Ricky Ray Is The MOP in The CFL!

... And that's coming from a die-hard TiCat Fan!!!

And with all due respect to Jon Cornish, Cory Sheets, & Henry Burris ... But Ricky Ray is the Most Outstanding Player in the Canadian Football League ... Full Stop!

I don't care about number of games played or games missed ... When Ricky is on the field ... He is the best player at his position & the best player in the league ... Period!

Once again ... Coming from a TiCat Fan ... That's HUGE!

I ask you this question ... If you're the GM for the RedBlacks & there are NO PROTECTED PLAYERS ... Who do you select #1?

I'm picking Ray ... I used to think I would pick Cornish or Harris because they are real ratio busters ... but the more I watch RR ... The more I'm convinced that you can replace a Cornish or Harris, despite the ratio, much easier than you can replace a Ricky Ray.

I agree. He's a HoF player having a a career year.

As much as I agree, Ray is the best player in the CFL, imagine the outrage if Cornish doesn't win.
Especially after Ray missed 8 games.

I think if Cornish gets to 2000 plus yards it is really difficult to give it to a guy who’s played 12 games but if not then Ray should get it IMO. But depending on what your criterias how and how you rank those. A case can be made for either guys. Only a couple ding dongs are claiming Burris deserves it. Smart fans like Fender know better.

Don’t do me like that HfxTC! I won’t be able to walk around Hamilton anymore!

Oh wait … I don’t live in Hamilton! I live in Burlington … The delusional fans won’t/can’t find me … their low-jacks won’t allow it & the bus doesn’t run by my house! (Wowza … Even I admit that was a little “catty”!)

Back on topic … I do have a tough time with it … the award is named “vaguely” & “uniquely”. Most Outstanding … Not Most Valuable … It does make it interesting.

Once again … as a GM … starting a team … I’m taking Ricky Ray … As enticing as Jon Cornish is as a NI RB … I can juggle the ratio & bring an RB up from the US … finding a Ricky Ray is much harder!

On that note … and I will do what is the right thing to do … and admit where I’m wrong … I will say that if I’m a GM and if I had to lock-up ONE 1st year player … I’m choosing Mike Edem in MTL … Much harder to find a standout NI Safety than it is to replace an import RB.

That’s a great way to “rate” them. The only thing when you factor in injuries then you have to bring a guy like Sheet in who could have written a new record for rushing in the CFL in an era where passing the ball is more prevalent than ever… Its really too bad Ray got injured because I’m certain he would have Shattered the QB efficiency record for a starter. Completion percentage. TD2INT ratio and possibly even total yards record. Tonight I was thinking yeah completion ratio is amazing but look at all the dink and dunk and the YAC inflating his stats but every time he went deep it was perfect. Really amazing performance.

chip cox has been exceptional. how about some love for the defense. BTW I am no fan of montreal at all

Your right !

Oh … Chip Cox is in my Top 5 of players I want if I was a GM. The guy makes plays & changes games & is the ultimate irritant! The guy plays every down on D and every aspect of Special Teams … Hard to find a guy as good that’s on the field 2/3rds of the game AND can impact a game like he can & does.

That’s the beauty that I see in RR. He knows when to dink & dunk & puts the ball in the players hands to make plays … then he drops one right over your shoulder in the corner of the endzone!

My Father used to call him “The Killer Accountant”. He’ll pick up nickels & dimes doing your books & then get you that big return at the right time! (Yes … My Father was an accountant so hence the analogy … I also think he thought that 'cause of RR’s receding hairline!)

So if a QB comes in for 2 games, completes 95 of 95 passes, and throws for 1100 yards in those 2 games, then doesn't play for whatever reason, he should then be MOP...because hey...nobody is more impressive than that.

IMO number of games played is a huge factor, and missin 6 games is just too much. 2, maybe 3

I think Ray is hands down the best QB in the league right now...I still don't think he is deserving of MOP. Should he win it, I am not going to complain...he will obviously be in the mix, and talent wise he is the man...he simply wouldn't get my vote.

Cornish deserves MVP and Best Canadian player.

if Ray hadn't missed half the season, I might be in agreement with you, however I'm not because he hasn't played enough.

Not that I want to take anything away from RR, but it seems to me that his percentage completion is slightly inflated by throwing a greater number than average of short passes, as well as behind LOS. It is only because of the great yac yardage gained by players such as durie and owens that his average yards per completion is just slightly under everyone else.

you did just that.

Yards per pass is a more important stat than yards per completion, IMO. You could complete one 100-yard pass, then miss nine in a row and have a 100-yard average per completion, or you could rack up 100 yards on 10 consecutive completions, with a 10-yard average per completion. The latter means you control the ball, pile up first downs and keep the other team’s offence off the field. The former means you fail to accomplish your goal nine times out of 10, and keep surrendering possession. An extreme example, but it illustrates why I believe ypp is more important than ypc.

There is no question that Ray benefits from the fact that the Toronto offence is designed to complete a lot of short passes followed by good runs, but Ray also drops in the deep ball better than anyone else in the league. You don’t rack up 500 yards in a game without some great deep throws.

Regardless of that, though, I think the QB rating system is designed (to some extent) to correct for short-yardage completions. At a final season rating of 126.4 (since he won’t play next week), Ray will break the record set by Dave Dickenson in 2005 (118.8 ). And he is rated about 20 per cent higher than the next man (Kevin Glenn), a sizeable margin for any stat leader in any league.

Ray ends the season with 2,878 yards and 22 touchdowns. He will have missed the equivalent of nine games:

One quarter against Sask when Argos were trailing big
Two quarters against Wpg when he got hurt the first time
Full game against B.C.
Two quarters against Mtl when Argos led big
Three quarters against Cal when he got second time
Five full games when he was hurt
Next week’s game

So his stats are essentially over 9 games, and project to 5,756 yards, 42 TDs and 4 INT if he played a full season. I know he hasn’t done so, and projections are nothing more than inaccurate estimates of what might have been, but the guy has had an unbelievable season and deserves consideration for the MOP despite missing so much time.

If it were MVP, Ray wins hands down, but it’s MOP he shouldn’t be in the running.

Care to explain that assertion? How is it he is more valuable than he is outstanding? If anything, a case could be made for the opposite, since the Argos have a better win-loss record with him out of the lineup.

They were what 6-3 w/o him, 5-3 with? I would rate him as MOP before considering him an MVP.

Ray's having an insane, sick year. I can't see how he's not in the MOP discussion, even if someone else (e.g. Cornish) wins the award.

People talk about short passes like it's nothing to complete them. If you think that, you know nothing about football. Yes, they are easier to complete all other things being equal than a 40-yard hail mary, but a number of factors are at work in ensuring even a 10-yard pass is completed. Timing, calling the right play, protection audibles, effective release, effective pre-snap read, and formations/plays that use pre-snap motion to get the receiver open.

No MOP ever excels purely on his own. An RB is nothing without his O-line. A QB in the wrong system can look like absolute garbage. Look at what hacks like Worman, Strasser, and Maciocia did to Ray in Edmonton, and look at him now that Milanovich is calling the shots. Night and day.