The Canadian Football League unveiled its team award winners on Wednesday, setting the stage for six players to take home hardware in Vancouver next month.
The CFL’s award structure is outdated and flawed. Strong candidates often cannot contend for trophies because another candidate is on their team. Even when that isn’t the case, the media voters in each market don’t always get their ballots right, leading to some spectacular snubs.
In that vein, here is the largest omission from each team’s awards list.
Photo courtesy: Jeff Vinnick/B.C. Lions
B.C. Lions: William Stanback — Most Outstanding Player
Receiver Justin McInnis earned dual nominations for the Lions as both their Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian, but should he have? The six-foot-six target might lead the league in receiving yards but he was virtually invisible for half the year. Meanwhile, Stanback put together a career year at 30 years old and led the team in yards from scrimmage with 1,588 compared to McInnis’ 1,469.
Photo: Kevin Sousa/CFL
Edmonton Elks: Justin Rankin — Most Outstanding Rookie/Most Outstanding Player
Nick Anderson produced a 100-tackle rookie season at linebacker for the Elks and could well win the award league-wide, but voters really slept on Rankin by making that choice unanimous. The powerful running back has appeared in just 10 games as part of a backfield committee and still sits sixth in league rushing with an unconscionable 8.3 yards per carry. You could even argue he’s been more outstanding than thousand-yard receiver Eugene Lewis, who has just one hundred-yard game this year compared to Rankin’s four.
Photo courtesy: David Friederich/B.C. Lions
Calgary Stampeders: Ben Labrosse — Most Outstanding Rookie
Defensive end Clarence Hicks got the love from voters after putting up four sacks and two interceptions as a rookie but he was also part of the CFL’s worst pass rush and produced inconsistently. This year’s first-round pick Ben Labrosse had his struggles as well but accomplished something virtually unprecedented: won a starting halfback job as a Canadian rookie. The McGill product might as well be a unicorn and it’s a shame nobody recognized that.
Courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saskatchewan Roughriders: Trevor Harris — Most Outstanding Player
There is no reason to beef with halfback Rolan Milligan Jr. hoarding three awards for the Riders — he deserves them — but it’s sad that Harris won’t be recognized for his contributions. Since returning from injury, the 38-year-old has been the best quarterback in the CFL, leading the league with a 108.4 efficiency rating and a 2.22 touchdown-to-interception ratio. In 12 starts, he’s thrown for 300 yards on six occasions, trailing only Bo Levi Mitchell.
Photo: Michael Scraper/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Tyrell Ford — Most Outstanding Player/Most Outstanding Canadian
There wasn’t really any debate as to where the Winnipeg media was going with their selections this year, unanimously voting for five of the six honourees. Most Outstanding Defensive Player nominee Tyrell Ford was the only exception and he deserved better, plus a gift basket for having to play on the same team as Brady Oliveira. The league’s new premier lockdown corner has seven interceptions and was every bit as outstanding as his prairie rival Rolan Milligan Jr. except with a Canadian passport. In a just world, he also would have been a triple nominee but is unlikely to even get a finalist nod due to the way the awards are structured.
Photo: Bob Butrym/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Casey Sayles — Most Outstanding Defensive Player
Comparing defensive backs and linemen is apples and oranges, but Sayles has been a dominant force in the interior for the Ticats this year with six sacks and plenty more pressure. While Jamal Peters has been tremendous while healthy at cornerback, generating four picks, how much of that success would have been impossible without disruption up front? Given that the big defensive tackle has also played two more games, I would have given him the nod.
Photo courtesy: Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts: Ralph Holley — Most Outstanding Rookie
There is no denying that Makai Polk has stepped up to be Toronto’s best receiver as a rookie, but a pass catcher’s stats can be inflated when there isn’t much depth around him. It’s much harder to force-feed a defensive tackle, especially in a talented rotation, and Holley leads the league with eight sacks. He’s arguably a better run defender as well, which makes him perhaps the biggest award snub in the CFL.
Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com
Ottawa Redblacks: Adarius Pickett — Most Outstanding Defensive Player
It was nice to see defensive tackle Michael Wakefield get some recognition as one of the CFL’s most underrated players, but there is no debating who Ottawa’s best defender was this year. Strong-side linebacker Adarius Pickett firmly established himself as the best in the league through 13 games and his season-ending injury has only further stressed his importance. If you were willing to ignore the time missed in nominating him for Most Outstanding Special Teams Player, why not do the same on defence?
Photo: Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes: Charleston Rambo — Most Outstanding Rookie
You can rightfully claim that Geoffrey Cantin-Arku is one of the league’s best young linebackers and a future Canadian star, but his five sacks came in a purely rotational capacity. Rambo has been starting all year long and could end up as the team’s leading receiver, with 803 yards and four touchdowns already. Even if the two players are equivalent in talent, snaps played have to count for something.
