Matt Smith/CFL.ca
OUTSTANDING!
That’s the word that pays during the CFL’s award season.
When I vote, the word ‘outstanding’ is the tie-breaker. Whose season has been more outstanding than the other? This is not the NHL’s Hart Trophy. Their top award goes to the player deemed most valuable to his team.
No, this isn’t about being the most important. It’s about being the most OUTSTANDING.
So through Week 6 of the CFL season the man at the top of my list is easy: Mathieu Betts.
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Betts is on pace for 32 sacks. I know it’s ridiculous to calculate this early in the season but too bad, I did it because I was curious.
The record, if you’re interested, is 26.5 sacks by James Parker in 1984.
The last player to have over 20 in a season was another BC Lion, Cameron Wake in 2008 when he recorded 23. Unfortunately for Wake, Anthony Calvillo had 43 touchdown passes that season to take the MOP award.
Mathieu Betts has started the season on a tear, racking up nine sacks in just five games (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)
Yes, Betts has been outstanding! It’s amazing to watch game-in and game-out how quick he gets off the ball and watching the offensive tackles try to handle him one-on-one is almost impossible. They need help to keep the Lions’ pass rusher out of the backfield.
Right now I don’t think it’s even close when it comes to the early season MOP.
My vote would be Betts.
But it’s a long season and there are definitely several players who have also gotten off to MOP-calibre starts and I find it interesting how many of them are on defence.
The MOP award usually favours the quarterbacks. Eleven of the last 15 MOPs went to quarterbacks with Brandon Banks, Chad Owens, Jon Cornish and Solomon Elimimian being the four exceptions to the rule.
Betts would only be the second defender to ever win it, but he’s not alone on the defensive side of the ball when it comes to players who have been outstanding.
Willie Jefferson has seven sacks, five knockdowns, two forced fumbles and once again is a freak of nature when he is lining up in the interior of the line and then bouncing back out to defensive end.
Jefferson consistently disrupts the offence by just being physically superior in his matchups. The long reach of Jefferson allows him to knock down footballs if he’s not getting to the quarterback with pressure or sacks.
If it wasn’t for Betts’ season, Jefferson would likely be at the top of my MOP Watch list.
Micah Awe is also near the top of my list. The Stampeders’ linebacker is ahead by 12 defensive plays compared to his nearest competition. He leads with 46 tackles to Larry Dean’s 37. And if you want to know what he’s on pace for in tackles, yes I checked this as well and the answer is 165. Solomon Elimimian’s record is 144 in a single season.
Now, there are quarterbacks who belong in the conversation for MOP. There always will be.
You can find those players by looking at the top of the standings.
Vernon Adams Jr. would lead my list of quarterbacks right now. He’s played one less game than Zach Collaros and just two touchdowns and 75 yards back of him for the league lead in both those key stats. Adams also leads the league in completion percentage. So much for the critics saying he’s inaccurate.
Oh, and he’s tied in wins with four, including an impressive win over Collaros’ Lions earlier this season.
Yes, Adams leads the league in interceptions among starters but those numbers are inflated by his infamous six-interception game against the Argos. Outside of that, his TD/INT ratio is 9/2. One bad game shouldn’t sour the other four games in which Adams has been outstanding.
Collaros may not even be second on the list, despite his current lead in yards and touchdowns because Chad Kelly has played two fewer games than Collaros.
Kelly is second in completion percentage and is leading the Argos through an impressive start to the season. While his numbers are outstanding, they are very good to start in his first season as the franchise quarterback for the defending Grey Cup Champions.
These three quarterbacks and their MOP bids are all linked by one thing, on and off the field, Adams included: they should all be worried about Mathieu Betts.
