The Real NFL MVP
What has happened to the Most Valuable Player award? First Alex Rodriguez was comically awarded baseball’s MVP, and now Shawn Alexander in the NFL. Who are these individuals voting for the MVP, and how many hanging chads were involved? I demand an Al Gore-recount.
For those unaware of the concept of the MVP, it is an annual award given to the most valuable player of a given league during the course of the season. The MVP isn't the most talented or spectacular, the star with the sexiest stat line, the fantasy stud, the best looking or the most charming. It’s the most valuable. In other words, it’s the player who brings the most to his team, who, without said player, the team’s accomplishments would be significantly diminished. This individual is so imperative, if you replaced him with any other player in the world, the team would not be as successful. That is an MVP.
Clearly, Alex Rodriguez should not even qualify – he’s too busy trying to win a fantasy MVP. How can a hitter be a league MVP when he isn’t even one of the three most valuable or feared hitters on his own team – behind Jeter, Sheffield and Matsui – and is an automatic out in the clutch?
And now Shawn Alexander has been erroneously selected as football’s most valuable commodity. Granted, Alexander had a legendary statistical season in the Pacific Northwest, breaking Priest Holmes’ record for touchdowns in a season with 28, boasting an awesome 5.1 yards per carry, and racking up an impressive 1,880 yards (9th most in history).
But Seattle played eight games against atrocious teams that will all be picking at the top of April’s draft: St. Louis, Arizona, San Francisco, Tennessee and Houston. USC – ahem, excuse me, Texas, could have gone 8-0 against that schedule (the combined winning percentage of those teams is an impressive .263). Alexander played another game against Indianapolis’ reserves in week 16. In those nine contests, he racked up 1,272 yards and 21 touchdowns. That means Alexander averaged about 87 yards, 3.97 yards per carry, and a touchdown in his other seven games against average opponents or better. Now that’s the stuff of legends.
Statistics aside, Alexander isn’t even one of the five most valuable players in the league. If he were replaced by any other top flight running back – Tiki Barber or Larry Johnson – clearly the Seahawks still would have won 12 or 13 games, and be in the exact same position. He had nothing to do with a close loss against Washington in week 4 (Kris Brown missed a 47 yard field goal), and had nothing to do with the Dallas meltdown in week 7 (Matt Hasselbeck led the game-tying drive, Kris Brown made the game winning field goal). He certainly didn’t cause the Giants’ Jay Feeley to miss all those potential game-winning field goals in week 12. The rest of the Seahawks games weren’t really close. Insert any other elite runner in the backfield with pro-bowl QB Matt Hasselbeck – LaDanian Tomlinson, Clinton Portis, Edgerrin James, or even Rudi Johnson – and Seattle loses very little. Yes, they lose something, and aren’t quite as good, but it’s not much. That doesn’t sound like an MVP.
So who is the real MVP of the league? An excellent case could be made for the Bears’ Brian Urlacher – Chicago was 0-7 without him last season, and 11-5 this year. Peyton Manning was also a viable choice – the Colts finished with the league’s best record, and Manning was unarguably the driving force behind Indy’s no-huddle controlled dominance of almost every contest. I can’t think of anyone who could realistically replace either of those players and be equally successful. But, the Bears defense was good enough that perhaps any star middle linebacker in place of Urlacher could have won the division. Any other top 10 quarterback would have easily made the playoffs with Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and the NFL’s all-time leader in yards from scrimmage per game, Edgerrin James.
There was only one person this season who was absolutely irreplaceable, and it can be said with utmost certainty that without his presence his team wouldn’t have even been close to the playoffs.
Thomas Edward Brady, Jr.
Tom Brady was the most valuable player of the NFL, and it wasn’t even close. Even the great Peyton Manning couldn’t have saved the New England Patriots from crumbling this year. Thanks to Brady, New England is now standing strong in January, two games away from another Super Bowl.
For most of the year, Tom Brady was the Patriots. New England started a mind-boggling 46 different players this season, and by mid-season the Pats were picking ushers out of the stands and plugging them into their fractured secondary. They played a murder’s row schedule in the season’s first half – the “anti-Seattle” schedule – including at Carolina, at Pittsburgh, San Diego, at Atlanta, at Denver, and Indianapolis. They did all this without defensive stars and captains Rodney Harrison and Teddy Bruschi. One of the game’s best defensive players, Richard Seymour, missed four games in the stretch. Pro-bowl running back Corey Dillon was injured and played sparingly. New England was adjusting to life without longtime coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel. Tom Brady simply threw his teammates on his back, did his best Magnus Ver Magnusson impersonation, and carried the Patriots all by his lonesome.
In week 3 at Pittsburgh, Brady was a ridiculous 31-41 for 372 yards, and was a perfect 12-12 in the fourth quarter, leading the Patriots on a game-winning drive in the final 1:21.
