Surprises? You'd have to have a pair of brass ones to think you could pull out something that would surprise this city, given what's gone on of late.
So it's no wonder Toronto Argonauts head coach Scott Milanovich shrugged Thursday, when asked for comment on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' decision to hold a super-secret, locked-down, in-camera practice Friday.
"None of my business," Milanovich said.
The truth is, he explained, there is a fine line between throwing out too much of the old reliable for new wrinkles ahead of a playoff game such as Sunday's East Division final at the Rogers Centre – which will mark the first time the arch-rival Tiger-Cats and Argos have met in a final since a two-game, total-point series in 1986.
Surprises? Everybody has surprises on offence, defence and special teams. "Wrinkles" in football coach-speak, and sometimes, they're just to keep your own team occupied. Idle hands, and all that.
"One of our things as coaches is to constantly make sure they're challenged mentally and keep them stimulated with what you're doing," Milanovich said. "But at the same time, you have to be careful of not doing too much so that it becomes a negative spiral.
"You can put new stuff in, but when you have a chance to use it, it still gets down to whether or not you can execute it. The teams that can do that are the ones that advance in the playoffs."
There already was an element of intrigue surrounding this game before the city's self-styled, No. 1 football fan, Mayor Rob Ford, interjected himself into proceedings Thursday with some lewd comments while wearing an Argonauts jersey.
The result was effectively a disinvitation from the Argos to attend Sunday's game – the club issued a formal statement to distance themselves from Ford.
Not a great week for the mayor: First, he loses the Santa Claus Parade (no small feat); then, the only sports team that has recently won anything of consequence in this city.
But then, surprise has always played a role in playoff preparation, has it not?
The Tiger-Cats – whose employment of quarterbacks Henry Burris and Dan LeFevour (and readiness to use third-stringer Jeremiah Masoli at any time) was highlighted in last weekend's overtime division semi-final win over the Montreal Alouettes – will exercise a right the CFL has given teams to hold one in-camera practice as part of a week of preparations for a playoff game.
But not the Argonauts. Not Milanovich, whose team practises openly and, on Thursday, had its offence practise with piped-in crowd noise – odd for a home team, but no doubt a reflection of the divided loyalties the team expects in the crowd in a game against its bitter rival.
Hamilton will be well represented on Sunday, and that's one reason the Argonauts have been able to open the 500 Level at the Rogers Centre.
How much of a role can surprise play in the playoffs?
Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray smiled. Play as many playoff games in the West Division as he has and rest assured you've seen some funky stuff.
"I forget which team did it against me, but I had a team rush just two guys and drop 10 guys into coverage," Ray said with a chuckle. "Sometimes – mostly – you'll see teams that run a lot of zone coverage come out and play man to man for the first five snaps just to put it in the back of your head.
"Teams are going to try and do a few new things at this time of the season, but there's always balance between new looks and bread and butter."
For the Argonauts, a week that was supposed to focus on preparation for the multiple-quarterback system employed by Tiger-Cats head coach Kent Austin has gone from a tale of three quarterbacks to the tale of one mayor.
Chances are it won't be the last surprise this city or team faces this weekend, but folks here have been steeled to it by now.
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