Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca
With fan voting for All-CFL now open, fans will be forced to make a number of difficult decisions.
You can only vote for one player at each position on the ballot (quarterback, receiver, running back, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, defensive back, kicker, punter and special teams). The only thing that helps ease this decision-making process is that you can vote three times; that also increases your chances of winning the $4,000 grand prize.
Still, when it comes down to that individual ballot, you’ll have to exclude a lot of talented and deserving players. Today, we’ll start with the most important and scrutinized position on the field: quarterback.
This has been a very interesting season for the league’s pivots. Injuries have thrown a wrinkle into players’ productivity and likely to their respective teams’ records. Mid-season additions of players have forced roster changes. And in some players’ cases, an overall lack of wins could complicate their All-CFL (and maybe their end-of-season-award) contention.
Let’s start with the latter.
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IT’S GOTTA BE BO, RIGHT?
His name is the first one you see when you look at the league’s passing leaders and as we roll into Week 17, Bo Levi Mitchell is only adding to the lead he has on the other quarterbacks.
Mitchell has thrown for 4,044 yards this year — his most productive work since 2018 — on 322-473 passing (68.1 per cent), with a league-leading 24 touchdowns…and 13 interceptions, which is the second-worst mark in the league.
There’s a complexity to whatever accolades Mitchell is in line for this year. Those interceptions — which have since gotten under control, with just one INT in the last four games — had him benched in Week 10, in favour of Taylor Powell, while the Ticats sat at 2-8. Had Powell not been injured in his first start back in Week 11, that might have been the last we’d seen of the two-time Most Outstanding Player in a starting capacity.
Instead, Mitchell has helped lead a revitalized Ticats team on an impressive late push into the playoff picture. Their Week 16 win over the Toronto Argonauts has them on a three-game win streak and two games behind the Argos for the third and final playoff spot in the East Division. The Ticats do hold the season series with the Argos, so in the event of them finishing with the same record they would move ahead of them in the standings.
If the passing yards, the late-season run and the improvement on turnovers speak to you, Mitchell is your guy and a worthy top candidate for that sole QB vote.
WHAT ABOUT CODY FAJARDO?
We find the reigning Grey Cup MVP on the other end of the Mitchell argument.
Fajardo’s numbers lag behind Mitchell’s. He’s thrown for 2,615 yards on 225-306 passing, with 13 touchdowns against six interceptions. A hamstring injury took Fajardo out of three games this year, which of course ate into his productivity, but there are other arguments to make that strengthen Fajardo’s All-CFL selection case. His 105.0 QB efficiency rating is second-highest among starters (Mitchell’s is 99.9); his interception percentage is 2.0, which is the best amongst starters and his six interceptions are the lowest in the league amongst starters.
Then there’s the Als’ record. Standing at a league-best 11-2-1, the Als have essentially set the pace for the rest of the teams in the league this year. Sure, they continued to win in Fajardo’s absence this year, but if the team’s record factors into your decision making, it can be enough to edge Fajardo into that QB spot on your All-CFL ballot.
WEIGHING OTHER OPTIONS
As we said at the top, this year’s been a uniquely challenging one for quarterbacks across the league. Vernon Adams Jr. was on a clear cut Most Outstanding Player path in the first third of the season, but he too went down with an injury then lost his starting job when the Lions signed Nathan Rourke. In the Lions’ Week 15 loss to the Argos, both players saw time on the field and the QB dynamic is a key storyline fans are following as the Lions come out of their bye week and get set to face Mitchell and the Ticats.
Jake Maier and McLeod Bethel-Thompson are second and third, respectively, in passing yards but both teams sit outside the West playoff picture at the moment. Trevor Harris lost a good chunk of the season to a knee injury, which hurt his stats and was a component in the Riders’ seven-game winless slide. Zach Collaros is fourth in passing yards but has an uncharacteristically low nine TDs and a league-leading 14 interceptions. Dru Brown has had a solid year as a first-time full-time starter in Ottawa, but we’ve seen more and more of Jeremiah Masoli over the last few weeks. The Argos continue to be an up-and-down team, even after Chad Kelly returned from his nine-game suspension in Week 12.
With all of that said, in the end, this is a FAN vote. There’s nothing wrong with letting your fandom guide your decision. We’ll also emphasize once more that you can vote three times, so there is a window for your to spread your votes around to more than just one of your favourite players at the eligible positions.
