There was justifiable suspense leading up to the NFL’s Most Valuable Player announcement Saturday night even though there were only legitimate arguments for two players: Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Houston Texans’ defensive end J.J. Watt.
Rodgers ended up winning with 31 of 50 first-place votes—Watt was a distant second (13 first-place votes)—marking the 28th consecutive season the MVP went to an offensive player and seventh time in eight seasons it went to a quarterback.
Here’s the full breakdown of the voting, per The Associated Press:
What is most bothersome about this year’s voting is the best player(s) at each position is already recognized via All-Pro honors, and the MVP award has become interchangeable with the first-team All-Pro quarterback.
Watt had a historical statistical season: He finished with 78 total tackles, 20.5 sacks and four forced fumbles. Since sacks became an official statistic in 1982, the only other player to reach those marks in the same season—besides Watt in 2012—was Hall of Famer Chris Doleman for the Vikings in 1989.
Throw in 50 quarterback hurries, 29 tackles for loss, 10 passes defensed, five fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown), a pick-six and three receiving touchdowns—becoming the first defensive lineman since Connie Mack Berry in 1944 to have at least five touchdowns in a season—and you can argue Watt was snubbed out of Most Valuable Player honors.
Particularly in a season when counting stats for quarterbacks were down across the board this season.
The NFL’s co-leaders in passing yards—Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees—registered the fewest (4,952) by a league leader since 2010. Andrew Luck’s 40 touchdown passes were the fewest by a league leader since 2010. Rodgers finished seventh in passing yards and third in passing touchdowns. Aaron Rodgers' greatness, in a vacuum, is highlighted by his 38-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
But if Watt didn’t become the first defensive player to win MVP since linebacker Lawrence Taylor in 1986, then the MVP will probably never be awarded to a defensive player again, but rather the best player at the most valuable position. Keith Myers covers the Seattle Seahawks for the Fansided Network and suggested the award be renamed to reflect that:
While the final balloting suggests a landslide victory for Rodgers, Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith noted Watt’s 13 votes were the most for a defensive player since Taylor won it in 1986.
Had nine voters who chose Rodgers flipped to Watt, the duo would have shared the award. CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco had a vote and went with Rodgers, noting Watt was a close second, while also acknowledging positional bias:
Consider the only two defensive players in NFL history to win the MVP—Taylor in 1986 and defensive tackle Alan Page in 1971—both played for teams which made the Super Bowl those years. Would the voting have been closer if the Texans made the postseason? Pete Damilatis of Pro Football Focus rehashes they were an implosion from the Cleveland Browns in Week 17 away from doing so.
Fortunately for Watt, he didn’t leave Saturday’s award ceremonies empty-handed. He was the first-ever unanimous selection for Defensive Player of the Year, his second time receiving that award after receiving 49 of 50 votes in 2012.
Looking ahead to 2015, the 25-year-old Watt is certainly capable of inclusion in the MVP race again. Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News quoted Rodgers as saying Watt can win it:
To do that, though, he’d have to convince a myriad voters that defensive players are worthy of doing so and unseat now two-time MVP winner Aaron Rodgers in the process.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1yWL57B
via IFTTT January 31, 2015 at 08:58PM
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