Head 2 Head: The Rushing Game

In the game of football, one man’s injury is another’s opportunity.  When Eskimos RB Arkee Whitlock went down with a foot injury last Labour Day it wasn’t known who would emerge as the primary running back for the Eskimos moving forward.  It was discovered that Whitlock’s injury would keep him out of action for at least the start of the 2011 campaign, so the Eskimos were forced to make a move.  Enter, Jerome Messam.  Edmonton took a chance and acquired the troubled former B.C. Lion, who was suspended by the Lions during training camp this year because of behavior deemed to be disruptive to the team.  The Eskimos gave up relatively nothing to get Messam (a fifth-round pick in the 2013 CFL Draft), but the returns have been outstanding.  Messam, a Toronto-native, leads the team in rushing yards with 220, good enough for fourth in the league.  The 6-foot, 3-inch, 245-pounder is listed on the team’s depth chart as a fullback and runs the ball in powerful, downhill, north-south fashion.  Messam’s injection of life into the Eskimos ground attack has given the team the ability to use listed running back starter, Calvin McCarty as a ‘change of pace back’.  McCarty is smaller, quicker, and the difference in running styles forces defences to stay on their toes at all times.  Add to that gameplan the fact that Whitlock (he rushed for over 1,000 yards as a rookie in 2009) is soon to be 100% healthy, and it’s a pick-your-poison scenario for defences trying to stop the Eskimos running game.

The Eskies lead the league in average rushing yards per game (129.2), net total rushing yards (517), and most times rushed (113).  A team does not become the league leader in those categories without exceptional play by the offensive line.  Edmonton has passed the ball a league-low 119 times versus 113 rushes, which is most in the league.  The offensive line has allowed QB Ricky Ray to make the most of his opportunities.  By giving him lots of time in the pocket, Ray has responded with a league-best 119.7 efficiency rating, and is tied for the league lead in completion percentage at 66 percent.  Therefore, defences simply cannot focus on the Eskimos running game without getting burned by the Esks pass attack.  Teams cannot afford to load up the box with defenders to try and stop the run, so the RBs should continue to get the freedom of a couple of extra yards past the line of scrimmage.  Simply put, the Eskimos offence may be too diverse to shutdown.  Teams might just have to find a way to limit the damage.

Luckily for the Argos, their front four has been perhaps the most consistent part of the defence, both in terms of production and health.  If the regulars should suit up on Friday night, team-leading tackler DE Ricky Foley (20 tackles), all-stars DE Ronald Flemons and DT Kevin Huntley, and newcomer DT Claude Wroten will have the difficult task of limiting the Eskimos running game.  The Argos rank second-last in rushing yards allowed per game (127.5), and have given up the most first downs via the run (35).  However, it is worth noting that the defence has also been run on a league-most 99 times.  While the numbers aren’t necessarily pretty, the Argos front four should still be considered a force to be reckoned with.  Picture the powerful Jerome Messam running up the gut, being met by the 6’8” Kevin Huntley and a 300-pound Claude Wroten, and football fans who like smash-mouth football should probably tune in to Friday’s game in Edmonton.

RB Chad Kackert came into Argos training camp as a relative unknown out of the University of New Hampshire.  He was waived as a final cut from Jacksonville Jaguars training camp in 2010 and entered Argos camp seeking his first real game action in professional football.  It has not taken him very long to get acclimated.  In Kackert’s first pre-season game he had two touchdowns in a victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.  The following week against the Blue Bombers, Kackert scampered 73 yard with 33 seconds to go, giving the Argos their second straight pre-season win.  Those performances undoubtedly went a long way in helping Kackert make the Argonauts’ 2011 opening week roster.

However, with RB Cory Boyd emerging as one of, if not the best, running back in the CFL last season, Kackert was not expected to get much more playing time.  How quickly things can change.  Boyd went down in week 2 against the Bombers with a knee injury, opening the door for Kackert to prove that the pre-season was not a fluke.  Now, four weeks into the regular schedule, Kackert has proven to be a scoring machine.  He has two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown, meaning the diminutive back has made in into the endzone in every CFL game he has ever played. 

At 5’8”, one wouldn’t be so quick to take Kackert for a power back.  But that is what makes the Simi Valley, California native so special.  Kackert has a unique combination of breakaway speed (which was evident on the 73-yard run against Winnipeg), to go along with a stubborn unwillingness to go down.  He may not be the most agile running back in the CFL, but he meets contact head on and does a great job of plowing forward, always keeping his feet moving.  His propensity for second and third efforts on any given play earns valuable extra yards.  While Kackert is the primary rusher with Boyd on the shelf, RB/SB Andre Durie is a very solid receiving back that gives the offence a refreshingly different look when he’s in the backfield.  The combination of Kackert and Durie has been a bright light in a gloomy start to the season for most of the Argos offensive unit.

The Argos’ passing game has struggled thus far.  Comparatively, while the Eskimos’ passing game gives the running backs more freedom off the line of scrimmage, the Argos’ struggles through the air allow the defence to key on the ground game, which has been the only real source of success for the Boatmen’s offence.  That’s why it’s even more impressive that Kackert has been able to manage 113 yards on only 24 carries so far this season.

The timeline for Boyd’s return remains unclear, meaning Kackert will continue to get the bulk of the looks at running back for the time being.  This weekend against the Eskimos should offer a real test of Kackert’s abilities. 

The Eskimos’ defence is the stingiest in the league.  They have given up the fewest points in the league (74), and are especially difficult to run against.  They allow a league-low 70.8 yards on the ground per game.  The Eskimos lead the league in time of possession (33:36), allowing the defence to stay fresh all game long.  In addition, Edmonton has only run against a league-low 49 times.  This suggests that the Eskimos are almost always playing with the lead.  It will be vital for the Argonauts to score early to at least give their running game a chance to establish itself.