Division's MVP

[butta54 371]

I heard this being talked about on one of the football shows and thought it would be good discussion...

 

Choose one player from each division that you believe is more valuable to his team than any other player. Now this is not the "NFL style MVP", but a MVP that is literally valuable to his team as in without this player the team would be drastically different. (Don't be afraid to think outside of the QB box)

 

NFC North: Adrian Peterson...I won't be the one to say that Aaron Rodgers benefits from the McCarthy system, but I do believe that passing system could help a back-up if Rodgers went down. So besides the great A-Rod I don't think there is any other person who embodies the title MVP than the MVP himself who carried the ball, Christian Ponder, and the entire offense for over 2000 yards all on a healing ACL.

 

NFC South: Steve Smith...If I could go non-players it's Sean Payton cause we all know how they did without him. Now this was tough but when looking at the Panthers who finished with five wins in the last six what would that offense be with with the absence of Steve Smith? You have a top 10 rushing attack BUT your QB is the leading rusher? Not a lasting formula for success. Now Olsen is the only other target that went for over 800 yards. With no Smith on the outside you are free to help out on Olsen and all of a sudden you have a very ineffective passing attack. Scary part is this is their near future.

 

NFC East: Eli Manning...This was very tough to choose. I really really REALLY wanted to go with Tony Romo because he balled out behind a HORRIBLE offensive line and one of the league's worst rushing attacks. HOWEVER, behind Romo is Kyle Orton who is arguably one of the league's best back-up QBs. As a Chicago fan I have seen first hand how he can run an efficient and safe passing attack. Now he won't go win them games every week, but he won't lose them games either. Eli is the franchise for the most part and it's hard for me cause he proves he can lead to the team to championships, but don't forget he is the QB leading them to pretty average regular seasons. But at the end of the day without him I don't see the Giants having much to lean on.

 

NFC West: Brandon Browner...Now hear me out on this one. The battle was initially between Beast Mode and the Inconvenient Truth that helped lead the #3 and #4 rushing attacks respectively. BUT looking a little bit deeper you have to realize the domino affect that Browner causes. Browner's ability to play physical and press as well as Richard Sherman allows them both to play up on the line because with a corner opposite Sherman who isn't able to press consistently you are forced to change up your coverage more due to the fact that you don't always want one half of your defense playing a different technique and coverage than the other half. With Browner you are able to play press all the time which in turn allows more cover 3 looks in which Chancellor can play in the box more often in which he is a huge factor in their run defense (101 tackles) and Earl to play over the top and free lance side line to side line as the deep safety. Without a big physical corner on the other side of Sherman you are going to see more two deep looks with Chancellor out of the box to help over the top. And in the end we all know that Seattle's defense is a HUGE reason for the their success and how they like to play.

 

AFC North: Ben Roethlisberger...I thought about A.J. Green, but honestly I think their defense was a bigger reason for success in Cincy. With Big Ben you are talking about a two-time Superbowl champ who has seen his Steelers in the playoffs six of his nine seasons played. Due to his injury history we have seen Pittsburgh try their luck with back-ups such as Batch and Leftwich with no success. Although Pittsburgh packs a top ranking defense most years, it is hard to doubt the magic Big Ben brings to the table and without him under center this team is going no where.

 

AFC South: Texan's O-Line...I heard Reggie Wayne here and it makes complete sense, but I didn't want to copy so I decided to cheat here and put a unit besides one player, but it was for good reason. Plain and simple Houston is a zone heavy scheme which is primarily your run scheme, but it also dictates your play action and regular pass protection schemes. In some cases a stud LT can shine by being a pass protector, but in a offense this heavy in zone it takes the ENTIRE line to make it work. I think Arian Foster is an amazing runner, but with #8 in points and #7 in yards it is safe to say this athletic group does their work on both sides of the ball. Strong running game leads to strong play action game which leads to Owen Daniels putting up good numbers even while Andre Johnson is hurt.

