Rushing attack could use some improvement

The Calgary Stampeders need more from their running backs.

If they’ve got any chance of knocking off the Edmonton Eskimos in Sunday’s West Division Final and earning a spot in the Grey Cup, the Stamps are going to need to pick up more yards on the ground than they have been recently.

Whether it’s Jerome Messam, Roy Finch or either Dominique or Terry Williams, somebody is going to need to step up. As of Thursday, though, it’s not entirely clear who will be getting called upon.

Messam’s the starter, of that we’re — almost — sure, but Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson is clearly still weighing his options.

“All the running backs are still alive, I’m not making that decision,” Dickenson said after Thursday’s closed practice at McMahon Stadium. “That’s a big decision for me and I’m looking at some great competition out there.

“Dom has been doing an excellent job. Roy took snaps. Mess has looked better.”

It’s been a while since the Stampeders run-game has looked genuinely explosive, and you’d have to go all the way back to Week 15 against the Montreal Alouettes to find a game where the team totalled more than 55 yards on the ground.

In Week 17 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Stamps got only 42 yards from 10 run-attempts.

In Week 18, the Stamps ran the ball 12 times for 45 yards in a loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

A week later against the Eskimos, they ran for 49 yards on 11 attempts, and then they ended their season against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by picking up 55 yards from 19 rushing attempts.

The Stamps had the West Division all locked-up for those last three games, and that context certainly matters, but they need to be better.

It’s hard to say exactly how the running back situation will play out. Messam and Finch seem sure to be in the lineup, but it will be interesting to see if the Stamps try to find space on the 46-man roster for a third option.

The two Williams brothers — not actually related — are American, so will affect the ratio, but if the Stamps are hesitant to over-use kick return specialist Finch on offence, it would make sense to have them in the lineup.

Finch, for his part, expects to have a role to play on offence. “I anticipate getting the ball on 10to-15 snaps on offence,” Finch said.