Run-by-committee.
Ken 'Jeepers Creepers' Peters
Hamilton Spectator Sat. June 9 2007
That's the answer to Cat fans wondering which horse
the club will saddle up to lead the ground attack.
While the club won't say
who the starting tailback is expected to be,
Taaffe said
Corey Holmes, Anthony Davis and Jesse Lumsden
can all expect a lot of touches.
Holmes was the team's leading rusher last season
with 64 carries for 369 yards despite missing
the final five games of the regular season.
Perhaps more significantly Holmes led
the squad with 1,235 all-purpose yards.
If there is a guy who will likely get the bulk
of the swing-pass action out of the backfield,
Holmes is your candidate.
Lumsden brings size and speed.
After racking up 307 yards in seven games in 2005,
the 6-foot-2, 226-pound Burlington back had 40 carries
for 163 yards in just four contests last season
after being cut by the Washington Redskins.
Lumsden is taking part in his first Ticat training camp,
having spent the 2005 and 2006 springs
with Seattle and Washington, respectively.
It will give him a better chance
to learn his offensive role
and should improve his production.
Lumsden makes no secret of the fact
he would love to be the starting tailback
when Hamilton opens the season June 30 in Calgary.
The third runner in the equation
is Davis, Anthony not Troy.
The former Wisconsin Badger star started two
of the four games played at running back,
rushing 25 times for 97 yards
and making four catches for 29 yards.
Davis is small, listed at just 5-foot-7, but is shifty
and showed an ability to deke and dazzle.
But he missed five games with a knee injury.
Given that both Holmes and Davis
were banged up last season,
durability might be the chief concern
of the Cat backfield.