By Rob Vanstone, Leader-PostNovember 28, 2009
CALGARY — Will tailback Wes Cates be the Saskatchewan Roughriders' not-so-secret secret weapon in the Grey Cup?
"Let's hope so,'' he said while looking ahead to Sunday's CFL championship clash with the Montreal Alouettes.
"We're just playing good football the way things have been working out, so I'm not too worried about it. If the ground game's working and I get the ball on the ground, wonderful. If they're dropping in coverage and I'm getting the ball in the air, great. I'm just trying to get a win, however I can do it — whether it's blocking, receiving, or running the ball. We just need to go out there and execute.''
"We're just playing good football the way things have been working out, so I'm not too worried about it. If the ground game's working and I get the ball on the ground, wonderful. If they're dropping in coverage and I'm getting the ball in the air, great. I'm just trying to get a win, however I can do it — whether it's blocking, receiving, or running the ball. We just need to go out there and execute.''
Cates was named the Roughriders' most outstanding player in 2008 after rushing for 1,229 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also caught 39 passes for 451 yards and two more majors.
His totals were considerably lower in 2009, when he rushed for 932 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry in 2009, compared to 5.7 in 2008. This season, Cates added 33 receptions for 336 yards and two TDs.
In a 27-17 West Division final victory over the visiting Calgary Stampeders on Sunday, Cates rushed 14 times for 57 yards and caught three passes for 25 yards. Although that was one of his busier games of late, it was not quite a workhorse-type performance.
"This is the last game of the season so if there was a time I was saving it for, this would be the time, right?'' Cates remarked. "If that's the way we need to get it done, great. If I only get five touches and we win, wonderful.
"I'm sure people want to see an even attack, but we've been winning games however we can figure out a way to win games, so I'm not too worried about getting 20 touches. I don't think 20 touches is going to dictate a win or a loss.''
Cates was the only featured tailback in the eight-team CFL to finish the regular season shy of 1,000 rushing yards — a milestone he likely would have attained if he had not missed the first two games while recuperating from off-season shoulder story. However, he did play one more regular-season game in 2009 than he did the year before.
So why was there less of an emphasis on Cates in the Roughriders' offence this year?
"I think last year it was a necessity,'' he said. "We had so many injuries that they almost had to give me the ball. This year, we've got weapons. Half our receivers don't have broken legs like last year. We've just got options and we've got weapons, so we can spread the ball around, and obviously that has gotten us to this point, so stick with it.''
"I think last year it was a necessity,'' he said. "We had so many injuries that they almost had to give me the ball. This year, we've got weapons. Half our receivers don't have broken legs like last year. We've just got options and we've got weapons, so we can spread the ball around, and obviously that has gotten us to this point, so stick with it.''
Roughriders head coach Ken Miller was quick to laud the varied contributions of Cates when asked Friday about his team's running game.
"Wes has tremendous ability as a running back but, even more importantly, a thing I say often is that he makes a lot of contributions in ways that are not seen, because we count on him in our pass protection a great deal,'' Miller said. "Our pass protection schemes are fairly sophisticated — from our point of view, they're sophisticated — and he does those assignments without error. The other thing he does is he catches the ball very well out of the backfield.
"Certainly, we'd like to have him have 150 yards or 200 yards this game. That may or may not happen.''
There is some uncertainty about Cates' status after this season. He is to become a free agent in mid-February.
"Obviously, I've thought about it, but a lot of that is out of my control,'' he said. "I'm just trying to worry about things I can control — performing well and keeping my body in shape and staying healthy and doing whatever I can to help my team win.''
There is some uncertainty about Cates' status after this season. He is to become a free agent in mid-February.
"Obviously, I've thought about it, but a lot of that is out of my control,'' he said. "I'm just trying to worry about things I can control — performing well and keeping my body in shape and staying healthy and doing whatever I can to help my team win.''
Win or lose, Sunday's game could be Cates' last with the Roughriders, depending on what happens contractually during the off-season. Cates is unfazed by that notion.
"It might be a little stranger if I didn't get traded after my first season,'' said Cates, 30, who was dealt to the Roughriders in 2007 after spending his first CFL season with the Calgary Stampeders. "After that happened, I kind of came to the realization that anything can happen. I can be comfortable in a spot and then end up having to hop on a plane the next day. That's the nature of the business.
"This is the life I wanted. This is the life I chose. I wanted to play this game and that's part of what comes with it, so you've got to take the good with the bad.''
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