In week 5, Brady refused to lose again. He passed for 350 yards and 3 touchdowns in Atlanta, including another winning drive in the final minutes.
In week 10 at Miami, he did it one more time. Trailing 16-15 with 2:53 left, it took Brady 36 seconds to retake the lead with a 17 yard touchdown pass to Ben Watson.
Brady finished first in the NFL in yards with 4,110 and third in passing TDs with 26. And he did it all with a new center, two rookies protecting his blindside, and at times with a third or fourth string running back.
No one – not even Manning – could have led the Patriots to 10 wins under those circumstances. In all likelihood, with any other quarterback, the Patriots season would have been similar to the Philadelphia Eagles, who, led by all-pro QB Donovan McNabb, buckled under adversity and finished in last place, at 6-10. Without #12, the Patriots might not have made it to six wins. No other player in the NFL was that instrumental in their team’s success, so how could Brady have finished only 3rd in the balloting? I move to recount all votes, especially Florida.
On second thought, let’s forget the recount. Tom Brady already has two MVP awards, of the Super Bowl variety.
****
Divisional Playoff Picks
In an attempt to avoid further embarrassment, I’ll make these brief.
Carolina over Chicago. The Bears defense gave them a 10-0 lead the first time these teams played and they sat on it all day. An improved Carolina team won’t let that happen again, and the warm winter in Chicago helps the Panthers.
Seattle over Washington. 120 yards of total offense. 42 yards passing. Bill Walton might describe the Skins as “the worst team in the hiiiistory of the NFL playoffs. Their offense is just horrrrrible.”
Indianapolis over Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’s pass rush isn’t good enough to bother Manning on the carpet.
Denver over New England. There is absolutely no way whatsoever at all that the Patriots can win this game. Period. No chance, no shot, no how and no way. They shouldn’t even play it. It’s over. The Broncos have already won. Know what I mean?
For those unaware of the concept of the MVP, it is an annual award given to the most valuable player of a given league during the course of the season. The MVP isn't the most talented or spectacular, the star with the sexiest stat line, the fantasy stud, the best looking or the most charming. It’s the most valuable. In other words, it’s the player who brings the most to his team, who, without said player, the team’s accomplishments would be significantly diminished. This individual is so imperative, if you replaced him with any other player in the world, the team would not be as successful. That is an MVP.
Clearly, Alex Rodriguez should not even qualify – he’s too busy trying to win a fantasy MVP. How can a hitter be a league MVP when he isn’t even one of the three most valuable or feared hitters on his own team – behind Jeter, Sheffield and Matsui – and is an automatic out in the clutch?
And now Shawn Alexander has been erroneously selected as football’s most valuable commodity. Granted, Alexander had a legendary statistical season in the Pacific Northwest, breaking Priest Holmes’ record for touchdowns in a season with 28, boasting an awesome 5.1 yards per carry, and racking up an impressive 1,880 yards (9th most in history).
But Seattle played eight games against atrocious teams that will all be picking at the top of April’s draft: St. Louis, Arizona, San Francisco, Tennessee and Houston. USC – ahem, excuse me, Texas, could have gone 8-0 against that schedule (the combined winning percentage of those teams is an impressive .263). Alexander played another game against Indianapolis’ reserves in week 16. In those nine contests, he racked up 1,272 yards and 21 touchdowns. That means Alexander averaged about 87 yards, 3.97 yards per carry, and a touchdown in his other seven games against average opponents or better. Now that’s the stuff of legends.
Statistics aside, Alexander isn’t even one of the five most valuable players in the league. If he were replaced by any other top flight running back – Tiki Barber or Larry Johnson – clearly the Seahawks still would have won 12 or 13 games, and be in the exact same position. He had nothing to do with a close loss against Washington in week 4 (Kris Brown missed a 47 yard field goal), and had nothing to do with the Dallas meltdown in week 7 (Matt Hasselbeck led the game-tying drive, Kris Brown made the game winning field goal). He certainly didn’t cause the Giants’ Jay Feeley to miss all those potential game-winning field goals in week 12. The rest of the Seahawks games weren’t really close. Insert any other elite runner in the backfield with pro-bowl QB Matt Hasselbeck – LaDanian Tomlinson, Clinton Portis, Edgerrin James, or even Rudi Johnson – and Seattle loses very little. Yes, they lose something, and aren’t quite as good, but it’s not much. That doesn’t sound like an MVP.
So who is the real MVP of the league? An excellent case could be made for the Bears’ Brian Urlacher – Chicago was 0-7 without him last season, and 11-5 this year. Peyton Manning was also a viable choice – the Colts finished with the league’s best record, and Manning was unarguably the driving force behind Indy’s no-huddle controlled dominance of almost every contest. I can’t think of anyone who could realistically replace either of those players and be equally successful. But, the Bears defense was good enough that perhaps any star middle linebacker in place of Urlacher could have won the division. Any other top 10 quarterback would have easily made the playoffs with Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and the NFL’s all-time leader in yards from scrimmage per game, Edgerrin James.
