Fred-Ex not delivering

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/07/2011 (5188 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A lack of 100-yard games, that’s up with Fred Reid.

For those keeping track, the Bombers running back (who is also keeping track) is struggling to get on track this 2011 season. Yes, the club is winning and yes, Reid is tops in the CFL rushing list with 321 yards (eight yards ahead of Montreal’s Brandon Whitaker), but look at Fast Freddy’s numbers a little closer:

The 29-year-old has carried the ball a league-high 71 times. No other

tailback has more than 50 touches. Reid is averaging a concerning 4.5

yards a carry, while other backs just behind him are above the

five-yard mark.

He’s seen the ball a lot but hasn’t found that break through game yet.

Does it bother him?

“Just a little bit, going into the fifth game of he season and I

haven’t quite hit that century mark,” he said. “I’m playing hard every

week and I’m going to keep fighting until I get it.”

Is there really cause to worry? Not according to the coach.

“You can’t be one dimensional,” Paul LaPolice said. “The importance

for us is getting first downs, more so than getting Fred Reid going.

If we get a lot of first downs, Fred will touch the ball.”

Reid, the CFL’s reigning rushing title champ (1,396 yards), didn’t

punch through the 100-yard hole until mid-August last season. The

bigger concern right now might be the average per carry, which could

be a sign he’s grinding out some hard yards more to earn his distance.

Reid’s longest run this season has been 20-yards. He’d like to break

off a big one tonight against the Lions.

“I’m not going to say that I’m frustrated; probably just a little

surprised at myself that I haven’t, but I know it’s a long season and

I have a lot of big runs to come,” he said. “It’s going to happen…it’s

going to happen.”

CROWD COUNT

Roughly 28,000 tickets have been sold. Some fans are organizing a grassroots ‘Richard Harris’ chant for the game, with the hope of showing the rest of the country how respected the coach was in this community.

MORE HARRIS REACTION

Bombers SB Terrence Edwards: “It’s very tough to even walk in the

building. I was here early for treatment and one of the first things I

saw was one of the newspapers with Coach Harris’ face on it. We know

he’ll be looking down on us and we’re going to go out and represent

him well.”

Lions head coach/GM Wally Buono: “It’s not something that is distant

because he’s here in Winnipeg. A lot of people have a lot of fond

memories of Richard Harris. Whether you knew him or not, something

like this has to affect you. It’s something that, unfortunately, still

makes us have to go out and do our jobs.”