Last year when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats lost CJ Gable to yet another long term injury I wrote about Ray Holley, Louisiana Tech scat back and what his statistics over six weeks of CFL football said about the running game in Hamilton, and across Canadian Football League.
In the season opener, Holley led all rushers with eight carries for 24 yards. In Week 2 at Winnipeg, Holley had just 16 yards rushing on six carries and in Montreal, Holley added 47 yards on six carries. All three games combined did not match the production of CJ Gable in a victorious trip to Regina, Week 5 of 2015.
The Ticats running game has never been central to their offensive attack, yet they have been among the best offences in the league, which begs the question, what is our perception of the running back position in Canadian football and should a league which rarely commits to the ground attack be held to the same standard as our southern counterparts.
The simple answer is no.
We play by different rules, we have more QB sneaks than any league in place of running back dive plays, and we have one less chance to run the ball per set of downs which means there will inevitably be more passing.
However I think the question, “where has the run game gone” amounts to much more than the guidelines within which we play the games. It comes down to personality and perspective.
Every coach has a philosophical approach, it’s what makes us love or hate them. A coach who believes in going for two consistently? We love their daring nature. A coach who takes a knee to end the first half with thirty seconds remaining and the ball almost in opposition territory? We hate them for their cautious ways and usually let them know about it.More....
http://www.cfl.ca/2016/09/30/ferguso...me-run-course/
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