There was only one person this season who was absolutely irreplaceable, and it can be said with utmost certainty that without his presence his team wouldn’t have even been close to the playoffs.
Thomas Edward Brady, Jr.
Tom Brady was the most valuable player of the NFL, and it wasn’t even close. Even the great Peyton Manning couldn’t have saved the New England Patriots from crumbling this year. Thanks to Brady, New England is now standing strong in January, two games away from another Super Bowl.
For most of the year, Tom Brady was the Patriots. New England started a mind-boggling 46 different players this season, and by mid-season the Pats were picking ushers out of the stands and plugging them into their fractured secondary. They played a murder’s row schedule in the season’s first half – the “anti-Seattle” schedule – including at Carolina, at Pittsburgh, San Diego, at Atlanta, at Denver, and Indianapolis. They did all this without defensive stars and captains Rodney Harrison and Teddy Bruschi. One of the game’s best defensive players, Richard Seymour, missed four games in the stretch. Pro-bowl running back Corey Dillon was injured and played sparingly. New England was adjusting to life without longtime coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel. Tom Brady simply threw his teammates on his back, did his best Magnus Ver Magnusson impersonation, and carried the Patriots all by his lonesome.
In week 3 at Pittsburgh, Brady was a ridiculous 31-41 for 372 yards, and was a perfect 12-12 in the fourth quarter, leading the Patriots on a game-winning drive in the final 1:21.
In week 5, Brady refused to lose again. He passed for 350 yards and 3 touchdowns in Atlanta, including another winning drive in the final minutes.
In week 10 at Miami, he did it one more time. Trailing 16-15 with 2:53 left, it took Brady 36 seconds to retake the lead with a 17 yard touchdown pass to Ben Watson.
Brady finished first in the NFL in yards with 4,110 and third in passing TDs with 26. And he did it all with a new center, two rookies protecting his blindside, and at times with a third or fourth string running back.
No one – not even Manning – could have led the Patriots to 10 wins under those circumstances. In all likelihood, with any other quarterback, the Patriots season would have been similar to the Philadelphia Eagles, who, led by all-pro QB Donovan McNabb, buckled under adversity and finished in last place, at 6-10. Without #12, the Patriots might not have made it to six wins. No other player in the NFL was that instrumental in their team’s success, so how could Brady have finished only 3rd in the balloting? I move to recount all votes, especially Florida.
On second thought, let’s forget the recount. Tom Brady already has two MVP awards, of the Super Bowl variety.
****
Divisional Playoff Picks
In an attempt to avoid further embarrassment, I’ll make these brief.
Carolina over Chicago. The Bears defense gave them a 10-0 lead the first time these teams played and they sat on it all day. An improved Carolina team won’t let that happen again, and the warm winter in Chicago helps the Panthers.
Seattle over Washington. 120 yards of total offense. 42 yards passing. Bill Walton might describe the Skins as “the worst team in the hiiiistory of the NFL playoffs. Their offense is just horrrrrible.”
Indianapolis over Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’s pass rush isn’t good enough to bother Manning on the carpet.
Denver over New England. There is absolutely no way whatsoever at all that the Patriots can win this game. Period. No chance, no shot, no how and no way. They shouldn’t even play it. It’s over. The Broncos have already won. Know what I mean?
posted by Ben Taylor | 6:32 PM
2 Comments:
I bet if you polled 100 American league pitchers they would tell you it is tougher to face A-rod than Jeter, Sheffield or Matsui. I have lived in Toronto and Texas and have got to see a lot of very good players : Joe Carter, Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Pudge Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, Rafeal Palmerio, Carlos Delgado. A-rod is hands down the best player I have ever seen.
Thanks for reading - I love a good dissenting opinion.
I'm not suggesting that A-Rod isn't an excellent player. The point was he isn't as valuable to the Yankees as either of those three hitters, or Mariano Rivera for that matter.
As far as being "feared," I watched about 30 important Red Sox-Yankees game from the last two years, including seven in the ALCS. As Red Sox fans, the guys that absolutely put the fear of god into us were Matsui, Jeter and Sheff. Sheff is lethal in the clutch with his slap home runs, and Matsui and Jeter are just tremendous technical hitters - very hard to retire in big at bats.
A-Rod? Didn't bother us one bit. Why? He hit .258 in the ALCS, but was only 2-17 in the last 4 games. He hit .133 against the Angels this year. When you aren't a factor in important situations, you just aren't very feared.
And the poll is a fascinating idea, but regardless of the results, pitchers regurlarly pitch to A-Rod and retire him frequently in important situations, while dangerous hitters are pitched around in key situations all over baseball (Bonds, Ortiz, Pujols, etc.)
I'll assume you've never seen Bonds play in person if A-Rod is the best you've ever seen ;)
Cheers!
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