MESSAM DEAL ANOTHER SIGN OF THE WIN-NOW MENTALITY
Last Friday’s column, which is suitable for framing, opined that the Chris Jones-led Saskatchewan Roughriders are mirroring the methodology of Brendan Taman.
How prescient those words, so carefully chosen, proved to be.
On Tuesday, the Roughriders announced the signings of fullback Spencer Moore, defensive tackle Zack Evans and centre Dan Clark — all of whom originally joined the CFL team when Taman was its general manager.
On Wednesday, the Roughriders announced the additions of linebacker Sam Hurl (who was among Taman’s draftees in 2012) and running back Jerome Messam (who was signed by Taman in 2014).
The latest transactions reinforce the aforementioned column, which noted that the Roughriders’ recent emphasis on the acquisition and retention of CFL veterans was highly Tamanesque.
Jones, the team’s current head coach/GM, has pursued a return to respectability while adding proven commodities such as Messam, defensive ends Charleston Hughes and Willie Jefferson, receivers Duron Carter, Bakari Grant and Chad Owens, quar- terbacks Kevin Glenn (since released) and Zach Collaros, offensive linemen Travis Bond and Peter Dyakowski, cornerback Jovon Johnson and defensive halfback Ed Gainey.
The expectation when Jones arrived was that he, in collaboration with assistant vice-president of football operations and player personnel John Murphy, would focus on player recruitment and development.
However, if you examine the composition of the Roughriders’ roster, it is clear that the current regime’s M.O. is comparable to that of Taman.
That is simply an observation, not a criticism.
Taman, after all, stocked — and stacked — the 2013 Roughriders with established CFLers who ultimately delivered a landmark home-field Grey Cup victory.
Evans, Clark, Moore, Hurl, guard Brendon LaBatte (another Taman signing) and receiver Rob Bagg (who was brought to Saskatchewan by Eric Tillman) are the only current members of the team with ties to the 2013 edition.
In 2017, the Roughriders were one defensive stop away from returning to the Grey Cup game.
With that in mind, the future is Nov. 25, when the 106th Grey Cup game is to be played in Edmonton.
Oh, and a home playoff game — the Roughriders’ first since 2013 — would also be a progressive step.
Hence the recent moves involving 30-somethings such as Mes- sam and Hughes, and the wooing of receiver Adarius Bowman (who opted to join the Winnipeg Blue Bombers).
When a running back is about to turn 33, as is the case with Messam, it is reasonable to wonder how much is left in the tank.
But keep in mind that Messam, at six-foot-three and 230 pounds, is a tank.
He has played his finest football since turning 30, rushing for 1,000-plus yards in each of the past three seasons.
Messam is not a breakaway threat — his longest carry in 2017 was a 28-yarder — but he can efficiently and reliably grind out yardage as an invaluable Canadian starter.
If a change of pace is required, speedster Marcus Thigpen — another member of Jones’s 30-plus set — can take it the distance in a hurry.
Suitably, the Roughriders are in a hurry.
Their stadium and financial statements are the envy of the league. They have not pinched pennies in pursuit of a return to the Grey Cup game. The fans are also spending freely, paying considerable prices to watch the Green and White.
With that in mind, 2018 had better be payoff time … or at least home playoff time.
If the Roughriders can wring one more stellar season out of Messam, et al, Grey Cup rings could be the reward.