Dave Campbell
CFL.ca
The Canadian Football League is a passing game, more of a finesse game. The NFL is more of a power game between behemoth offensive and defensive lineman. The run game is huge in the NFL but don’t sell the rushing aspect of the game in the CFL short. If you can run the ball, win first downs and rush for a five-yard average then you see offensive coordinators smile because they have a full playbook to work with.
Last Saturday at Empire Field in Vancouver, the Eskimos rushed for a whopping 346 yards in their 31-28 victory over the B.C. Lions in overtime. Quarterback Ricky Ray who’s known as a good athlete but not a scrambling quarterback, rushed for a career-high 135 yards on 12 carries and the game winning touchdown in overtime. His longest of the night was a 46 yard run. He fooled me, Morley Scott my broadcast partner, the TSN crew of Rod Black and Duane Forde, and the TSN camera operators numerous times when he would work the zone read. Can you really blame us all? ITS RICKY RAY FOR GOODNESS SAKE!! Ray says it was just one of those nights.
“I think they (Lions defence) probably went into the game not even expecting that,” Ray said. “I really don’t even know who was making a mistake over there or if they were told leading up to the game, ‘let’s not worry about it.’”
“They sure didn’t cover it down, the defensive ends were crashing down hard and usually when that happens the linebacker loops around and is responsible for but there was nobody there.”
B.C. Lions defensive halfback Ryan Phillips at one point said the Lions defence were making Ricky Ray look like Marshall Faulk. Ray took some big shots in the game as well. The coaches would prefer if he slid to avoid those big shots instead of taking a big hit. Ray knows he’s putting himself in danger by not ducking.
“Most of the time I’m alright about taking a full head on shot, just making them (defenders) get pieces of you,” Ray explained. “They got me a couple of times pretty good. It’ll teach me to get down next time.”
Ray’s running opened up holes inside for newcomer Daniel Porter who was named the CFL’s Offensive Player of the Week after carrying the ball 21 times for 171 yards. The Louisiana Tech product broke tackles, spun off tackles, and ducked under tackles. If you check him out on YouTube, you’ll know what I mean. It was a nice boost for an Eskimo run game that has been hurt by the absence of Arkee Whitlock who’s on the nine-game injured list with an injured foot. Calvin McCarty has also filled in well but Porter right now is the feature back. Porter gives a ton of credit to his offensive line which has really come into its own thanks to the guidance of new coach Tim Prinsen. Porter says Saturday was a running back’s dream.
“It’s pick and choose and I had fun,” smiled Porter. “It’s just about going out there and having fun. You go out there relaxed and the game will come to you. Don’t go looking for the game, when you let it come to you, you’re going to be successful”.
The Eskimos on Saturday ran 61 offensive plays, 41 of those were runs. After Kamau Peterson (ruptured Achilles tendon) and Kelly Campbell (concussion) left the game in the second quarter the Eskimos were down to just four receivers. The run game took over in the second half. In fact, the Eskimos called 15 run plays in their last 16 total offensive plays. The Eskimos still managed to produce 29 first downs in the game.
We probably haven’t seen the last of Ricky Ray’s running prowess but instead of “Run Ricky Run” Eskimos fans and the coaches might be saying “Slide Ricky Slide!”
Notes: The Eskimos have signed veteran kick returner Jason Armstead who’s expected to play on Saturday vs. the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Edmonton will be Armstead’s sixth stop in his CFL career. Tristan Jackson has been placed on the nine-game injured list with a hip pointer, his season is over. Quarterback Ricky Ray didn’t practice all week because of soreness; he’s expected to start vs. the Riders. Middle linebacker Maurice Lloyd is expected to play after missing last week’s game vs. the Lions with bruised ribs. Slotback Andre Talbot is expected to make his return to the lineup. The Eskimos claimed fullback Samuel Fournier off the practice roster of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Fournier was a third round selection in the 2010 CFL draft. Mathieu Bertrand is out for this week because of injury. This is the third meeting between the two teams; Saskatchewan beat Edmonton 24-20 back on July 17th in Regina. The Eskimos returned the favour on August 28th beating the Riders 17-14 at Commonwealth Stadium.