THE CFL'S NEXT GREAT BACK?

Reading all the Heisman hype about Northern Illinois' little big man Garrett Wolfe makes this football fan north of the border wonder: Is he the CFL's next great back?

Wolfe, all 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds or so of him, is averaging a sick 223.8 yards per game. That's more yards than most NCAA teams. He had 285 yards from scrimmage in the first game of the year against The Ohio State University.

The NFL's never been big, pardon the pun, on letting a little running back do his thing, unless he was a singular player such as Barry Sanders. Despite his small stature, Wolfe is a straight-ahead runner who hits it up between the tackles and uses his speed to get outside.

Imagine what he could do on the CFL's 65-yard wide field.
Winnipeg's Charles Roberts (5-foot-6, 175) is that kind of back. So is Calgary's Joffrey Reynolds, who's about 6-foot-3, 220.

The CFL has always been the place for the likes of Pinball Clemons and Gizmo Williams, who were always the smallest guys on the field, but could bob and weave through the entire punt team, then outrun them to the end zone.

Their gifts were wasted on the NFL and its killjoy coaches, who put more emphasis on concepts such as "ball security" and "north-south running." Why, if you let broken-field improv artists such as Pinball and the Giz play, fans might actually get excited. They might not need to binge-drink and compulsively gamble get through each NFL Sunday. Before long, breweries and liquor stores would close for a lack of business, the economy would start to falter... well, you see where this is going.

The NFL's attitude in this area is changing, albeit at a glacial pace. Getting back to Wolfe, there's more money to be made as a third-down or kick-return specialist in the NFL than as a featured back in the CFL, that's true. Those among us who appreciate the purer form of football that's played up here should point to Garrett Wolfe and say, "Now there's a prototype CFL running back."

Here's hoping that if the NFL doesn't work out, then Wolfe gets a chance in Canada and is open to pursuing that avenue. Go, Garrett, go.

That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.