Lionbackers.com

With 9 games in the books, here are my Player Nominees (offensive lineman and special teams would be unanimous selections, hence there are no 'runners-up').

MOP: Mathieu Betts - has cooled lately but has been given more attention by D coordinators. Still on a deadly sack pace (20). A true disruptor at end.
Runner-Up: Vernon Adams Jr. - take away the Toronto game and his performances have been consistently impressive, operating at a 103.6 QB rating. 2nd in TD passes with 13. Great team guy too.

Defensive: Mathieu Betts
Runner-Up: Garry Peters - 3 INTs this year leads the club. Still, a lot of QBs around the league don't want to test him.

Canadian: Mathieu Betts
Runner-Up: Boseko Lokombo - his 52 solo tackles leads the club. By far.

Offensive lineman: Jarell Broxton - rarely gets beaten at LT. He's a rock.

Special teams: Sean Whyte - Mr. Consistency. Many of us tend to take him for granted.

Unsung: Emmanuel Rugamba - always around the ball. 34 solo tackles and 2 sacks.
Runner-Up: Josh Banks - doesn't rack up tons of stats (just 2 solo tackles this year) but good things happen when he's in the line-up. Bad things happen when he's not.

Disappointment: Lucky Whitehead - I was really hoping for a bounce-back year. But whether it's lingering hamstring issues or lack of involvement in the offense, his heart doesn't seem in it (as his 29 receptions on 43 targets would attest). His cryptic tweets that imply that he's on the move don't exactly dispel this notion.

Rookie: No one has emerged. Taquan Mizzell would win this in a walk, but he has played some NFL games. Maybe Amir Siddiq? Or maybe it's Ryder Varga with 10 tackles thus far. We shall see...


DH

Interesting on the rookie award, that really shows the experience the Lions were able to hold onto for the best couple of seasons.

Otherwise I think you have a solid list there.

Great list David! I think you've nailed it. Unsung might be good for debate as football is full of positions/roles that don't get the stats or hype from the media, but do the little things so well! On top of you list I'd add Cottoy (despite underused, his blocking is so valuable). Varga, Woods and how about Pickett. While not purrfect, we were hearing in training camp that long snapping could be a huge concern. That talk has sure gone away.

Great point about Cottoy, Clash Dance. I am not sure about "unsung" (JJ Adams just did a big piece on him in today's Province), but I do believe he's under-utilized. Size, strength and great hands. Want to see more of him in the offense!


DH

Special teams: Sean Whyte - Mr. Consistency. Many of us tend to take him for granted.

Oh I haven’t taken the ST FG kicker for granted since I watched Duncan O’Manny in 04/05.

Believe me, I don't take Whyte for granted. Between Lui and Paul McCallum, a merry go round. Between McCallum and Whyte, more adventures in kicking. I hope that when Whyte leaves, they will do better with the replacement.

RE: Sean, I just meant that balls routinely sail right through the uprights with little fanfare for him. Not that we don't see his obvious talents, but he doesn't get talked about as much on this club. I thank God he found his way back to B.C.

As for his eventual replacement, K/P Keiran Burnham looked really good in training camp/preseason. Hopefully we can keep him on the roster.


DH

David wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 17, 2023 9:44 pm

RE: Sean, I just meant that balls routinely sail right through the uprights with little fanfare for him. Not that we don't see his obvious talents, but he doesn't get talked about as much on this club. I thank God he found his way back to B.C.

As for his eventual replacement, K/P Keiran Burnham looked really good in training camp/preseason. Hopefully we can keep him on the roster.


DH

It's always a good thing when the fans don't talk about the kicker on the team. That means he's quietly doing his job. In all the years I have been following this team, every time we talk about the kicker, it's because they were stinking it up.