Berg vs. Ferg: Who had the better season, Cornish or Pringle?

Berg vs. Ferg returns for another season on CFL.ca as columnists Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson debate over some of the league’s most contentious storylines. This week they argue over which running back has had the best season in CFL history: Mike Pringle in 1998 or Jon Cornish in 2013. 

The return home to Winnipeg has been kind for Andrew Harris, who not only leads all running backs in yards from scrimmage but is also on pace to become the first running back in CFL history to record 1,000 yards each on the ground and through the air.

Should he maintain this pace and the Bombers keep winning, Harris could be on track to win his first ever Most Outstanding Player honour, an accomplishment not achieved by a running back since Jon Cornish in 2013 and before that, Mike Pringle in 1998.

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That year, of course, was the infamous season that the Alouettes’ legendary running back broke the 2,000-yard barrier in one of the most dominant campaigns for a running back the sport has ever seen. Pringle won MOP twice while Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons also won it in 1990, marking, in addition to Jon Cornish’s MOP in 2013, only four instances in which running backs have earned such a distinction over the last 27 years.

We’ve come to accept that in a passing league like the CFL, running back dominance can be difficult to come by. That doesn’t, however, mean it hasn’t happened.

In light of Andrew Harris’ dominant season, Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson look back on two of the more impressive campaigns for a running back ever.

BERG VS. FERG: LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
Most recently, Berg and Ferg debated over which QB is most valuable. » View last week’s Berg vs. Ferg
CFL.ca	Twitter	TOTAL
Steinberg – 446 (69%) Ferguson – 205 (31%)	Ferguson – 339 (69%) Steinberg – 153 (31%)	Steinberg – 599 (52%) Ferguson – 544 (48%)

BERG (7-3): YOU CAN’T BEAT A 2,000-YARD SEASON

Pat Steinberg, CFL.ca
@Fan960Steinberg

Pringle’s 2,000-yard season still leads the way

Mike Pringle’s 1998 season is one that may never be surpassed. That was the year the Montreal Alouettes’ running back rushed for 2,065 yards to become the first CFL player to eclipse 2,000 yards in a season. With all due respect to some of the other great individual seasons (including a few more from the same guy), Pringle’s 1998 campaign is the greatest we’ve ever seen from a CFL tailback.

For a second, think about how unique and unprecedented Pringle’s record is. He’s one of only eight professional football players ever to rush for over 2,000 yards, joining O.J. Simpson, Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Jamal Lewis, Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson. Let that elite class sink in for a second.

Of course, Pringle put together his record-setting season in a different league than the other seven gentlemen, which presents different variables. On the one hand, the CFL has two more games to work with. On the flip side, though, playing with one fewer down changes how the run game is used rather dramatically when compared to four down football; CFL teams just don’t run the ball as much as their counterparts south of the border. That’s why I think Pringle’s 1998 season stands up with any of the aforementioned gentlemen.

RUNNING BACK COMPARISON

Pringle’s underlying numbers in joining the 2,000-yard club are impressive. Only Sanders had better yards-per-carry numbers than Pringle’s average of 6.0 yards per game. That’s what really drives it home for me. A naysayer might point to Pringle’s advantage playing 18 games, but his rushing attempts were comparable to the rest of the backs he’s being grouped in with.

Jon Cornish’s 2013 season was incredible, too, and is the only other contender when talking about the best single season by a CFL running back. But what Pringle did in 1998 still holds up almost 20 years later, and knowing the way the game is played today, I can’t see things changing anytime soon.

To run for 2,000 yards in pro football puts a player in an elite, almost untouchable class and that’s why Pringle’s 1998 season is just that…untouchable.

FERG (3-7): CORNISH RAISED THE BAR FOR CANADIANS

Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca
@TSN_Marsh

Berg’s choice of Mike Pringle and his RIDICULOUS 2,000 yard single season is tough to compete with, but not impossible.

Excuse me while I tug at your maple heart strings in hopes of squeezing your national pride for a vote or two.

I love when Canadians do great things in the CFL. Brad Sinopoli is an absolute joy to watch this season. So too are Sam Hurl, Marco Iannuzzi and a plethora of big bodies in the offensive and defensive lines who possess Canadian passports.

Exceptional Canadian running backs? They are a less common commodity.

No need for a history lesson here as you know there have been great Canadian ground attacks before, including this season with Andrew Harris in Winnipeg and Jerome Messam in Calgary, but NOTHING compares to Jon Cornish’s 2013 season.

Cornish had an unbelievable 2012 in which he ran for 1,457 yards as he won the CFL rushing title and broke Normie Kwong’s 56-year-old single-season rushing record for Canadians, but it would not compare to the next season.

In 2013, Cornish played in all 18 games for the fourth straight season and not only beat his own record as the ink was still drying but obliterated it. Cornish crushed the standard of Canadian running back production, beating his previous season by 356 yards on the same number of carries (358).

Cornish claimed outstanding Canadian of the week seven times – including four straight weeks at one point – and became just the third Canadian to win the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award.

If that doesn’t tell you how special Cornish’ 2013 season was then maybe winning the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete will.

When a Canadian football player rewrites long standing records and transcends the sport to be considered among the best athletes in this big, beautifully athletic country, THAT accomplishment can stand on solid ground with anyone else’s achievements.

Even a 2,000 yard season.

DON’T SIT ON THE FENCE!

While both sides are pretty convincing, someone’s got to take it. Whose argument convinced you the most?

You can vote for this week’s winner both on CFL.ca and Twitter. Meanwhile, continue the conversation by tweeting @Fan960Steinberg and @TSN_Marsh.

The winner will be revealed in the following week’s Berg vs. Ferg.