only casual fans and the media goes by numbers alone. People who actually know what they are talking about are able to recognize and grade intangibles as well.
It’s not just about numbers. If that were the case, there is no need to even vote on the award. You can’t just go on raw numbers because they don’t tell the whole story. The Calvillo who played the last few games of the year was not what anyone would call “outstanding.”
While I won’t speak for others, I like Lulay for a few reasons.
For one, he got better as the year went on. That cannot be discounted.
Secondly, Calvillo has to battle himself more than Lulay. Calvillo, rightly or wrongly, will be judged against what he was done in the past. His 2011 season was not as good as his other MOP seasons.
Thirdly, Lulay vastly outperformed Calvillo in Week 19. While one week shouldn’t decide the award, it was a dominating performance by Lulay and one of Calvillo’s worst of his career. That will be hard for the voters to forget.
Finally, the unscientific eyeball test. Calvillo just didn’t seem outstanding, whereas Lulay did. That’s the clincher for me. I don’t remember any stinkers from Lulay after the 1-6 start, whereas I can point out two duds in the last three weeks by Calvillo.
there ya go.
If you’re going to look at numbers alone, you have to look at everything - that includes rushing.
Calvillo: 21 carries, 155 yards, 1 TD and 9 turnovers
Lulay: 47 carries, 391 yards, 3 TD and 1 turnover
Simply put Lulay has accounted for more touchdowns and less turnovers overall.
Lulay was the glue that kept the Lions winning 8 straight and going 11-7. Calvillo was the reason for a few of those losses, including the last game.
calvillo just couldn't get it together vs the Lions.
You missed a stat: Freeman: 0 TDs, Johnson: 2
Another thing to be considered, due to injuries in the Bombers’ secondary at various times, Johnson has had to play corner back, half back and safety.
The weird thing?
Calvillo vs Lulay, I'd probably vote "Lulay."
Richardson vs Lulay, I'd probably vote "Richardson."
Jamel's production this year was just unreal.
Here's an interesting stat for the AC vs Lulay debate:
Number of games with 300+ passing yards:
AC: 11
Lulay: 6
Total completion yardage - team YAC yards
Montreal: 5,562 yards - 2,329 yards (42% of yards are YAC yards)
BC: 5,090 yards - 2,098 yards (41% of yards are YAC yards)
Of the completion yardage, AC had 5,251 yards and Lulay 4,815 yards but I can't break down the YAC yards for each QB's completions because the stats are only by team. I wanted to include that stat so people won't try the "AC's stats are inflated by YAC yards" argument since the stats aren't that different for the two teams.
picking messam over cornish is nothing short of a joke. Shows that the voters are idiots and the awards meaningless.
doesnt matter who they give the award to, doesnt mean they deserve it. its a crapshoot.
might as well ask a bunch of kids in china to vote. they wouldnt do any worse.
Same here.
Waaa!!!
Just because he broke Paris Hiltons jaw. We all understand that Messam is hated in B.C. but that doesn’t mean that you have to be so bitter. Cronish would have been a good choice, so is Messam. Get over it.
The winners...
Outstanding Player: Travis Lulay (should have been Jamel Richardson)
Canadian: Jerome Messam
Defense: Jovon Johnson (should have been Odell Willis)
Special Teams: Chad Owens
Rookie: Chris Williams
Lineman: Jovan Olafioye
You are aware that Messam ran for over 1,000 yards, right?
I find myself in almost total agreement with you, EvilDoctor.
Only changes I’d make would be Sherrit over Williams. . . and I hear you about Odell Willis, but he sort of disappeared in the second half of the season. . .
MOP - Lulay
Defence - Johnson
Canadian - Messam
Special Teams - McCallum
Rookie - Williams
Offensive Lineman - Bourke
A couple of points...
I cannot fathom how people think Chad deserves the Special Teams award over Paul. Paul has had arguably one of the best seasons as a kicker in the history of this league. The issue I have with Owens is that people are looking at not only Owens the returner, but also Owens the receiver. As a returner, he has done nothing special this year. His averages per return are good, but not necessarily the best this year. He only has 2 return TD's - not jaw dropping. What is it that makes Chad the Special Teams player of the year???
As for the Messam vs Cornish debate. Messam rushed for 1000 yards and that seems to be the only reason he's getting the nod and will win the award. He is a one dimensional player. Cornish is a rusher, receiver and stud on special teams. The award is for the Top Canadian and if you look at all the intangibles, Cornish should have gotten the nod.
I couldn’t agree more. Owens did not even deserve the East nomination. Both Justin Medlock and Sean Whyte were more deserving. There is no way that Owens will beat out McCallum.
Although I would not have had a problem if Cornish was chosen, it is the intangibles that for me give Messam the nod. I agree that Cornish did very well on special teams, to call Messam one dimentional is not correct in my view. Both players were use as relief valves and although Cornish had a higher average, they have similar numbers of catches 27 vs 26. What sets Messam apart is that he put up the numbers he did despite being keyed on during the middle of the season when the Eskimos had no receiving corps and teams knew he was getting the ball yet he still put up good or great numbers. Don’t under estimate the 1000 yards, there is a reason few accomplish the feat and he did put nearly 200 more yards than Cornish did.
The fact that Cornish didn’t start as the feature back for the first part of the season is meaningless. That would be like saying Ricky Ray would have been the MOP if he had completed more passes. He didn’t so it is moot.
If AC had creamed Lulay in every category, I might agree. However, the gap is minor. Lulay was more consistent. He should get it. Of course, I agree with the person who said Richardson should get it if he’d gotten the nod.
Messam wasn’t the starting RB for the Esks until 5 or 6 games into the season as well. He was splitting carries with Porter and McCarty, then Whitlock and McCarty, before the Esks decided to go to an all NI backfield.
Messam had 27 catches for 248 yards, while Cornish had 26 catches for 385 yards. It’s not a huge difference in terms of receiving yardage, so I’m not sure how you could make the enormous claim that one back is “one-dimensional” and that the other isn’t. It’s not like Cornish had 800 yards receiving and Messam only had 100…
If Paul McCallum doesn't win Special Teams award, than the CFL needs to institute a new award for the kicking position because no kicker will ever win it.