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It’s been a peculiar Canadian Football League season, with the reigning Grey Cup champion falling flat on its face, Johnny Manziel still searching for his first win and each of the league’s best teams going through a funk that has raised all kinds of doubts about their worthiness to win a Grey Cup.

In addition, it may be the hardest year in memory to come up with much of a consensus for who should be named the league’s Most Outstanding Player.

The two most recent MOPs, Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly and Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, lead the conversation but both have their warts this season.

So the final three weeks of the season will decide not just what the final playoff picture looks like, but also who walks away with the league’s most coveted individual award.

Here’s a look at those who deserves at least a mention in the conversation:

Mike Reilly, QB, Edmonton – Despite his struggles leading up to Edmonton’s win over Ottawa last Saturday, the CFL’s 2017 Most Outstanding Player has had another good year – albeit not as good as a year ago by most measurements. Reilly leads the CFL in passing, rushing yards by a quarterback and is second in touchdown passes. His completion percentage is down from a year ago (68.3 per cent to 66.5) and he’s already thrown four more interceptions than he did all of last season, with two games to go. Still, the Esks haven’t made it easy on him with some of their protection problems through the latter stages of the season and it’s hard to imagine where they’d be without him.

Embedded ImageBo Levi Mitchell, QB, Calgary – Up until the past two weeks, Mitchell would have been the MOP favourite. But that was before back-to-back performances against Montreal and B.C. in which he’s completed barely more than half his passes, threw for just 414 yards and had four interceptions against two touchdowns. There’s no doubt the rash of injuries to Calgary’s receivers has a lot to do with that. Mitchell’s 60 per cent completion percentage is the worst among the league’s starting quarterbacks this season, but the Stamps also force the ball deeper than most teams, as suggested by Mitchell leading the CFL with 37 passes of 30 yards or more. His 31 touchdown passes against 17 interceptions is best in the league.

Jeremiah Masoli, QB, Hamilton – Masoli is having one heck of a year for a guy many anticipated would be replaced by Labour Day. It’s hard to remember that this is his first full season as a starting quarterback, one in which he’s had 11 300-yard games. He ranks second in passing yards this season, third in touchdown passes and second in rushing yards by a quarterback. He’s been the most consistent quarterback in the CFL this season and, if momentum matters, he’s had 16 touchdown passes in the Ticats’ last six games.

Adam Bighill LB, Winnipeg – No player who joined a new team this season has had as much impact as Bighill, who seems to be everywhere when the Bombers are on defence. He’s tied for the league lead in tackles, backing that up with four sacks, two interceptions and three forced fumbles. But Bighill’s presence in the middle of the Winnipeg defence can’t be fully measured in stats, nor can the overall impact he’s had on the players around him. The Bombers have cut their offensive points allowed per game from 26.6 to 20.1 this season, second best in the CFL behind Calgary.

Embedded ImageAndrew Harris, RB, Winnipeg – He’s six yards back of league rushing leader William Powell of Ottawa, but has more yards receiving (407 compared to 319) and touchdowns (11 compared to eight) on the season. His durability and versatility makes the Blue Bomber offence go.

Brandon Banks, SB, Hamilton – He’s been Hamilton’s best offensive player, ranks second in the league in receiving yards, and tied for the league in both receiving touchdowns and plays of 30 yards or more. 

Charleston Hughes DL, Saskatchewan – He’s been a constant source of chaos in opposing backfields for Saskatchewan this season. The CFL’s sack leader has 15 on the year.

Alex Singleton/Micah Johnson LB/DL, Calgary – People around the league are split on who is a better player but someone from Calgary’s defence needs to be in the conversation. Singleton is tied for the league lead in tackles, while Johnson ranks second in sacks.

Embedded ImageDuke Williams, SB, Edmonton – He leads the league in receiving yards, is tied for the league in touchdowns and has played in every game, which sets him apart from pretty much every other elite receiver in the CFL this season.

Lewis Ward, K, Ottawa – Okay, a kicker isn’t going to win the award. But how do you completely ignore a guy who hasn’t missed a field goal since Week 1?

 

Hats off to CFL schedule maker

 

The CFL is often criticized for having a regular season that doesn’t matter, resulting in too few games that carry much real gravity.

That characterization is wrong, given that one third of teams miss the playoffs and the rewards for first place (home-field advantage in a division final) or second (home-field advantage in a division semi-final) are significant.

But the league’s decision, starting last season, to focus the final three weeks of its schedule on teams playing division rivals is paying big dividends this season.

This weekend’s matchups featuring Hamilton visiting Ottawa, Edmonton at B.C. and Saskatchewan at Calgary all have a playoff feel to them. That should continue over the next two weeks. As things stand right now, 10 of the 12 games remaining on the schedule will impact the postseason.

 

Pair of three-win teams share weekend matchup, questions

The Montreal Alouettes have three games left to build on their total of three wins so far, the same total they amassed all of last season.

The Toronto Argonauts have gone from Grey Cup champions to a team that hasn’t won a game in more than two months. Understandably, questions are going to be asked about what sort of changes can be anticipated in the off-season.

It certainly feels like GM Kavis Reed will be back, given that he’s been allowed to make trades and signings over the past few weeks. The team also recently sent a letter to season ticket holders explaining the moves and featuring a team employee interviewing Reed about his vision for the team beyond this season. That’s not exactly the kind of thing a team does when it’s about to fire its general manager.

As for head coach Mike Sherman, who at times this season has looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than coaching a losing CFL team, he said recently that he only thinks week-to-week. Soon he’ll have to decide if he’s up for another 21-week run with the Alouettes next season.

Meanwhile, in Toronto the rumour mill is swirling about potential changes with the Argonauts, possibly involving general manager Jim Popp and/or head coach Marc Trestman.

But what no one seems clear about his how the league’s new $2.738 million cap for coaching and football administration might affect these decisions.

 

Manziel makes first start in southern Ontario

 

One of the benefits the CFL should have expected to get from Manziel this season was a boost of interest in Southern Ontario, where football fans tend to be most impressed by big-name players from south of the border.

But the circumstances around Manziel this season – first stuck as a backup in Hamilton, then traded to Montreal and rushed onto the field to join a struggling Als’ offence – mean that his first start in Southern Ontario comes in a Week 19 matchup featuring two teams already eliminated from the postseason.​

 

Bombers sign Geoff Gray, Roughriders add Dakoda Shepley

The Blue Bombers hope they don’t need Geoff Gray the rest of this season, but he makes a nifty insurance policy for the next six weeks and a potential pillar for the organization in the future.

The Bombers took a risk at the 2017 draft by selecting Gray from the University of Manitoba even though he had already signed an NFL contract.

Signing this season allows him to get re-acclimated to the Canadian game and get to know his coaches and teammates in preparation for 2019 when he could allow Winnipeg to go domestic at the tackle position. This season they are using two imports.

Shepley’s addition to the Roughriders practice roster was also about getting him acclimated to what the team hopes will be his long-term home. But by joining the practice roster without signing a contract, Shepley gives up a relatively small among of money, given where the schedule is at, and keeps his options open to sign another NFL deal this winter.

 

Tyrell Sutton makes strong debut with Lions

Word around the CFL has long been that running back Tyrell Sutton is among the most under-rated players in the league, a would-be star stuck in the quagmire than has been the Montreal Alouettes offence of the past several seasons.

Well, nothing Sutton did in his first game after being traded to the BC Lions dispelled that, as he went off for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, displaying the hard-running smash-mouth style of football he’s become known for. 

As TSN stats guru Jon Perlberg notes, Sutton had more than 20 carries in a game just three times in 69 appearances with Montreal.