We need to get this stuff corrected.’

“They just need to continue to get better and make less and less mistakes, continue to do the things they do well.”

The Argos won because A.J. Jefferson produced a defensive major, Trevor Harris led the team on a long late-game scoring drive and Anthony Coombs extended himself to produce the game-winning points on a two-point convert.

“I would say we are not over-confident,’’ added Milanovich.

Milanovich is among the best head coaches in the CFL because he cuts no corners, pays attention to every detail and demands a lot from his players.

During Thursday’s practice, the team’s full day on the field as it prepares for the Stamps, the field-goal unit took what seemed forever before lining up.

Milanovich didn’t mince his words in airing his feelings.

In two games, the Argos have won the turnover battle, one of the biggest areas in football that ultimately separates a winning team from a losing side.

Harris and the offence has shown it can make plays in key moments, especially in Regina.

And when a defence scores a touchdown, it shifts momentum.

The formula needs to be carried over into Calgary, only it’ll help matters if the Argos are more consistent on both sides of the ball against the defending Grey Cup champions.