When Larry Dean left the Hammer for greener pastures in February, Ticats fans began to worry about how they would replace 2018’s leading tackler.
The front office acted quickly, adding former Argo Justin Tuggle to fill the void at middle linebacker left by Dean’s departure to Edmonton. Tuggle filled in admirably and helped ease the fears of the fanbase after they lost their star defensive player.
What perhaps could not have been foreseen was the explosion of 30 year old Simoni Lawrence. There was no doubting Lawrence’s talent, the Pennsylvania native has been one of the top linebackers in the CFL for the past five seasons. The fact that he was able to take another step and become a top defensive player in the CFL at 30 years old and in his eighth CFL season is a testament to his drive and dedication off the field.
Lawrence led the CFL this year with a career-high 98 tackles. He added four sacks and matched a career-high with three interceptions in 15 games on the year. In addition to the career-highs, Lawrence record 17 tackles on Sept. 30, in Winnipeg, breaking Reggie Hunt’s 16 year-old, single-game record. With the 17 tackles, Lawrence broke Calvin Tiggle’s franchise record which has stood since 1999. Interestingly, Tiggle was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player that year.
While part of it was self-inflicted, Lawrence only played in 15 of the 18 games this season, missing two for suspension and sitting out the final game in preparation for the East Final. He already led the CFL in tackles in 15 games, but if you extrapolate the numbers over an 18 game season, Lawrence finishes the year with 118 tackles, five sacks and four interceptions. There will be discussion about his Week 1 suspension for a bad hit on Riders’ QB Zach Collaros. The debate has already come up on twitter about if Lawrence should be penalized in the voting for his hit. My response to that would be simple: He’s already been punished. Lawrence missed the two games for suspension but in spite of that, he was still able to lead the league in tackles and post career-highs in various categories. The suspension had the potential to cost Lawrence a MODP nomination, had someone been able to match his numbers, but they couldn’t. He was just that good this year.
The last Ticat to win Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Markeith Knowlton in 2010. That year, he had 71 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions.
Lawrence’s MODP competition and the nomination from the West is Bomber’s defensive end Willie Jefferson. Admittedly, I haven’t seen a ton of Winnipeg Blue Bombers games—and we know the film says more than the stat sheet, but my biggest issue with Jefferson’s nomination is that I’m not convinced he was the right pick. Jefferson is an athletic freak and led the CFL in forced fumbles and pass knock downs, which is insane for a defensive lineman. He rounded off his ledger with 12 sacks, 24 tackles and an interception. I just think Charleston Hughes had a better year. Hughes had more than twice as many tackles (50) and had four more sacks.
Ultimately, I think Lawrence had the superior year. Something else working in his favour is that a linebacker has won Most Outstanding Defensive Player seven years in a row. A defensive lineman has not won since 2009.
The winners will be announced at the 2019 Shaw CFL Awards on Nov. 21, during Grey Cup week in Calgary.
Next up: Chris Van Zeyl’s case for Most Outstanding Lineman.