Each week CFL.ca’s Jaime Stein and Mitch Ward will debate a current issue in the CFL. After a week away, Stein and Ward return to hand out their version of the Gibson’s Finest CFL Player Awards at the mid-season mark. Read their picks and then have your say in this week’s showdown.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Stein’s pick: John Hufnagel (CGY) – One of my biggest pet peeves is when voters select the coach of the year based on the guy who turned a bad a team into a contender. Unfortunately, that strategy unfairly robs people like John Hufnagel who year in and year out put a winning team on the field. And once again Coach Huff has answered the bell with a 9-1 squad which dominates all three phases of the game. But these are mid-season awards, so Hufnagel should keep an eye on good friend Wally Buono who may turn things around in B.C. in the second half of the year. Honourable mention goes to Jim Barker who, yes, turned a team around, but did so by instilling hard work and discipline. His boys have slipped of late. He needs to get them focused for a stretch run.
Mitch’s pick: Jim Barker (TOR) – I’m going to go ahead and peeve Stein right off the bat and give the award to the guy who came in and turned the crappy team around. Jim Barker brought his juvenation machine with him when he came to Toronto and completely re-energized the Argonaut franchise. He has this team believing they can win and they are doing just that. He has also tailored the Argos playbook to fit their personnel beautifully and is giving the team their best shot at success.
MOST OUTSTANDING SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER
Stein’s pick: Chad Owens (TOR) – I would pay money to see Chad Owens play football. He is exciting, electrifying and game changing whenever he is on the field. He brings a crowd to its feet and creates a buzz in the stadium whenever he touches the ball on a return. Even when he doesn’t return the ball he is a factor – see Ryan Christian’s return for a touchdown against Montreal. Owens is averaging 11.2 yards per punt return, which is tops in the CFL among players with more than 12 returns. Owens has also added a spectacular 117 yard touchdown on a missed field goal return – a play that makes teams think twice about attempting a long field goal.
Mitch’s pick: Chad Owens (TOR) – Agreed. No brainer on this one. Owens has been outstanding this year. Every time the ball touches his hands you expect something big to happen.
MOST OUTSTANDING ROOKIE
Mitch’s pick: Marcus Thigpen (HAM) – This award would have gone to Cory Boyd had he not spent a couple games standing on the sidelines for the Denver Broncos back in 2008. But he did. Therefore the winner is Marcus Thigpen. He’s been quiet of late but you can’t argue with five touchdowns in five ways. No one had EVER done that in a single season before – it took him just seven games to turn the trick. And the Riders cut him out of training camp… (still shaking my head)!
Stein’s pick: Solomon Elimimian (BC) – Defensive players often get less of the spotlight than their flashy offensive counterparts. That is why I’m giving the nod for Most Outstanding Rookie to the B.C. Lions’ Solomon Elimimian. All season long he has demonstrated a fearless attitude on the football field while making plays for B.C.’s strong defence. The fact that Elimimian cracked such a veteran line-up is all the more impressive. He plays a lot bigger than his 5’11”, 225 lbs. frame and represents a great find by the B.C.’s scouts.
MOST OUTSTANDING LINEMAN
Stein’s pick: Edwin Harrison (CGY) – While defensive players get less of the spotlight, offensive linemen get no spotlight, which is why first year Stampeder Edwin Harrison has quietly gone about his business as the top offensive lineman in the first half of the season. A great find by the Stamps this off-season while trying to rebuild the offensive line, Harrison has brought stability to one of the more difficult positions in Canadian football at right tackle. The Calgary offensive line has allowed a league low 18 quarterback sacks while also providing Joffrey Reynolds, Jon Cornish and the rest of the offence room to rush for a league high 161.1 yards per game.