 

AFC East: Tom Brady...Now I honestly believe even if Brady went down, the genius of the hoodie would keep the offense competitive. Since I can't choose a coach I feel safe going with the three time Superbowl MVP in this weak division.

 

AFC West: Champ Bailey...I could easily go Peyton Manning here since the team feels safe keeping young and unproven QBs behind Manning, but for the #2 defense I had to give them the nod for the success in Denver last year and during Tebow Time. So looking at the defense Bailey is not the shutdown corner he used to be, but he is respected enough that he can line-up with the top receiver and shoulders a heavy responsibility in the pass game. Why is that important? Because it let's the much hyped Von Miller rush the passer a lot more than he would be able to otherwise. Denver has the freedom to let the dogs loose (solo dog now that Elvis left the building) and let the safeties play up in the box (#3 and #4 on the team in tackles). This led to the defense allowing less than 100yds rushing a game. Champ allowed all this while being a part of the #3 ranked pass defense and being fifth on his team in tackles (Von Miller only had two more!)

Edited June 7, 2013 by butta55

[AllYouNeedIsLovie 377]

AFC East: Tom Brady

AFC North: Big Ben

AFC South: JJ Watt

AFC West: Peyton Manning

 

NFC East: Eli Manning

NFC North: Adrian Peterson (Jesus, that is tough decision between him and Rodgers)

NFC South: Drew Brees

NFC West: Patrick Willis

[Bucman 891]

AFC East: Tom Brady

AFC North: Big Ben

AFC South: Andrew Luck

AFC West: Peyton Manning

 

NFC East: Eli Manning

NFC North: Adrian Peterson

NFC South: Drew Brees

NFC West: Richard Sherman

[PacificHawk 7]

AFC East: Tom Brady

AFC North: A.J. Green

AFC South: Arian Foster..Thought of Watt, but being there has been only one defensive winner in the past four decades (Lawrence Taylor in 1986)settled on Foster.

AFC West: Peyton Manning

 

NFC East: Robert Griffin III

NFC North: Adrian Peterson

NFC South: Doug Martin

NFC West: Larry Fitzgerald..w/ Palmer aboard now! Look out!

[housemd 338]

AFC East: Tom Brady

AFC North: Big Ben

AFC South: JJ Watt

AFC West: Jamaal Charles

 

NFC East: RG3

NFC North: Adrian Peterson

NFC South: Cam Newton

NFC West: Larry Fitzgerald

[Dutch 874]

AFC East: Tom Brady

 

AFC North: Ben Roethlisberger

 

AFC South: Andrew Luck. I was thinking of Arian Foster but when he went down, Ben Tate picked up where he left off in that zone block running scheme. The Colts went from 2-14 to 11-5 with the addition of Luck.

 

AFC West: Peyton Manning

 

NFC North: Adrian Peterson. When Rodgers sat out, Matt Flynn threw for 6 TDs.

 

NFC South: Drew Brees

 

NFC West: Patrick Willis

 

NFC East: Eli Manning. I was almost inclined to go with Romo but they have Orton as a back up. Almost went with LeSean McCoy as well but we have pretty good depth at running back.

 

Here's my list who I think will be team MVP's next year.

 

AFC East: Tom Brady

 

AFC South: Andrew Luck

 

AFC West: Jamaal Charles

 

AFC North: Ben Roethlisberger

 

 

NFC North: Adrian Peterson

 

NFC South: Cam Newton. Cam is everything to the Panthers; Qb and RB. The reason why I went with Cam over Brees is because Payton is back and I think he is good enough of a coach to get some production out of the next guy and make the necessary adjustments. Won't be anything like Brees but I trust the coach. Carolina wouldn't have a chance in hell without Cam. They would be totally fucked.

 

NFC West: Carson Palmer

 

NFC East: LeSean McCoy. I know what I said earlier but I think McCoy's production will be undeniable and I want to be a homer.

Edited June 7, 2013 by dutchff7

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

AFC East: Tom Brady - Best player in the division, elite QB, easy choice.

 

AFC North: Big Ben - Guy was on a tear before being "slowed down" by injuries. Especially with the changes on offense, they'll need him now more then ever.

