Breaking down the nominees

The 2011 Canadian Football League team player nominees as voted on by the local divisions of the Football Reporters of Canada have been released and, frankly, they are surprising. As a national voter who will soon offer my selections, here are my thoughts on the individual team nominees:

THE WEST

B.C.: Outstanding Player: Travis Lulay; Outstanding Canadian: Paul McCallum; Outstanding Special Teams Player: McCallum; Outstanding Defensive Player: Keron Williams; Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Jovon Olafioye; Outstanding rookie: Tim Brown.

EDMONTON: Outstanding Player: Ricky Ray; Outstanding Canadian: Jerome Messam; Outstanding Defensive Player: Rod Davis; Outstanding rookie: J.C. Sherritt; Outstanding special teams player: Corbin Sharun; Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Greg Wojt

CALGARY: Outstanding Player: Nik Lewis; Outstanding Defensive Player: Brandon Smith; Outstanding Canadian: Jon Cornish; Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Stanley Bryant; Outstanding Special Teams Player: Larry Taylor; Outstanding Rookie: Demetrice Morley.

SASKATCHEWAN: Outstanding Player: Weston Dressler; Outstanding Canadian: Chris Getzlaf; Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Chris Best; Outstanding Defensive Player: Jerrell Freeman; Outstanding Rookie: Craig Butler; Outstanding Special Teams Player: Christopher Milo.

LEFKO SAYS:

Most Outstanding Player: Lulay is easily the finalist. In his first full-season as a starter, the young B.C. pivot really turned it up, in particular after a benching midway through a game midway in the season before the Lions started to turn things around. His team let him down often early in the season with too many dropped passes, but he is the reason for the Lions' turnaround, which has included nine wins in the past 10 games after an 0-5 start and 2-6 after eight.

Outstanding Canadian: Cases could be made for Messam and McCallum. Messam, a problem running back in B.C., became a significant part of Edmonton's offence, allowing the Eskimos to go to a balanced attack. He is only 19 yards shy of the 1,000 rushing mark, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and has also added 225 receiving yards with almost 10 per catch. But his play had been spotty at times and the Eskimos benched him at one point to send him a message. McCallum has been consistent all year even during the Lions' sluggish start. He has nailed 93.8 of his 48 field-goal attempts and is on the verge of a league record. He is the eldest player in the CFL at age 41 and what he has done this year is phenomenal and is more important than Messam.

Outstanding Defensive Player: Can't believe the B.C. media didn't choose linebacker Solomon Elimimian. At one point he was on pace to set a record for most tackles in a season, but still would be leading in that department were it not for two missed games and half of another. He has done it all with tackles, interceptions and sacks. The B.C. media chose rush end Keron Williams, who has 11 sacks and 42 tackles. He's not done nearly as much overall as Elimimian, so go figure. The West finalist is really wide open. A great case could be made for Saskatchewan's Jerrell Freeman, who leads the league in tackles with 98, has five sacks and three interceptions.

Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Really, unless you play offensive line or defense line or pay special attention to this, it's hard to judge. I'd go with Olafioye, who is one of the better tackles in the league. Another good find by B.C.

Outstanding Rookie: This one is really tough. Sherritt has been consistently strong since the start and has 72 defensive tackles, three sacks, three forced fumbles and 13 special teams tackles. The pint-sized product looks to be the next great Eskimo middle linebacker. Butler has really come into his own as a starter in 11 games. He has 42 defensive tackles, 11 special teams tackles, six pass knockdowns and five interceptions. He is scary in the secondary the way he hits and hurts, and also has shown athleticism picking off passes. He gets the slight nod in this corner.

Outstanding Special Teams Player: McCallum, enough said.

THE EAST

MONTREAL: Outstanding Player: Anthony Calvillo; Outstanding Defensive Player: Chip Cox; Outstanding Canadian: Sean Whyte; Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Josh Bourke; Outstanding Special Teams Player: Sean Whyte; Outstanding Rookie: Seth Williams.

