Solomon Elimimian wins both MOP and Defensive MOP

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dupsdell1
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Elimimian finalists for CFL outstanding player honour

here is the link

http://www.tsn.ca/ray-elimimian-finalis ... r-1.134003
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SammyGreene
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A historic achievement and why not in a season dominated by defence. Congrats #56. Well deserved!

Lions marketing department must be thrilled too. He is already front and centre in their 2015 season ticket campaign and is poised to unseed Travis as the new face of the franchise.
dupsdell1
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SammyGreene wrote:A historic achievement and why not in a season dominated by defence. Congrats #56. Well deserved!

Lions marketing department must be thrilled too. He is already front and centre in their 2015 season ticket campaign and is poised to unseed Travis as the new face of the franchise.



I think He will win
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Rammer
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dupsdell1 wrote:
SammyGreene wrote:A historic achievement and why not in a season dominated by defence. Congrats #56. Well deserved!

Lions marketing department must be thrilled too. He is already front and centre in their 2015 season ticket campaign and is poised to unseed Travis as the new face of the franchise.



I think He will win
He has a chance alright. :cr:
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dupsdell1 wrote:I think He will win
I agree; his chances are excellent. Ray has clearly been the best quarterback in the CFL, but this year, it could well go to a defensive player.
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B.C.FAN
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Ray had a sub-par year on a non-playoff team. Elimimian is a lock.
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cromartie
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Considering the hand he was dealt with the injuries to all, and I mean all, of the players around him, I think Ray had a better year than most are giving him credit for.

I'd still give it to Solomon, though.
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Rammer
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cromartie wrote:Considering the hand he was dealt with the injuries to all, and I mean all, of the players around him, I think Ray had a better year than most are giving him credit for.

I'd still give it to Solomon, though.
Agreed, way too many injuries to the Argos and yet Ray was still able to put up numbers. And yes, SolE still deserves the win, which should mean a lock for him on the DPoY as well. Now that would be an epic story for the writers. I wonder if SolE's contract gets double bonuses for PoY and DPoY awards...that may break the SMS bank.
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sj-roc
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B.C.FAN wrote:Ray had a sub-par year on a non-playoff team. Elimimian is a lock.
There is precedent for an MOP coming from a non-playoff team, although it hasn't happened in a while: Jimmy Edwards took the award in 1977 despite playing for 4th place Ham (5-11). The year after that Tony Gabriel made it a Ticat repeat on a marginally better 5-10-1 team that made the playoffs, although under today's crossover format they would have ceded their berth to (who else?) the 4th place Lions (7-7-2), who would have been the ESF opponent for (who else?) 2nd place Mtl (8-7-1).

OTOH no defensive player has ever been a MOP (or even a finalist according to what I heard on 1040 today). Every winner has been either a QB, back or receiver (although I suppose you could argue Clemons in 1990, and Owens in 2012 won it at least partly because of ST contributions).

The CFL has gotten plenty of bad press this year for a flaccid on-field product with too much offensive sluggishness. It would put the purrfect cap on this narrative to have a defensive player as MOP winner. If the league has any say in who wins — although I think it's the arm's-length FRC who casts the votes, isn't it? — could politics carry the day with RR getting the nod? OTOH there might simply be a desire among voters to "share the wealth" by giving SE the MODP and Ray the MOP, especially considering (a) Cornish won two of the major awards last year (MOP/MOC) with Ray as a MOP finalist who came up short, and (b) Ray has never been MOP before.

If Cornish had played the full season with his stats anywhere near to where they project he would have been a lock to repeat.

EDIT: Correction, Gabriel was with Ott by that point, and they finished 11-5 in first place. He was also a MOP/MOC double winner and the most recent until Cornish a year ago. The 2014 edition of FFR notes Gabriel's double win and correctly lists him with Ott for MOC but erroneously lists him with Ham for MOP. I was looking at the wrong column when I wrote the above!
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Big Time
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If there is any justice in the world, SolE takes both trophies. However if they officiate these awards the same way they officiate the games, then expect Ray to win.
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Elimimian will make history becoming the first defensive player being named MOP. Well deserved.
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sj-roc
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FWIW an online fan poll on the league's website attached to the article announcing the finalists has Ray trailing by almost a 2-1 margin as I type.

http://www.cfl.ca/article/2014-awards-finalists

This also answers a question I posed a little while back:
The Most Outstanding Player awards, which include six categories, are voted on by 68 voters from the Football Reporters of Canada and head coaches from across the league.
Sports can be a peculiar thing. When partaking in fiction, like a book or movie, we adopt a "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" for enjoyment's sake. There's a similar force at work in sports: "Willing Suspension of Rationality". If you doubt this, listen to any conversation between rival team fans. You even see it among fans of the same team. Fans argue over who's the better QB or goalie, and selectively cite stats that support their views while ignoring those that don't.
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B.C.FAN wrote:Ray had a sub-par year on a non-playoff team. Elimimian is a lock.

While nothing is for certain in the world of the CFL, I agree...Ray was good but not great, plus was injured a bit...Sol was a rock week in and week out and a record setter in the year of the defence. He should be a lock to become a two trophy winner! BIG drop off for Olafoye this season (following Dorazio's "form") and Arceneaux dropped off badly during the season...
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WestCoastJoe
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MexicoLionFan wrote:
B.C.FAN wrote:Ray had a sub-par year on a non-playoff team. Elimimian is a lock.

While nothing is for certain in the world of the CFL, I agree...Ray was good but not great, plus was injured a bit...Sol was a rock week in and week out and a record setter in the year of the defence. He should be a lock to become a two trophy winner! BIG drop off for Olafoye this season (following Dorazio's "form") and Arceneaux dropped off badly during the season...
It would be justice for Solomon. Solo ranged sideline to sideline like a heat-seeking missile. He is fast. He hits a ton. And most importantly, he has a nose for the ball, and for the ballcarrier, even if that ball carrier is hidden behind monstrous O Lines.

Solo plays in the moment. He plays in a fury. Reminds of two bigger guys that played in a controlled fury: Dick Butkus and Willie Lanier. Steam coming out of the helmet.

Deluxe run stoppers. And Solo is also disruptive in pass coverage, a large demand for a Linebacker playing for Mark Washington. Heck, if Solo wins double, I expect the NFL could spot him on their radar again. Our loss. Solo's gain.

I am a big fan of Ricky Ray also. But IMO this year belongs to Solo.
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TheLionKing
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sj-roc wrote:FWIW an online fan poll on the league's website attached to the article announcing the finalists has Ray trailing by almost a 2-1 margin as I type.

http://www.cfl.ca/article/2014-awards-finalists

This also answers a question I posed a little while back:
The Most Outstanding Player awards, which include six categories, are voted on by 68 voters from the Football Reporters of Canada and head coaches from across the league.
Elimimian now trailing by 2%
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