Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, says Avery
JOKES ABOUT CRACK, COKE Argo hopes for more touches against Renegades
MISSISSAUGA, ONT. •
In their pursuit of a Grey Cup title last year, the underdog Toronto Argonauts were like an Olympic sprinter reeling in the rest of the field for a gold medal, according to running back John Avery. And for him, at least, that pursuit included the use of performance- enhancing substances.
“ A little steroid here and there never hurt anybody,” he said yesterday. “ I always like to mix a little cocaine in my cereal, you know what I’m sayin’? It has nothing to do with football; this is just how I feel about myself. It helps me feel better about the day, you know what I mean?”
Avery was only joking.
He was also on a roll.
“If you got any pain in your body, smoke some crack, you know what I’m sayin’?,” he said. “ I think that’s the best way to, like, numb it and put it behind you ... wouldn’t the knee be the last thing you were worried about if you were so high you thought you were Bill Clinton? You know what I mean? It wouldn’t matter.”
It might have mattered last season, though, because even with the quadruple bypass, Clinton had a better year.
Avery was in pain for most of his first campaign with the Argos after he rushed back from off- season knee surgery. The 29- year- old needed a handful of Advil tablets — nothing stronger — just to practice and finished with less than 1,000 rushing yards. His most notable carry might have been his reported $ 250,000 salary.
His salary was halved over the off-season and even though his health has returned, Avery still ranks behind two quarterbacks on the CFL’s rushing table. Winnipeg running back Charles Roberts heads the list with 1,206 yards, more than 800 ahead of the 11thplace Avery.
The task of improving his numbers has been made more difficult by the fact no CFL team relies on the run less than the Argos. But over the past month, Avery has quietly been building a case to increase his offensive workload.
He averaged 5.7 yards per- carry in a win over Calgary on Aug. 24, and he ran for a season-high 90 yards and a touchdown against Hamilton on Labour Day. In last week’s loss to Saskatchewan, Avery converted seven touches into 61 yards, an average of 8.7 yards per carry.
“Everybody started to kind of think, ‘ Aw, he doesn’t have it any more,’” the running back said yesterday. “ And then, here it is — the last four, five games, I’ve started to get that pep back in my step, making guys miss while they’re standing right in front of me. And that’s what boosts my confidence back up, and I’m able to make plays and make things happen.”
His diplomacy faltered only slightly yesterday when the topic of his workload was raised. Tonight, the Ottawa Renegades will appear on the Rogers Centre turf with one of the weakest run defences in the league. They were torched for 191 yards against Calgary last week and beaten for 149 by Winnipeg the week before.
“ There’s no secret that we’ve had trouble stopping the run lately,” Renegades defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall said. “ And I would anticipate that they will probably give John a couple carries early to see how we handle it. And if they have some success with it, I’m sure that they’ll continue to give him the ball maybe a little bit more than they’re accustomed to.”
Avery tends to work by feel in the backfield. His speed allows him to expose creases and leave wind burn on the faces of linebackers and a host of defensive backs. But he can be inconsistent, and on a team with receivers Arland Bruce III, Tony Miles, Robert Baker and Andre Talbot, there is a reverse correlation between mistakes and the number of times you handle the ball.
“ Attempts, touches, are directly related to production,” Argos offensive co-ordinator Kent Austin said. “They always have been and they always will be. And I don’t care who the guy is, I don’t care what position he plays: If you’re producing, and you start to produce, you will get more touches. If you’re not producing, you’re not gonna touch the football.
“We only have so many touches a game. We’re gonna get the ball into the hands of the guys who make plays.”