Dave’s Football Blog

Eric Moneypenny of Fox Sports seems to suggest just that. Then again, Eric probably still gets pissed that James Bond kept hitting on his mom all the time…

In the past 50-plus years, American stars have bolted to the CFL for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the reasons are positive (such as the CFL offering more money, or a better opportunity), and sometimes the reasons are negative (suspensions, legal issues, or bad reputations).

We don’t yet know how well Ricky Williams and the Vikings’ Onterrio “The Whizzinator” Smith will perform in the CFL in 2006, or if they’ll ever be the same after returning.

I thought it’d be interesting to take a look at careers of other notable American runners that bolted north. It is interesting that I couldn’t find many running backs that were ever the same in the NFL after returning from a Canadian stay.

Is there a CFL curse on running backs? For this discussion, I won’t include backs like Lawrence Phillips and Rashaan Salaam, since their CFL stays were pretty much last chances.

However, when taking a look at high-profile running backs that took their game to the CFL, their NFL legacies suggest that Williams and Onterrio may want to sit this season out.

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