 

AFC South: JJ Watt - Best defensive player in the league, probably most important person on the best team in that division.

 

AFC West: Payton Manning - My vote for last season's MVP. Already made the case for him a million times.

 

NFC East: Tony Romo - IDT any team's success depends squarely on any one individual like Romo.

 

NFC North: Aaron Rodgers - Best player in the division (IT HURTS!! IT HURTS!!), had another great season even though he was sacked like, a billion +1 times.

 

NFC South: Drew Brees - Despite all their failures, they almost still made the playoffs, and it was almost entirely thanks to Brees and that offense.

 

NFC West: Kolin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson [tie] - Kaepernick did the impossible, make me cheer for a team that I used to hate just because I'm such a fan of his. But a lot of either team's success will depend on these two guys.

Edited June 7, 2013 by DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F

[AllYouNeedIsLovie 377]

AFC East: Tom Brady

AFC North: A.J. Green

AFC South: Arian Foster..Thought of Watt, but being there has been only one defensive winner in the past four decades (Lawrence Taylor in 1986)settled on Foster.

AFC West: Peyton Manning

 

NFC East: Robert Griffin III

NFC North: Adrian Peterson

NFC South: Doug Martin

NFC West: Larry Fitzgerald..w/ Palmer aboard now! Look out!

 

As much as I love Doug Martin, I don't think you can put him over Drew Brees. The Saints defense has been awful pretty much the entire time he has been there and they haven't had much of a running game either, yet they have always been competitive with Brees at QB. Without Brees, the Saints would be screwed.

 

While losing Doug would hurt, especially since we have such little depth at RB right now, I think it wouldn't have as big of an impact as losing Brees would for the Saints.

[butta54 371]

I'm surprised to see Patrick Willis so many times. He plays next to another All-Pro LB, has the league's sack leader on the edge, and a very stout defensive line. Even though they lost Goldson they still have Whitner who will be knocking people's block off. Not sure they fall far with his loss.

 

Thought about JJ Watt too but there is only so much you can do from that position. Thanks to stunts and blitzes he gets more sacks than a usual four tech, but he isn't a consistent nightmare to the point where he changes how the defense plays. Not to mention Cushing should be coming back healthy and he is probably a bigger factor than anyone.

[Dutch 874]

I'm surprised to see Patrick Willis so many times. He plays next to another All-Pro LB, has the league's sack leader on the edge, and a very stout defensive line. Even though they lost Goldson they still have Whitner who will be knocking people's block off. Not sure they fall far with his loss.

 

Thought about JJ Watt too but there is only so much you can do from that position. Thanks to stunts and blitzes he gets more sacks than a usual four tech, but he isn't a consistent nightmare to the point where he changes how the defense plays. Not to mention Cushing should be coming back healthy and he is probably a bigger factor than anyone.

 

Patrick Willis was doing his thing before Bowman came and Aldon Smith. Who knows how Bowman would perform without a Patrick Willis and Aldon Smith failed to record a sack in 6 games when Justin Smith went down. Willis was an all pro Lineback before they arrived. They just added to help make the defense better. I think Gore puts up the best argument and is probably the better choice.

 

As for Brandon Browner, I think Earl Thomas is the mvp of that defense because he allows them to do the cover 3. Also with your argument, Brandon Browner was there first so the arrival of Richard Sherman would have allowed them the ability to do the cover 3; according strictly to your post. Earl Thomas is the key in that secondary in my opinion; the safety covering deep.

Edited June 8, 2013 by dutchff7

[butta54 371]

Patrick Willis was doing his thing before Bowman came and Aldon Smith. Who knows how Bowman would perform without a Patrick Willis and Aldon Smith failed to record a sack in 6 games when Justin Smith went down. Willis was an all pro Lineback before they arrived. They just added to help make the defense better. I think Gore puts up the best argument and is probably the better choice. As for Brandon Browner, I think Earl Thomas is the mvp of that defense because he allows them to do the cover 3. Also with your argument, Brandon Browner was there first so the arrival of Richard Sherman would have allowed them the ability to do the cover 3; according strictly to your post. Earl Thomas is the key in that secondary in my opinion; the safety covering deep.

