Lowell Ullrich
The Provinceac

You only have to witness the perplexed look of Wally Buono any time he tries to boot up his office computer to understand the traditionalist side of the B.C. Lions coach.

But it is more his sense of political correctness that comes out when you ask if a legitimate case can be made to date to name Lions defensive end Cam Wake as the CFL's most outstanding player this season.

It is not just the idea that Wake is bucking history. No defensive player has ever been decorated with the highest individual honour in a league that traditionally has valued its quarterbacks more than any other position.

To anoint the second-year player with nearly one-third of the regular season remaining, according to Buono, is to overlook the fact B.C. slotback Geroy Simon is not far behind the receiving yardage pace that earned him the distinction two years ago.

Fine, then, let everyone else around the three-down league wonder if this is the year Wake breaks the mould.

The West Coast Rumbler added three more sacks to go with nine tackles in the Lions' 40-10 dismantling of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday, moving him within sight of the league mark of 26.5 sacks set in 1984 by the Lions' James "Quick" Parker.

Wake now has 18 quarterback drops with five games to go and, yes, seven of them have come in two contests against Hamilton, which has a legitimate offensive line in the same way Sarah Palin is a bona fide U.S. presidential running mate.

But the fact Buono can point to another player as a potential club nominee underscores the difficulties defensive players have gone through over the years in trying to take the outstanding player trophy.

The year Parker set the record, Winnipeg runner Willard Reaves had 1,733 yards along the ground and was given the big prize, for example.

It's no different when measuring collective dominance either. B.C. became only the second team this decade to have a double-digit sack total in a game when they pulled down Hamilton's Quinton Porter 10 times Saturday. They also have 51 sacks overall, a mammoth 17 dance celebrations ahead of their nearest rival.

Just to beat their own club record, however, the Lions will need to average more than six sacks in each of their remaining five games to match the 84 piled up in 1986 by the likes of Parker, Mack Moore and Nick Hebeler.

But just as when he began taking bows on a nightly basis, Wake remains unconsumed about personal goals.

It isn't the sacks that are fuelling the Lions these days, it's the turnovers created by defensive pressure generated on the line and pass coverage.

"Defence wins championships; offence sells tickets. We know if we win the turnover battles, we win the game," Wake said Saturday after the defence created six turnovers and pushed their league-high takeaway total to 49, or roughly four a game.

And that's good enough for Buono, who'll leave the balloting a month from now with voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada, other than to state the obvious dominance of Wake and the effect he is having on the contribution of his defensive teammates.

"The defensive schemes are centred around the defensive linemen getting pressure," said Buono, whose reward to the Lions for jumping into second place in the West Division standings was to give his players an extra day off prior to beginning work for their game Friday against the Toronto Argonauts.

"Cam makes plays because he's a good player who is put in a position to make plays. He is as good on first downs and he is on second down. And that's saying a lot."

Wake's play lately just about says everything else.

Courtesy of: www.theprovince.com