BLITZ: Lions Turfed a Misunderstood Messam
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 8:24 am
No question that the major theme going into tonite's game against the Eskimos is Jerome Messam. First of all, we have the backdrop of Messam being traded after his training camp incident at the request of some Leo vet players. Secondly we have the backdrop of the incident of the last game, triggered when Dante Marsh hit Messam late, in the end zone, after Messam had scored on a two point convert.
Thirdly, and most importantly, we have Messam as the key to the Edmonton offence and the need to stop him if we want to win tonite. Edmonton has now built its offence around Messam and win when he carries the football a lot during a game. Messam will become only the third Canadian in the last 47 years to rush for 1000 yards.
I never agreed with the decison to trade Messam or the process in which it happened. Canadian backs who are 245 pounds with speed, agillity, and toughness are more than a rarity and in my mind, Messam might have deserved some discipline for his training camp incident but he had not done anything to warrent getting rid of him at that juncture. A backfield of Harris and Messam would have been scary but at training camp Wally had decided to go with Jamal Robertson at tailback this season and therefore Messam seemed more expendable. Wally also had not recognized Messam's potential at the time as he had also not seen the potential of Harris either.
Tonite we have to stop Messam, who likes to run off tackle. It might be an advantage that Aaron Hunt is out this game, in terms of defencing the run. We will likley go with both Kalif Mitchell and Eric Taylor at tackle and with Mitchell at 315 pounds and Taylor at 309 pounds. Its something we haven't seen. Ricky Ray becomes very effective off play action if Messam gets rolling and we need to take away their favorite weapons.
The excellent Province article by Lowell Ullrich in the Province Bltiz is copied below:
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BLITZ: Lions turfed a misunderstood Messam
Cast out by Wally Buono, Esks' RB could be the CFL's top Canadian
By Lowell Ullrich, The Province October 28, 2011
Edmonton Eskimos #23 Jerome Messam blows past Saskatchewan Roughriders #98 Kenny Rowe during a CFL game at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, October 10, 2011.Photograph by: Ed Kaiser, Edmonton JournalThey were just three little words and they packed a pretty mean punch.
The speaker was Jerome Messam and they came at the end of a conversation as he was walking away following the latest triumph of the Edmonton Eskimos, which has set up a massive Saturday showdown at B.C. Place Stadium (7 p.m., Team 1410) against coach/GM Wally Buono and B.C. Lions.
"Wally knows best," Messam said a few minutes after the Eskimos had polished off another road win last week against the Toronto Argonauts, talking about the varied direction of his career.
The surface context would suggest there was no added meaning to the remark but the grin which was evident as Messam walked away said so much more.
Rimshot, maestro.
The running back who was given away by Buono in the summer has grown in stature far beyond his 6-foot-3 245-pound bulldozer frame, as it is clear he will be central in the race to decide first place in the West Division standings.
Messam's running has become so dominant in recent weeks it has become clear Buono may have handed over the winner of this year's top Canadian award to Edmonton.
If the Lions don't show up with a run defence Saturday, he may have given Edmonton the Grey Cup.
Prior to each of the three previous meetings this season Messam was gracious towards the Lions, despite the fact his trade to Edmonton was initiated by some of his former teammates, and Buono, who let him have a second chance by dealing him away.But an incident when the Eskimos helped re-open the Lions' refurbished digs Sept. 30, in which he was ejected at a critical point of a 33-24 loss, seems to have altered Messam's mood.
The native of Brampton said he will cherish becoming only the third Canadian in 47 years to rush for 1,000 yards should he collect just 36 against the Lions.
But he admitted the ejection, which came when he swung at Tad Kornegay in an end-zone altercation as he was surrounded by several ex-teammates, acted as a flashpoint for the anger he held for the way the Lions expelled him.
"I could have done [1,000 yards] over there too," he said. "I was hurt. I played with a lot of those guys and for them to corner me [in the fight] like that, it was a messed up situation where there was a lot of emotion and anger that just came out the way it did."
The incident was one of a couple this year where Eskimos' rookie coach Kavis Reed had to harness Messam in a way Buono could not.
But by taking on the challenge for nothing more than a mid-round 2013 draft pick, Edmonton may have completely shifted the balance of power in the league this year.
Messam has four, 100-yard games and five Canadian player of the week awards so far, prompting talk he will use the option-year window in his contract to explore NFL options in the winter.
Buono said that any football-only assessment of the trade is unfair because of the circumstances which led to his departure from the Lions at training camp, when he was cited for violating club rules. At the time, it was a choice between saving a player or his team.
"The behaviour had to be held accountable," Buono said.
Nonetheless, if Buono made the best trade in the league this year by acquiring Arland Bruce from Hamilton he also may have engineered the worst purely on football terms with Messam.
"I really didn't know what to expect out of him. He's not the most patient running back out there because he's so physical," Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray said. "But he's taken advantage of his opportunities as the season wore on and he's gotten more comfortable."
A comfortable Messam on Saturday will have him among the best Canuck backs in league history (see chart at right) having accomplished a feat matched by only six other players.
It also may mean he has opened up Edmonton's play-action offence and made life even more miserable for a B.C. defence whose starting nose tackle, Aaron Hunt, accused the Eskimos protection unit of dirty play in their last meeting. Hunt, bothered by a sore heel, is doubtful Saturday.
If the game centres around Messam, the running back says he is no more bothered than when another ex-B.C. regular, Ricky Foley, made his first visit west with Toronto earlier this season and demanded Lions fans to boo him.
Messam said he was misunderstood almost from the moment he joined the Lions last season. It's no different now.
"Fans are probably going to boo me out of the stadium [Saturday]. I don't care. I love a challenge," he said.
