Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
So there I am minding my own business reading Pat Steinberg’s Monday column when I come upon this quote at the end:
“We mentioned Jerome Messam a little earlier and he’s worthy of mentioning again. Is he going to win the quietest rushing title in recent memory? With 111 more yards against Toronto on Friday, Messam now has an edge of almost 400 yards to second place. He’s been the league’s best and most consistent runner from start to finish, so if his rushing title is going to be a quiet one, allow this to help change that a little bit. He’s having one heck of a dominant season.”
Hmmmm… the only player with over a 1,000 yards and his quest for a rushing title isn’t getting the attention it deserves… challenge accepted!
Allow me to quote another writer for CFL.ca … me. I know it’s wildly arrogant to quote one’s own work but please bear with me. Back in 2011 I was mesmerized by Messam’s style after watching him rip up a damn good group of Hamilton Tiger-Cats linebackers for 104 yards and two touchdowns. In a league where smaller running backs and receivers often rule the day, it was such a fun novelty to see this 250-pound man dance and smash his way through opposing defences.
Rewind: Messam runs over Ticats in 2011
2011 was Messam’s coming out party after a disastrous rookie year with the BC Lions. Messam would end up with over a 1,000 yards rushing, the first Canadian to achieve such a feat since Sean Millington back in 2000. At the end of my story I wrote: “I have no idea what the future has in store for Messam. He may be a one hit wonder and he may become a star but either way he has caught my attention and I’m going to enjoy watching how this football/morality tale plays out.”
Well apparently I cursed Jerome as he would spend the next three years with three different CFL teams, an all too brief tryout with the Miami Dolphins and a torn meniscus that would play a part in his early departure from Dolphins training camp.
Star skill position players don’t have resumes quite like Jerome Messam’s and I’m not talking about his size, where he carries 30 more pounds than any of the other featured backs in this league; I’m talking about his career path. You rarely see a guy with his skill, with his production playing for five different teams in seven seasons. That had much more to do with his immaturity and off-field decisions in his mid 20’s than it did with his ability to run the ball. Being 25 with a Messam-sized chip on your shoulder and a belly full of self entitlement won’t exactly ingratiate yourself with coaches.
But Messam, like the rest of us, learned from his mistakes and has become a much more mature man. I imagine you can point to a hundred different reasons for his return as a star running back but I’ll just cite the simplest one: he got healthy. Messam started feeling more like himself as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and by 2015 he was back churning out 100-yard games and going over a 1,000 yards as he did that year with both Saskatchewan and then later with Calgary after being traded in October.
That’s the other part of being a star: you need a little luck. Now don’t get me wrong, the first ingredient for stardom is a combination of talent, work ethic and good health, but would Messam really be leading the league if he was still stuck in Saskatchewan? Would he have a healthy margin over the No. 2 rusher in Brandon Whitaker if he was playing for a team that is currently second-last in both rushing yards and rushing attempts? Yes, Messam would make Saskatchewan a better rushing team just with his presence alone, but I just can’t see 1,162 yards with a 5.8 average and 11 rushing touchdowns behind the offensive line.
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Jerome Messam has given the Stampeders’ offence plenty of muscle throughout 2016 (CFL.ca)
Messam is blessed to play behind the best set of blockers I’ve seen in years while Calgary is equally blessed to have a running back who can exploit the holes created for him. The first play from scrimmage of Calgary’s 31-13 win over Toronto is a perfect example of the relationship between runner and offensive line. Offensive linemen Pierre Lavertu, Spencer Wilson and Randy Richards all more than did their jobs as they neutralized the Argonauts defensive front. But it was two decisive cuts — one at the line of scrimmage and another where he made Thomas Gordon look foolish — that turned this simple play into a 31 yard run. The line created the daylight but it was up to Messam to find that daylight and than use his athleticism to turn a 10-yard run into a 31-yarder.
Messam deserves our attention because at the age of 31 (quick shout out to Brandon Whitaker, who is doing great things at 31 years of age as well) he is leading the league at a young man’s position. How many running backs go five years between 1,000-yard seasons? Usually what we see is a cluster of highly productive seasons followed by a quick drop off and than you wake up one day and that running back you used to root for is gone from the game. Messam has given Calgary’s offence, one that has scored 98 more points than the next best team, balance. The Stampeders lead the league in time of possession and Jerome is a big part of that.
I wrote in 2011 that I was rooting for Messam to become a star in this league. Well he certainly has accomplished that. Here’s hoping we get treated to many more years of a healthy and successful freight train of a running back.
