Adam Bighill named CFL’s top defensive player

The Edmonton Eskimos are facing some Capital Punishment on Sunday in the Grey Cup.

The linebacker was named the CFL’s top defensive player at the league’s awards banquet, receiving 46 of 75 first-place ballots in voting conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and beating out linebacker Simoni Lawrence of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Having been a member of the last Ottawa CFL team to play in the Grey Cup, the RedBlacks recent success no doubt brought back memories for Pat Stoqua, six-year veteran of the Rough Riders from ’79 to ’84.

Can the 40-year-old quarterback Henry Burris get it done one more time?

Sinopoli won the Hec Crighton Trophy as Canadian university football’s most outstanding player in 2010 as a quarterback for the Ottawa Gee-Gees, but he was an out-of-work quarterback after the Stampeders, who had drafted him in 2011, released him following training camp a year later.

The Eskimos’ biggest challenge of the season was last weekend’s test against the Calgary Stampeders and one they passed easily with a 45-31 victory.

Nelson, a native of Edmonton who won Grey Cups as an assistant coach in 1993 with the Eskimos and 1996 with the Argonauts, says the Ottawa defence is more than the sum of its parts.

He said he’s pleased with this win but the three others by Redblacks “shows Ottawa football is back on the map”.

“Those receivers they have are good football players and that’s very evident by how they’ve done this year”.

“The players believe in him”, said Campbell.

The finalists are defensive lineman Jamaal Westerman of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Ottawa receiver Brad Sinopoli. Bighill recorded a CFL- and career-high 117 tackles this season. But luckily, the same say I was going to hand in my resume and get ready to take some classes, Edmonton called me. “We’re not going to discourage our guys from interacting with fans and enjoying the process but it’s got to be about football”.

“Wow”, Bighill said. “The last five years I’ve been living my dream and I have to thank the B.C. Lions for that”.

“I’m proud of who my dad is”, Rick said, at the coaches’ opening news conference Wednesday.

“It seemed as if we were battling against a great Hamilton Tiger-Cats team, and also all the frustration of the past that have occurred here in Ottawa, but once Greg made that catch it felt like the bubble burst”, Burris said. The five-foot-seven 153-pound dynamo was third overall in all-purpose yards (2,073) and punt return yards (930) and became the first CFL player to return a missed convert for a score.

He said, “congratulations on your great year, Chris”. “Last but not least, I want to thank my teammates”.

“I was always told when they chase you out of town, make it look like you’re leading like a parade”. “If we’re going to get robbed all the time…”, began Burris, after both he and Calgary kicker Sandro DeAngelis were runners-up.

The Redblacks have four receivers who caught more than 1,000 yards of passes this season.

Walker said when his opportunity to play came, he was ready although he added he required time to adjust to the Canadian game. “And I’ll most definitely take our D-line over them every day”. But I think that’s what motivates some of the best athletes ever.