From a football perspective, Edmonton’s decision Friday to part ways with General Manager Ed Hervey is not ideal. But the Eskimos made their decision with more than just the on-field product in mind, and I think that’s really important. Edmonton’s decision really does cut both ways, but in this case, I think that’s necessary.

Double edge

The negative football implications are pretty easy to spot on the surface. The Eskimos have said goodbye to their general manager a month before the CFL Draft, one of the most important dates on the off-season calendar. Divesting from the head of the football operations department so close to such a crucial date certainly isn’t ideal.

Furthermore, let’s not forget Hervey has been operating as per usual throughout the off-season and has shaped the direction for the 2017 season. Whoever is brought in as Hervey’s replacement is going to be playing from behind and playing with a previously dealt hand.

Finally, the Eskimos are losing a very bright football mind. It’s not just that the timing of Hervey’s dismissal is unfortunate; it’s also that Edmonton is losing a really good general manager. In four seasons at the helm, Hervey’s Eskimos made the playoffs on three occasions, went to two Western Finals and won a dominant Grey Cup in 2015.

During Hervey’s tenure as GM, Edmonton brought in impact players like Mike Reilly, Deon Lacey, John White, Patrick Watkins, Derel Walker and Odell Willis, among others. Hervey wasn’t solely responsible for all that strong work (Chris Jones and Paul Jones deserve props, for instance), but he oversaw the football ops department and deserves plenty of credit.

Hervey did an impressive job as Edmonton’s general manager and he’ll leave very big shoes to fill. And yet, when I start to look beyond the on-field implications, I become more and more on board with the decision. Hear me out.

When President and CEO Len Rhodes spelled out the philosophical differences between him and Hervey, it clicked for me. Rhodes isn’t oblivious to the difficult situation he’s put his football guys in by any stretch. But he was also standing up for some of the most important tenets and constants of this great league, and I really do applaud him for that.

Look, I get it, football is a serious game and winning rules the day: coaches and executives are judged on wins, playoff appearances and titles. But here’s the thing: this league is built on the unique connection it has with its fans and sometimes I feel that foundation gets lost in the furor to win football games. Rhodes didn’t forget that and I’m really happy to see that.

Hervey wanted to limit access to the locker room in the attempt to insulate his players from outside distractions. It’s an approach we see south of the border all the time, and I won’t lie, is sometimes employed elsewhere in our league, and it can be frustrating.

This league isn’t what it is today without its characters, its unparalleled player access, and most crucially, its rabid fans. As soon as things are done, or policies are enacted, to counteract those things, I get my back up a little bit.

I’m not naïve here, I understand winning is important, but at its core, this league is about more than just wins and losses. Maintaining, and yes, protecting the CFL’s unique charm is important to me. That unique charm comes from loyal, invested fans who have built a connection with the league and its teams. I’m glad Rhodes is ready to preserve that even if it means making a difficult football decision.

The Money List part three

The MMQB Money List is starting to take shape as we continue add names to it. The criteria are as simple as it gets: the player at each position I’d start a team to win a Grey Cup with right now. Here’s what we’ve selected to date:

Quarterback: Bo Levi Mitchell, Calgary Stampeders

Linebacker: Solomon Elimimian, BC Lions

Defensive Back: T.J. Heath, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Let’s focus back on the offensive side of the ball as we pinpoint players at two of the most exciting positions in the game.

Running Back – Andrew Harris, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Harris made last year’s MMQB Fantasy Team at tailback as well and edged out Calgary’s Jerome Messam by the slimmest of margins on The Money List. For me, Harris is the most dangerous threat at the position in the league. While he might not be the best straight-ahead runner in the CFL, I think he still makes the biggest impact of any running back.

Messam won the 2016 league rushing title going away with 1,198 yards as compared to Harris’s 974 yards. Even when accounting for the three fewer games Harris played, Messam had the superior season on the ground averaging 5.8 yards per carry; Harris’s average was 5.0. In fact, I’m confident in saying Messam is the best pure runner in the CFL.

But it’s what Harris does out of the backfield that puts him slightly over the top, and I mean slightly. Harris finished with 631 receiving yards in 2016, the second-highest total of his career, to finish with 1,605 total offensive yards in 15 games. Messam, though, got the job done out of the backfield too: he finished with 485 receiving yards and 1,683 total offensive yards last season.

All in all, though, Harris had a tiny edge in terms of total offensive yards on a weekly basis. Harris averaged 107 total yards per game in 2016 compared to 93.5 for Messam, which again, is the slightest of margins in favour of our selection. Harris and Messam are the two most impactful tailbacks in the league, but I think the former affects the game just a little bit more.

This really was extremely close to call. Both get extra points for being Canadian, ratio-busting players at the position, but the final selling point for me on Harris was his age. While Messam turned 32 earlier this month, Harris turns 30 on April 24. Again, it’s a rather small difference, but two years is still pretty significant in running back years.

If I could choose two players for this position, there would be no debate, but that’s not how we’re doing this! I thought a lot about this one, but in choosing one running back for our Money List, I’m going with Andrew Harris on a photo finish.

Receiver – Adarius Bowman, Edmonton Eskimos

The CFL is blessed with a lot of talented receivers and yet this was still a really easy decision for me. No one combines size, physicality, speed, explosiveness, and crisp route running quite like Bowman does and that’s why he gets the nod as our money receiver.

Early in the 2016 season, I wrote on Bowman’s return to the top of the mountain at receiver and it spurred on some really fun debate as a result. Well, by the time the season had come to an end, it was tough to debate Bowman’s dominance.

Bowman led the league with 1,761 receiving yards (the highest total since 2011) last season as, along with Derel Walker and Mike Reilly, the Eskimos put together the most terrifying passing attack in the league. But it’s Bowman’s ability to impact any given game in multiple ways that leads to me giving him the nod as the game’s best receiver.

As we saw multiple times in 2016, Bowman has the ability with his burning speed and precise routes to stretch the field as a deep threat. But I find him to be just as effective in the possession game, as his frame and willingness to absorb and initiate contact make him equally dangerous over the middle.

At 6-foot-3, Bowman is taller than a lot of defensive backs and uses that to his advantage. Even with his big frame, he consistently sneaks behind coverage, and once the ball is in his hands, he’s extremely hard to bring down. With his unique combo of attributes, Bowman is a threat at any point during a game on any down, and in any situation.

I honestly think he might be even more of a force in 2017, too. With Walker departed, Bowman’s targets are likely to go up from his league-leading 168 last season. While he’ll definitely see even more attention without Walker, Bowman has the tools to deal and thrive with what he’ll be faced with the coming season.