2024 CFL MOP

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Bo Levi though having nice stats doesn't win enough games. I don't even think he is their #1. They looked to be going with Powell until he got hurt.

The guy that had the most impact would be Dru Brown. Ottawa now has a respectable team and a playoff position. Technically this makes him most valuable rather than most outstanding in that the team doesn't make playoffs without him.

Fajardo I could see also but with middling stats and time missed to injury it's iffy.

Sergio saved our bacon so many times when we couldn't score majors, not to mention his success in longer kicks. Can a kicker win?

Probably boils down to someone getting hot down the stretch, IF that happens. It's been an unusual year.

It would be a great year to give the MOP to a defensive player but the most likely candidates would be LB's or DE's and injuries have largely wiped out any that have made significant contributions this year.  Rave reviews for DB's wouldn't move the needle in the MOP category but Nichols or Holm stand a fair chance at MODP.

[Jesse]

He didn't "win" the West nomination, it was gifted to him after Andrew Harris got blacklisted for failing a drug test. 

I'm probably opening up something that is better staying closed, but I didn't have a problem with Andrew not getting nominated that year. Getting suspended for performance enhancers should come with consequences.

[theaardvark]

I think Brady closes out the year on a roll, and takes it this time.

[TecnoGenius]

How about Begelton?  He's the only R who consistently gets good yards and TDs.  He fights on every play, runs hard on every route, battles for YAC like a beast, takes huge hits and doesn't care.  He's often the only guy trying on that whole CGY team.  He never quits.

He has the most heart and talent of anyone on that team.  And he's always a stand up guy and a good interview.

He would make an outstanding Bomber: literally the perfect MOS guy.  I know CGY would never let him go, but if we ever had a trade CGY was dying for...

Oh ya, and I'm sure he works for waaaay less than Kenny or Schoen.

[Jesse]

How about Begelton?  He's the only R who consistently gets good yards and TDs.  He fights on every play, runs hard on every route, battles for YAC like a beast, takes huge hits and doesn't care.  He's often the only guy trying on that whole CGY team.  He never quits.

He has the most heart and talent of anyone on that team.  And he's always a stand up guy and a good interview.

He would make an outstanding Bomber: literally the perfect MOS guy.  I know CGY would never let him go, but if we ever had a trade CGY was dying for...

Oh ya, and I'm sure he works for waaaay less than Kenny or Schoen.

I think the really obvious for MOP is still McInnis. He's the only player who is a tier above his peers.

300 yards past Begelton and more than double the TDs.

[TecnoGenius]

I think the really obvious for MOP is still McInnis. He's the only player who is a tier above his peers.

McInnis had a stellar start but has sucked rocks for many weeks now (with a slight comeback last week).  Smart Ds have completely shut McInnis down, and he often looks disinterested and deflated now.  McInnis has the benefit of being on a pass-first team with a gun-slinging high-yardage QB.

Begelton is always consistently the best on his team.  Some games he's the only one who can actually get open and catch anything.  Begelton is excelling even while being on the league-worst team with a can't-throw, no-deep-pass QB and an O that's never on the field.

I bet Begelton ends the season with more Y than McInnis, even despite all the above handicaps.

[BlueInCgy]

I went with Dru.  I think the RBs have far exceeded expectations this year, and Dru has been key in that.

[Stats Junkie]

Here is my ranking of CFL QBs in 2024

Cody Fajardo has dropped back a bit but he is the leader in points per drive (2.04) which I consider to be a good metric for measuring QB productivity. For reference, there have been 25 QBs since 2004 with a points per drive of 2.00 or greater and 100+ drives led in a season. I consider these to be elite performances.

Since 2004, 34 QBs have finished the season with a TD on at least 20% of all drives. MBT and Cody Fajardo are currently above the 20% mark.

Only 17 QBs have finished a season with an average drive length of 30 yards or more. Cody Fajardo and Vernon Adams are knocking on the door with 29.6 yards per drive - that would rank them at 24th since 2004.

Another column which is significant is the percentage of drives that end in an interception. Dru Brown leads the way at 4.3% of drives followed by Cody Fajardo at 4.6% of drives. Fajardo would be tied for 24th best since 2004.

One final benchmark comparison. The 1.81 points per drive league wide would be the best all-time in CFL history. The current best was 1.74 points per drive in 2017.

Cody Fajardo certainly has the production numbers to justify having him in the running for CFL MOP. His numbers are not as impressive as Collaros & Kelly in 2023 or Collaros & Rouke in 2022 but Fajardo's numbers are still great when compared to all QBs since 2004.

[TecnoGenius]

One final benchmark comparison. The 1.81 points per drive league wide would be the best all-time in CFL history. The current best was 1.74 points per drive in 2017.

Must be tempered with a *, though, after they moved the drive-start point up to the 40.

Still, not bad for QBs in the post-40 era!

Great stats, thanks for that.

[Waffler]

Love the QB stats. Thanks Stats Junkie. 

I wonder about kicking, how much better is Sergio than the rest of the pack?  I suspect Sergio stands out from the kickers more than Fajardo stands out amongst QB's. Hard to quantify the momentum he has given us making so many long ones and keeping us in games when the offense couldn't finish. Who else blew your mind this year? Just Sergio for me. I still can't imagine a kicker winning MOP though. In fact he'll be in tough just for special teams because Janarion Grant exists.

[TecnoGenius]

I wonder about kicking, how much better is Sergio than the rest of the pack?  I suspect Sergio stands out from the kickers more than Fajardo stands out amongst QB's.

Castillo's % (the main stat) was ruined by the week 1 game with the chips.  I don't remember what he missed, maybe 3?  That will ruin his % for the whole year no matter how many more he kicks.

But if you do a 60+, 55+, 50+ breakdown of his kicks, or create some sort of weighted-by-length score (maybe exponential!), I'm pretty sure Castillo is miles ahead.