2014 NFL MVP stolen from J.J. Watt
By Dan Salem
The 2014 NFL MVP belongs to J.J. Watt when talking best player on the field. But as far as most valuable, a quarterback will take home the prize once again. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate the NFL and sports.
DAN:
The 2014 NFL MVP race will come down to the final week of the regular season, but ultimately its going to a quarterback. This should surprise no one and upset even fewer. Although other positions certainly offer great value, its near impossible to top a quarterback when Most Valuable Player is concerned.
This season J.J. Watt has made a strong case for someone other than a quarterback winning the MVP award. I have no issue lumping defensive players with the remainder of the offense, because ultimately its everyone else versus the quarterbacks.
J.J. Watt is having a tremendous season. He’s the best defensive player in the NFL, but if not for his multiple touchdowns playing offense this season, he would not even be in the MVP conversation. I see no way he wins the award. Watt is on an average team that is not making the playoffs. His impact may have won the Houston Texans a game or two, but it did little to affect the end result of the 2014 season.
This year’s NFL MVP comes down to two men; Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. Because Peyton Manning won it last year, he is not in the race in 2014. And because Rodgers put up a stinker in week 15, he set himself back in the MVP standings. He was leading but slim margin, but now Mr. Brady has pulled dead even.
I think both the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers win their final two games, so ultimately the MVP will come down to the eye test over the final month. Brady has looked at the peak of his game, playing near mistake free football while dominating the competition. Rodgers had a misstep, throwing two interceptions in a pathetic losing effort which perpetuated his team’s struggles on the road. That loss to Buffalo probably does him in.
My pick is Tom Brady for NFL MVP. He constantly surpasses the public’s expectations, which is hard to do as a future hall of fame quarterback. Everyone and their mother wrote him off after the first month and he has stuck it their faces. Tom Brady has earned the MVP, has certainly been the most valuable player on the New England Patriots, and will win the award.
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TODD:
So much going on here.
First, the age old discussion of what an MVP award is actually rewarding. Is it the best player in the league? If so, J.J. Watt is the winner. He is so far ahead of every other defensive player in the league, while also contributing on offense as you mentioned, that if the MVP was handed out in this manner, the odds would be taken off the board.
If however the MVP is given to the most important player towards a team’s success, that changes the narrative quite a bit. As you pointed out, how great can Watt be if Houston is 7-7? Without him, perhaps the Texans would be 5-9 so big whoop.
This is where the award gets skewed. How can anyone possibly be as valuable or important as a quarterback? It won’t happen in the way the league is set up and officiated nowadays. Dallas’ DeMarco Murray has been just as impactful as many quarterbacks, but with that offensive line, there doesn’t seem to be any argument for his specific MVP-caliber skills beyond health.
Since it comes down to quarterbacks, I find it interesting that you mark Aaron Rodgers down for struggling in his most recent game but seemingly give Tom Brady extra credit for rebounding from his horrid early season performance. So if Brady had been slightly better in September, would you consider him a worse MVP candidate now because the “surpassing expectations” didn’t happen?
Also, when it comes down to it, while Brady is the QB and plays the most important position, is there any doubt in anyone’s mind that New England’s most important player is Rob Gronkowski? Without him, that offense doesn’t function. He cannot be covered; he cannot be contained.
The weapons on Green Bay are certainly stellar in their own right. However, no one on the Packers even approaches Rodgers’ importance in any capacity. With eerily similar numbers between the two QBs, that alone gives him the leg up in the MVP race heading into the season’s home stretch.