3 ways Ka'Deem Carey can impact the 111th Grey Cup

Yesterday at 10:22 PM

Sure, there’s a bias to consider, given that he’s one of the best in the league at what he does, but Ka’Deem Carey wants you to know that a running back is one of the most important players on the field in football. All day, every day.

“I honestly value running backs so much,” Carey said on Tuesday, as the Toronto Argonauts get set to begin their week of preparation for the 111th Grey Cup game.

“I think they’re the best athletes on this on this field. I mean, of course, there’s cornerbacks. We don’t run backwards, but that’s the only thing we don’t do; but we could do it if you tell us to do it,” he said, laughing.

“We block like linemen, we catch like wide receivers. We run, we break tackles. We have the best balance out there, have the best vision. It takes a lot to have a great back in this league. You can just fill in and have a average back but when you have a great back, that makes a special team.”

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Carey stands to play a crucial role in Sunday’s game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Here are three ways he can impact that game and try to help his team to a win in the 111th Grey Cup.

AN ANALYTICAL BEAST

Carey leads the league in some crucial stats. Per PFF, he was tops in the league this year in first in first down runs (72), first in missed tackles forced (63) and first in explosive runs (33).

Carey said that his offensive line set the table for his success this year.

“My line got to work this year and I found the holes, so I’m excited that I’ve made that combination work for us,” he said.

“We had good coaching, too, to help all that out. I’m just excited to stay healthy. I know I can do all of that when I’m healthy, so none of it’s a surprise. I kind of feel like I could do a little bit more given another year, but let’s take care of this one.”

When Carey is doing those things: running for first downs, making tacklers miss him and stacking up those explosive runs, his team is in a good position to win.

PUTTING THOSE NUMBERS TO WORK

CLUTCH KA’DEEM BRINGS IT DEEP #GCPlayoffs on CTV, TSN, & RDS
: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/JkpZeRMkCv

— CFL (@CFL) November 9, 2024

If the Argos are standing under a downpour of team-coloured confetti on Sunday night, Carey knows what he’ll have had to do to play his part in the win.

“It’s going to take…catching the ball out of the backfield. Everything that I’m first in there, breaking tackles, getting the first downs for us, having explosive runs, multiples of those,” Carey said.

“That’s what Winnipeg is going to try to take away. The playmaker that I am, I’m going to have to make plays in big situations.”

Carey has done that this year, to the tune of 1,060 yards on 191 carries that have led to seven touchdowns. A threat catching the ball as well, Carey has a career-best 37 receptions for 356 yards, with one touchdown. He can go into Sunday confident that he can have that kind of success against the Bombers. The Argos swept the two-game season series against them and Carey had a combined 97 yards against them in their Week 8 meeting.

EASING THE TRANSITION

With Nick Arbuckle getting the start at quarterback on Sunday in the wake of Chad Kelly‘s season ending leg injury, the Argos will adjust their offence to his skillset. Carey could see his role increase in the Grey Cup game, if head coach Ryan Dinwiddie feels that could help Arbuckle’s workload.

“I think this team over this year, it kind of was built (to use the run game) with three quarterbacks (playing through the season),” Carey said. “I think our o-line, our receivers, our running backs, we’re very poised with each one and very comfortable with each one. So Nick going into this one…we’re very comfortable with him. When he went in for Chad (in the Eastern Final) we we didn’t hiccup, we didn’t budge, we already knew what time it was. We’re excited to have Nick going in and for him to finish this job for us.”