LIONS’ BURNHAM IS CFL’S BEST PLAYER
Even as a target of opponents on poor team, this dynamic receiver manages to excel
The federal election will soon be followed by ... more voting!
This time, the West will have plenty of influence.
Members of the Football Reporters of Canada — in collaboration with the nine head coaches — are poised to make their choices for the CFL player awards.
When I was a general manager, the awards weren’t of significant interest to me, except for the salary-cap implications of bonus money paid to the players who were recognized.
Winning football games was always the main focus at this time of year. Regardless, I will now offer my opinion as to who deserves the three most prestigious awards.
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER
A quarterback usually walks away with this award. During a year in which most of the starting quarterbacks have gotten injured, Saskatchewan Roughriders signal-caller Cody Fajardo has been touted as a top MOP candidate.
The key word is “outstanding.” The MOP award goes to the best player in the CFL.
Fajardo is not the best player in the CFL. He could arguably be considered the most valuable, but there is a difference between “most valuable” and “best.”
My vote would go to Bryan Burnham of the B.C. Lions.
The constant noise you hear about why he should not win the award relates to how he plays on a bad team. That actually works in his favour, in my opinion. His stellar play, game in and game out, is even more impressive when you consider the overall performance of the Lions.
The Lions’ opponents focus on taking away Burnham from the Lions’ passing game, but he still excels.
He’s the best receiver in the league ... and the best player.
MOST OUTSTANDING CANADIAN
This award easily could have been given to Winnipeg Blue Bombers tailback Andrew
Harris. But when a failed drug test — resulting in a two-game suspension — becomes part of the resume, an award should not follow.
My vote goes to Montreal Alouettes middle linebacker Henoc Muamba, whose consistent playmaking should be rewarded.
He is a hard-hitting defender who can still tackle at a very high level — an art that seems to have fallen off lately across the league.
MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER
Winnipeg defensive end Willie Jefferson is the most dynamic defensive player in the league — a game-changer when he is playing at a high level.
Jefferson’s athletic ability is unmatched.
When Calgary Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson wonders aloud why Jefferson isn’t in the NFL, that says a lot.
Jefferson beats out a noteworthy candidate in Roughriders defensive end Charleston Hughes, who has a league-high 15 sacks.
The easy way to rationalize this: If you’re a GM of a CFL team and you have the choice of signing one of those two in free agency, who is it going to be?
If you select Hughes, you would be choosing with your heart, not with your head.
Remember this: Even with the three awards mentioned above, a football club’s success isn’t determined by individual award winners.
The one award I took note of — one that signified a successful season — was presented on Dec. 31, 2013, when The Canadian Press named the Roughriders the team of the year.
That was the ultimate award, because it meant that a Grey
Cup had been awarded barely a month earlier.
That is the definition of “outstanding.”
The weekly predictions ...
CALGARY AT WINNIPEG (FRIDAY, 6:30 P.M.)
Taman: The Roughriders, who are chasing Calgary for first place in the West, are the real winners in this game. Blue Bombers by three.
Rob Vanstone: Calgary is clearly the better team. Stampeders by eight.
HAMILTON AT MONTREAL (SATURDAY, 11 A.M.)
Taman: This could become a battle of the backups. Alouettes by three.
Vanstone: Hamilton has the league’s best record (13-3). Tiger-cats by four.
OTTAWA AT TORONTO (SATURDAY, 2 P.M.)
Taman: The Argos will win a barnburner. Seriously, they will. Argonauts by one.
Vanstone: Why is this game even being played? Argonauts by six.
SASKATCHEWAN AT EDMONTON (SATURDAY, 5 P.M.)
Taman: Commonwealth Stadium is never an easy place to play, but the Roughriders have more of a sense of urgency. Roughriders by four.
Vanstone: In a battle of teams that face penalty issues, the Eskimos will prove to be the least disciplined. Roughriders by five. Season records: Taman 48-25 (4-0 last week); Vanstone 47-26 (4-0).
Hero: Saskatchewan’s William Powell — the best running back in the league.
Zero: Injuries to starting quarterbacks. Every opening-day starting quarterback has gone down this year, which makes the quality of play suffer in most cases. Taman’s Take appears weekly.