Mitch’s pick: Ben Archibald (CGY) – Remember how Calgary’s O-line was supposed to be a weakness coming into the season? So much for that. Tough not to go with a Stamp on this one seeing as how they have given up the fewest quarterback sacks and lead the league in rushing. So I won’t. I’m giving the nod to left tackle Ben Archibald over Harrison though. Patrolling your QB’s blind side is one of the most important jobs in football and Archibald does it better than anyone. Last year’s West nominee for top lineman helped bring a line facing a ton of change in the off-season together and he has made it a major strength for the league’s top team in 2010.
MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER
Mitch’s Pick: Phillip Hunt (WPG) – If this award went to the best team defence the Stampeders would win hands down. Trouble is they don’t have one standout star. Malik Jackson, Juwan Simpson, Tom Johnson, and the Brandons have all been excellent, but they hurt each others’ individual claim to top defensive player. Therefore I am giving the nod to Phillip Hunt of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The man is a force on the Bomber D-line and is a big part of the reason why the Bombers have had success getting to the quarterback with only four-man rushes. He leads the league with nine sacks in 10 games and has also chipped in 26 tackles. The biggest knock against Hunt has been his propensity for penalties. If he can get those in check and the Bombers can turn it around he definitely deserves consideration come season’s end. James Patrick has also been outstanding for the Riders and is d
eserving of the honour.
Stein’s pick: Chip Cox (MTL) – Chip Cox is a beast. He is in the top-10 in the league in tackles (48), he forces fumbles, he sacks quarterbacks and he intercepts passes. He has also scored a defensive touchdown in 2010. Essentially, he is one of the most versatile defensive players in the league. You have to go back to 2005 when John Grace won this award to find a linebacker worthy of the honour, but I believe that Cox is the man to break the streak of four straight defensive end wins in this category.
MOST OUTSTANDING CANADIAN
Mitch’s pick: Andy Fantuz (SSK) – Maybe the toughest category to decide. Kevin Eiben, Dave Stala, Andy Fantuz and Jon Cornish all have legitimate cases for MOC. That said, I’m going to invoke the old tie goes to the home team rule which in my case means Andy Fantuz is the winner (I’m allowed one right?). The big rider slot from Chatham, Ontario is on pace for his best season as a pro with 620 yards and three receiving touchdowns already. He is also one of the most dependable guys in the league when you need a first down – 21 of his 47 catches (45%) have been made on second down. Fingers crossed he stays healthy down the stretch.
Stein’s pick: Kevin Eiben (TOR) – As Mitch said, there are many Canadians who are having great seasons but Kevin Eiben has really elevated his game this year. Eiben grew up in the Argos defence and was asked by the coaching staff to lead this group in 2010. Eiben has responded as the lynchpin of the Argos defence this year. He is a sideline-to-sideline tackler who has the hands of a defensive back exemplified by his two interceptions this season. This may be one of the closest awards races to watch in the final months of the season.
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
Mitch’s pick: Henry Burris (CGY) – I have to go with the leader of the best team on this one. Henry Burris has led the Stamps to a league-best 9-1 record through 11 weeks and has Calgary six points clear of the Riders for first place out West.
At 35, Smilin’ Hank has 23 TD tosses already this season, six more than his nearest competition, and is also third in the league with 2,856 passing yards. If you took his numbers over the course of the entire season he would be on pace to finish with career highs in both categories with 5,140 yards and 41 touchdowns. The 12-year vet has also shown he can still get it done with his feet by rushing for 275 yards and three touchdowns. Maybe he’ll be able to put those hard feelings from the ’08 awards show aside now.
Stein’s pick: Anthony Calvillo (MTL) – You may argue that Anthony Calvillo has missed the past two games. However, you cannot ignore his 70.1 completion percentage. Nor can you ignore the fact that he has thrown 17 touchdowns to only three interceptions. That is why he has a league-leading 111.6 quarterback efficiency rating. Mitch argues that Burris has led his team to a 9-1 record, but Burris’ league-leading 14 interceptions (tied with Darian Durant) make me nervous. But awards don’t matter when your team wins the Grey Cup – unless you are Calgary circa 2008.