WINNIPEG: Outstanding Player: Jovon Johnson; Outstanding Defensive Player: Johnson; Outstanding Special Teams Player: Johnson; Outstanding Canadian: Cory Watson; Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Brendon LaBatte; Outstanding Rookie: Clarence Denmark;

HAMILTON: Outstanding Player: Justin Hickman; Top defensive player: rush end Justin Hickman; Outstanding Canadian: Dave Stala; Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Peter Dyakowski; Outstanding rookie: Chris Williams; Outstanding Special Team Player: Justin Medlock

TORONTO: Outstanding Player: Chad Owens; Outstanding Canadian: Ricky Foley; Outstanding Defensive Player: Lin-J Shell; Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Dominic Picard; Outstanding Special Teams Player: Chad Owens; Outstanding Rookie: Chad Kackert

LEFKO SAYS:

Outstanding Player: Calvillo has had another great year, easily leading the league in passing with more than 5,000 yards. Aside from throwing three picks in a loss two games ago, he has been stingy with picks. He is hovering around the 100 mark in his qb rating this year. He has taken a pounding at various times this season and has thrown in the odd bad game but has responded well each time. You could make the argument that receiver Jamel Richardson could have been the Als' MOP with more than 1,700 receiving yards and 12 games with 100 or more yards, but he doesn't get the ball without a good qb. Calvillo will easily be the Eastern nominee for MOP, but you could argue that if it's between he and Lulay, the youngster has reason to get the nod.

Outstanding Canadian: Whyte. Acquired from B.C. in the off-season, he has solidified an area of the Als that was weak. He leads the league in scoring and has nailed 88.2% of his field goals. He's also done a decent job punting. Stala appeared to be a strong candidate in the first half of the season, but for reasons known only to the Cats they stopped using him in the second half.

Outstanding Defensive Player: This category is really interesting. Hickman is second in the league in sacks with 12 and has 46 tackles. He may be one of the best, young players in the league and quite capable of making the jump to the NFL similar to another Ticat rush end from last year. Johnson, who is the Bombers' MOP candidate because of his versatility, has 51 tackles and a league-leading seven interceptions, two for touchdowns. Cox has 72 defensive tackles, three sacks, three interceptions and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. If you look at it from an overall perspective, it's Cox. If you look at it from a glaring individual stat, it could be Hickman for his sacks or Johnson for his interceptions. Ask yourself this: If you took each one out of their teams' lineup, which one would be affected the most? My answer is Cox. He's the most versatile. Johnson can do it all, but the Bombers have other players on defence who are also playmakers. But there's no bigger fan of Hickman's work than me. The kid has an incredible motor.

Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Okay, another blunder. How the Ticats' media couldn't select centre Marwan Hage is beyond belief. Yes, an injury has forced him to miss much of the season, but how well did the Cats do without him in the lineup? Enough said. This one is between Bourke and LaBatte. Bourke has done a good job protecting Calvillo's blindside. He is sidelined now for the season with a torn pectoral muscle in his left shoulder and his absence will be missed going forward. LaBatte is a rugged interior lineman, who just might be headed to the NFL next year. This is a pick'em really, but I'll take Bourke.

Outstanding Rookie: This one is easy - Williams. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark and had six touchdowns. Yes, he has tailed off down the stretch, but he's given the Cats a speed threat they sorely lacked.

Outstanding Special Teams Player: Another no-brainer, Owens. He won this award last year and has easily been the best returner this year, albeit he's had some ball-control issues, perhaps trying to do too much because of the Argos' flaccid offence. The fact he has played full-time on returns and offence has worn him down physically and mentally, but teams have deliberately kicked away from him or kicked short to limit his chances. His kick-return average is up almost three yards from last year, while his punt-return average is only a yard or so in arrears.

Perry Lefko keeps you connected to all the news in the CFL on Sportsnet.ca.