Kenton Keith

Kenton Keith arrived in Hamilton last year after a bidding war with some fanfare, but was mostly an afterthought because the Ticats season was already pretty much done. He was also injured for several games last season, with only 58 rushes for 204 yards and an anemic 3.5 average in yards per carry. He had 18 receptions for 148 yards.

In 2007, he rushed 121 times for 533 yards and three TDs for the Indianapolis Colts, along with 13 receptions for 77 yards and a TD. Not bad stats, although you wonder why he couldn't have done more with Hamilton last year. Then again, the Cats were 3 and 15 last year with a mediocre offensive line.

Keith has had some good years prior to the NFL with Saskatchewan. The 2004 and 2006 seasons were particularly good: in 2004 he rushed 190 times for 1,154 yards and nine TDs, along with 29 receptions for 295 yards and two TDs. In 2006, he rushed 167 times for 1037 yards and two TDs, and caught 52 receptions for 513 yards and three TDs.

So Keith had decent season in 2004, 2006 and 2007, however the question remains how much he has left in the tank. Keith's ability to catch as well as rush probably puts him ahead of Terry Caulley as the starting RB, but his high salary doesn't seem warranted from last year's performance. A better Ticat offensive line (Rottier?) this year combined with some good performances from Keith hopefully will boost Hamilton's offense from sixth in the CFL (yes Toronto and Winnipeg scored even less points than Hamilton) to maybe third or fourth.