"I've had a lot of doubters and a lot of haters in my career. A lot of people told me I was too big to play this position. I was a hoodlum. Nobody really knows Jerome Messam."
All the Lions know is what they may have given away.
Thirdly, and most importantly, we have Messam as the key to the Edmonton offence and the need to stop him if we want to win tonite. Edmonton has now built its offence around Messam and win when he carries the football a lot during a game. Messam will become only the third Canadian in the last 47 years to rush for 1000 yards.
I never agreed with the decison to trade Messam or the process in which it happened. Canadian backs who are 245 pounds with speed, agillity, and toughness are more than a rarity and in my mind, Messam might have deserved some discipline for his training camp incident but he had not done anything to warrent getting rid of him at that juncture. A backfield of Harris and Messam would have been scary but at training camp Wally had decided to go with Jamal Robertson at tailback this season and therefore Messam seemed more expendable. Wally also had not recognized Messam's potential at the time as he had also not seen the potential of Harris either.
Tonite we have to stop Messam, who likes to run off tackle. It might be an advantage that Aaron Hunt is out this game, in terms of defencing the run. We will likley go with both Kalif Mitchell and Eric Taylor at tackle and with Mitchell at 315 pounds and Taylor at 309 pounds. Its something we haven't seen. Ricky Ray becomes very effective off play action if Messam gets rolling and we need to take away their favorite weapons.
The excellent Province article by Lowell Ullrich in the Province Bltiz is copied below:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
BLITZ: Lions turfed a misunderstood Messam
Cast out by Wally Buono, Esks' RB could be the CFL's top Canadian
By Lowell Ullrich, The Province October 28, 2011
Edmonton Eskimos #23 Jerome Messam blows past Saskatchewan Roughriders #98 Kenny Rowe during a CFL game at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, October 10, 2011.Photograph by: Ed Kaiser, Edmonton JournalThey were just three little words and they packed a pretty mean punch.
The speaker was Jerome Messam and they came at the end of a conversation as he was walking away following the latest triumph of the Edmonton Eskimos, which has set up a massive Saturday showdown at B.C. Place Stadium (7 p.m., Team 1410) against coach/GM Wally Buono and B.C. Lions.
"Wally knows best," Messam said a few minutes after the Eskimos had polished off another road win last week against the Toronto Argonauts, talking about the varied direction of his career.
The surface context would suggest there was no added meaning to the remark but the grin which was evident as Messam walked away said so much more.
Rimshot, maestro.
The running back who was given away by Buono in the summer has grown in stature far beyond his 6-foot-3 245-pound bulldozer frame, as it is clear he will be central in the race to decide first place in the West Division standings.
Messam's running has become so dominant in recent weeks it has become clear Buono may have handed over the winner of this year's top Canadian award to Edmonton.
If the Lions don't show up with a run defence Saturday, he may have given Edmonton the Grey Cup.
Prior to each of the three previous meetings this season Messam was gracious towards the Lions, despite the fact his trade to Edmonton was initiated by some of his former teammates, and Buono, who let him have a second chance by dealing him away.But an incident when the Eskimos helped re-open the Lions' refurbished digs Sept. 30, in which he was ejected at a critical point of a 33-24 loss, seems to have altered Messam's mood.
The native of Brampton said he will cherish becoming only the third Canadian in 47 years to rush for 1,000 yards should he collect just 36 against the Lions.
But he admitted the ejection, which came when he swung at Tad Kornegay in an end-zone altercation as he was surrounded by several ex-teammates, acted as a flashpoint for the anger he held for the way the Lions expelled him.
"I could have done [1,000 yards] over there too," he said. "I was hurt. I played with a lot of those guys and for them to corner me [in the fight] like that, it was a messed up situation where there was a lot of emotion and anger that just came out the way it did."
The incident was one of a couple this year where Eskimos' rookie coach Kavis Reed had to harness Messam in a way Buono could not.
But by taking on the challenge for nothing more than a mid-round 2013 draft pick, Edmonton may have completely shifted the balance of power in the league this year.
Messam has four, 100-yard games and five Canadian player of the week awards so far, prompting talk he will use the option-year window in his contract to explore NFL options in the winter.
Buono said that any football-only assessment of the trade is unfair because of the circumstances which led to his departure from the Lions at training camp, when he was cited for violating club rules. At the time, it was a choice between saving a player or his team.
"The behaviour had to be held accountable," Buono said.
Nonetheless, if Buono made the best trade in the league this year by acquiring Arland Bruce from Hamilton he also may have engineered the worst purely on football terms with Messam.
"I really didn't know what to expect out of him. He's not the most patient running back out there because he's so physical," Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray said. "But he's taken advantage of his opportunities as the season wore on and he's gotten more comfortable."
A comfortable Messam on Saturday will have him among the best Canuck backs in league history (see chart at right) having accomplished a feat matched by only six other players.
It also may mean he has opened up Edmonton's play-action offence and made life even more miserable for a B.C. defence whose starting nose tackle, Aaron Hunt, accused the Eskimos protection unit of dirty play in their last meeting. Hunt, bothered by a sore heel, is doubtful Saturday.
If the game centres around Messam, the running back says he is no more bothered than when another ex-B.C. regular, Ricky Foley, made his first visit west with Toronto earlier this season and demanded Lions fans to boo him.
Messam said he was misunderstood almost from the moment he joined the Lions last season. It's no different now.
"Fans are probably going to boo me out of the stadium [Saturday]. I don't care. I love a challenge," he said.
"I've had a lot of doubters and a lot of haters in my career. A lot of people told me I was too big to play this position. I was a hoodlum. Nobody really knows Jerome Messam."
All the Lions know is what they may have given away.