By now it is vastly apparent the Argos will go only as far this year as quarterback Damon Allen can take them.

In a year in which much has been made of the Argos defence, it is the venerable starting quarterback who has been the key.

Allen, who turns 41 in six days, continues to amaze, making plays with his feet, his arm and his head.

In the Argos' 28-25 win over the Ottawa Renegades on Wednesday, he clicked on 30 of 42 passes -- a 71% clip -- for 392 yards. In six games, he has completed 62% of his passes for 1,498 yards. He has eight touchdown passes and only one interception. During the past three games, in which the Argos are unbeaten, Allen has completed 70% of his passes (67of 96) for 920 yards and has six touchdown passes and one interception.

Time will tell whether Allen can continue this torrid pace when the Argos resume play on Aug. 8 against the Edmonton Eskimos and as the CFL schedule progresses. Historically, he has been a streaky player.

It's worth remembering that Allen began with a similar hot streak last year, clicking on 64.8% of his passes -- 85 of 131 attempts -- for 1,233 yards and had six touchdown strikes and only two interceptions. He missed the next game with an injury but returned to complete 18 of 31 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns in his next game.

It was the following game, against his former B.C. Lions team, in which his season came apart as a result of a collision with a television cart. He was really never the same afterward, mentally or physically, although in retrospect he said it took some seven games to fully recover from the run-in that misaligned his body and required extensive physiotherapy.

There seemed to be a feeling among anyone who watched the team play that if Allen was showing signs of age or a significant dropoff in production -- no one really gave credence to the full effect of the collision -- his young backup, Marcus Brady, had the tools to carry the team.

Brady showed at various points he could win as a starter and that he was the heir apparent, as anointed by coach Pinball Clemons when the Argos traded for Allen during the pre-season. As for Michael Bishop, who had a hard time handling the starter's role in 2002, he was relegated to third-string status.

But Bishop is the undisputed second-stringer now following the trade that sent Brady to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after the 2004 pre-season.

There remains doubt whether the perplexing Bishop can succeed if anything happens to Allen. In two brief relief appearances this year, Bishop has failed to complete a pass in seven attempts, has thrown two interceptions and has fumbled once. While it is unfair to put the onus strictly on his shoulders, it is not as if he is a raw rookie.

He can be compared with Ottawa backup Darnell Kennedy, who is also in his third season but who started for the first time as a pro against the Argos with limited career reps. He hit on 14 of 28 passes for 165 yards in his debut, throwing one touchdown and one interception. He kept his team in the game, standing up to the Argos' staunch defence.

SHOWS HIS POTENTIAL

The Renegades now know that if the foot injury that sidelined first-string quarterback Kerry Joseph for the Toronto game forces him to miss more time, Kennedy has the potential to do the job.

So far, Michael Bishop has yet to provide that same confidence, which is why this season is literally and figuratively in Damon Allen's hands. As he goes, so will the Argos.

"Hats off to Damon, he has really stepped up," linebacker Michael Fletcher said after the latest victory.

"That's just Damon Allen as a football player. We've been missing that for a long time around here. It's good to see him come back."