Argos rout toothless Ticats

Quarterback Michael Bishop impressed in his first start in nearly two years on Saturday, throwing three touchdown passes as the Toronto Argonauts routed the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton.

Bishop found Arland Bruce, Andre Talbot and Tony Miles for scores in the 30-5 win at Ivor Wynne.

The quarterbackcompleted 17 of 31 passes for 247 yards, connectingwith six different receivers on the night.

"They left a couple of guys open, the offensive line gave me enough time to get the ball to the guys and let them get to the end zone," Bishop told CBC Sports. "But at the same time there were some points we left on the field."

Bishop and Mike McMahon were moved up on the depth chart earlier in the week ahead of 43-year-old veteran Damon Allen, who started the team's loss in the openerto British Columbia.

For his part, McMahon led the team to a field goal in his first CFL drive, late in the game.

Theperformance ofboth Bishop and McMahonsuggested that the future may be now at quarterback for the Argos, although the Ticats aided and abetted Toronto on both sides of the ball.

Hamilton have been outscored 67-14 in their two losses to open the season and have yet to produce a touchdown.

The Ticats amassed 145 yards in penalties against the Argos.

Rookie coach Charlie Taaffe expressed faith in starting quarterback Jason Maas after a poor opening game, but pulled him just before the half on Saturday.

Maas finished 4-for-11 for 40 yards and threw a critical interception.

"Physically as an offensive unit we didn't do enough and I'll take the blame when I was in there," said Maas. "There were three plays for sure that mentally I didn't make the right read.

"Had I done that, maybe it's a little bit different when I'm in there."

Backup Timmy Chang was more dynamic, but the end result was the same. The CFL rookie went 8-for-16 for 81 yards and an interception.

The score was 2-1 for Hamilton when Maas threw his interception late in the first. Kahlil Carter, who picked off five passes in 2006, got his first of the season in Hamilton territory.

Two plays later, Bishop found Arland Bruce deep in the corner of the end zone for the 19-yard touchdown and 8-2 lead.

The defences held until Bishop led Toronto on a 65-yard drive, capped by an eight-yard toss to Andre Talbot with just over five minutes left in the half.

Looking for spark

After witnessing nearly six quarters of football without a touchdown from his offence, Taaffe gave Maas the hook.

"We just weren't getting anything going with our offence and I just put Timmy in there to see if he could give us a spark, Taaffe told CBC Sports at halftime.

"I could see mistakes happening," he added, "it's not juston Jason but I just felt it was time, we weren't doing anything."

Toronto scored on the opening drive of the third. Hamilton safety Wayne Shaw badly misplayed a Bishop throw to Tony Miles, with the receiver able to sprint down the sidelines uncontested for a 73-yard score.

Chang led Hamilton on its most impressive drive midway through the third, connecting with Brock Ralph for 46 yards passing and adding 11 more on a run.

A pass in the end zone just missed, with the Tiger-Cats settling for a Nick Setta field goal.

Bishop proceeded to exploit the Hamilton defence with several completed passes, leading to new Argo Steve Christie's first CFL field goal, in his third attempt.

Christie was kicking for the first time professionally since 2004,and it showed early on. He missed his first field goal attempt and saw his second fall short.

The 15-year NFL veteran and one-time college teammate of coach Mike Clemons is an injury replacement for kicker Noel Prefontaine, who is suffering from concussion symptoms after a collision in the season opener.

Toronto had a fourth field goal attempt earlier in the game scuttled when the snap was mishandled.

Chang bobbled a snap of his own midway through the final quarter near his goal line,falling on the ball in the end zone for a Toronto safety.

McMahon looked comfortable making his regular season debut, threading a bullet to Frank Murphy for a 32-yard gain. Christie ended the drive with the final three points of the game.

McMahon finished 3-of-5, passing for 50 yards.

The only bad news for the Argos was on the injury front. Wide receiver Patrick Johnson was on crutches by halftime with an apparent right ankle injury, while defensive lineman Riall Johnson injured his left shoulder.

Toronto (1-1) will host Calgary next Thursday, with Hamilton (0-2) returning to Ivor Wynne against Montreal in a battle of winless teams on July 14.

Taaffe said after the game he would need to evaluate the tape before deciding on his starting quarterback against the Alouettes.