D-Line looks to harness Stamps’ running game

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This article was published 05/07/2017 (3019 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defence has been lauded all week for limiting the run game in a 43-40 overtime win in Saturday’s season-opener in Regina. The Bombers limited the Roughriders to just 20 yards of net offence on the ground — an impressive feat, even if the defensive dozen was responsible for all 40 points against in the narrow victory.

But as good as the Bombers were at plugging the rush, the level of difficulty in stopping Saskatchewan running back Cameron Marshall, who amassed just 11 yards on seven carries for a putrid average of just 1.6 yards per run, won’t come close to the heavy task that lies ahead this week. The Calgary Stampeders arrive in town Friday with the mandate of spoiling the Bombers’ home opener and will do so riding one of the league’s top offences.

While quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell — the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2016 — will create enough nightmares for the Bombers’ secondary, the defensive line will have its hands just as full — both literally and figuratively — with Jerome Messam lining up in the backfield.

Messam, at 6-3 and 225 pounds, is a unique species in the CFL. His size makes him a struggle to take down, but he’s also surprising shifty for his large frame. He led the CFL in rushing yards last season with 1,198, en route to earning the nod for CFL’s most outstanding Canadian. His average of 5.8 yards per carry in 2016 was the best among backs with at least 150 carries. Messam can also be a threat through the air, finishing second among running backs in receiving yards — 54 catches for 485 yards — behind only the Blue Bombers’ Andrew Harris (67-631).

“It makes guys rise to the challenge,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said of Messam’s presence following Wednesday’s practice. “I enjoy watching him play. I enjoy when Messam gets the ball and lowers his shoulder or hurdles a guy because they think he’s going to lower his shoulder, or catches the ball out of the backfield and squares his shoulder up on somebody.

“It’s good football.”

It’s the second consecutive year the Bombers have dipped into free agency with the goal of boosting their front four. Last year, by signing free agent defensive tackles Euclid Cummings and Keith Shologan, the Bombers added pieces they felt would not only increase pressure on opposing quarterbacks — Shologan was coming off a career-high seven sacks with the Ottawa Redblacks, while Cummings was a force with the Toronto Argonauts with eight — but also were strong enough to dare teams to run.

Problem was, teams were running into the line of scrimmage — and over — as the Bombers struggled against the rush for much of the year. In 2016, the Bombers were tied for the second most rushing touchdowns against with 17, while giving up an average of 88.6 yards on the ground per game — a number below the league average.

This year, the Bombers feel they are reaping some early rewards from another overhaul. Both Cummings and Shologan are gone, replaced by import tackles Drake Nevis, who played last season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Cory Johnson, a newcomer to the CFL.

Non-import Jake Thomas, now in his sixth season with the Blue Bombers, has offered valuable depth up the middle and Canadian Faith Ekakitie, the No. 1 pick in May’s draft, continues to learn on the job.

Occupying the edges are Jamaal Westerman, who was second in quarterback sacks two seasons ago with 17, and Tristan Okpalaugo, another high-profile free agent signed in the off-season after a breakout season in Toronto two years ago (Okpalaugo spent much of the 2016 year injured with the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL).

Trent Corney, a non-import, is backing up Westerman and is expected to build off a promising — but injury-riddled — rookie campaign, while Jackson Jeffcoat, who shined in training camp, could be a game-breaker with more fine-tuning as he enters his first CFL campaign.

Put it all together and the Bombers feel they finally have the tools to dominate the line of scrimmage.

“The biggest thing this year with our rotation is there’s not much drop-off. We’ve really done a great job of creating depth throughout the D-line,” Thomas said. “Maybe in years previous, when a backup went in there it was a bigger drop-off. Now, you know the guy coming in is going to do a great job.”

Thomas added when you run a constant rotation on the line, as the Bombers do — shifting players in and out every two to six plays — that increased talent makes plugging holes down the middle that much easier. Thomas also understands Messam will be a completely new challenge than what his team experienced against the Riders, but he is confident they’re up to the task.

“He’s definitely unique in this league in the sense he’s probably 20 to 30 pounds heavier than any other back, but he still has speed,” Thomas said. “The biggest thing with him is it can’t be arm tackles. You got to get full-body hits on him and a lot of running to the ball, making sure it’s a gang tackle. He’s a hard guy just to bring down, so as long as we can run to the ball and make the initial tackle we should be all right.”

Westerman, who attended the same high school as Messam at Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in Brampton, Ont., said the key to stopping Messam won’t rely simply on the front four.

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Although the defensive line is often first to the ball carrier, it will take a full effort from all 12 players.

The success against the Riders, he said, was also to due the help the line received from dime linebacker Maurice Leggett, who does a good job picking up runs on the outside. Also, the communication from Sam Hurl at middle linebacker, who reads the opposing offences and issues warnings of a potential run play.

“Offence, too, they were doing a good job scoring points and that forces the other team to put the ball in the air,” Westerman said. “So it’s a complete team thing.

“If we can handle the run with the guys up front, it allows the defensive backs to do a great job making plays, especially with the waggle and everything,” he added. “It’s so tough for those guys that if you’re taking one part away from a team’s offence they can focus playing better at others.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.