 

 

I'm not sure what Willis being there first has to do with making him the MVP? I understand he was already a beast, but the fact is they weren't the high ranked defense they are now and he now has weapons around him that are also very good and will still function without him. If you are an All-Pro then it should be safe to say you can handle your own. I agree Frank Gore makes more sense.

 

Again I know Browner was their first, but he was just another guy on just another defense until this year. The reason I chose him instead of Sherman is because Sherman is a pro bowl corner ONLY when allowed to be physical and play man or cover 3 which he wouldn't be able to without someone on the other side to make it work. Now the argument for Earl Thomas is a good one because you like to have a Free Safety with great range over the top, but in order to even have a single high safety you need corners who can hold their own on the LOS.

[Dutch 874]

I'm not sure what Willis being there first has to do with making him the MVP? I understand he was already a beast, but the fact is they weren't the high ranked defense they are now and he now has weapons around him that are also very good and will still function without him. If you are an All-Pro then it should be safe to say you can handle your own. I agree Frank Gore makes more sense.

 

Again I know Browner was their first, but he was just another guy on just another defense until this year. The reason I chose him instead of Sherman is because Sherman is a pro bowl corner ONLY when allowed to be physical and play man or cover 3 which he wouldn't be able to without someone on the other side to make it work. Now the argument for Earl Thomas is a good one because you like to have a Free Safety with great range over the top, but in order to even have a single high safety you need corners who can hold their own on the LOS.

 

You saying that Willis playing next to an All-Pro LB and a sack leader made it seem as though they make Willis better. It seems as though you're demeaning him when he was playing at a high level well before they arrived. Granted though, they weren't that good until the coaching change and they built around Willis. So I agree there but I do believe that Willis is the glue for that defense and not sure how they would perform with out him. We haven't seen Bowman have to lead the charge without Willis. Willis made his job and transition easier; not the other way around.

 

As far as the Seahawks, you can't do a cover 3 without a good free safety. Earl Thomas has to play deep in the middle of the field covering and running from side line to side line. By your argument, the corners need each other which would make them equally important. The safety is the last line of defense and the center piece of the cover 3. The corners in a cover 3 have one side to cover and Earl is essentially all over the place.

Edited June 8, 2013 by dutchff7

[butta54 371]

You saying that Willis playing next to an All-Pro LB and a sack leader made it seem as though they make Willis better. It seems as though you're demeaning him when he was playing at a high level well before they arrived. Granted though, they weren't that good until the coaching change and they built around Willis. So I agree there but I do believe that Willis is the glue for that defense and not sure how they would perform with out him. We haven't seen Bowman have to lead the charge without Willis. Willis made his job and transition easier; not the other way around.As far as the Seahawks, you can't do a cover 3 without a good free safety. Earl Thomas has to play deep in the middle of the field covering and running from side line to side line. By your argument, the corners need each other which would make the equally important. The safety is the last line of defense and the center piece of the cover 3. The corners in a cover 3 have one side to cover and Earl is all over the place.

 

No I wasn't meaning to downplay Willis at all, I just believe that if he went down the defense wouldn't fall apart...you don't have a #3 ranked defense because of one guy. And as far as Bowman yes Willis makes him better without a doubt, but for a third round pick to take over the spot in his second year and go on to be an all-pro you can safely assume he can play ball even without Willis.

 

I think a free safety is critical to the cover 3 and man-free coverage, but we have seen plenty of teams do it without a safety as good as Earl. It can be done and still be effective, especially if your corners are jamming the receivers so bad that they never even reach safety level before pressure starts coming in. And the corners aren't equally important in this case because as I said the domino effect....Sherman playing off man or off zone is a completely different corner and not an all-pro and Browner is not going to be an all-pro either way. SO having Browner benefits Sherman more than the other way around. Which also leads to them playing single high looks because of their amazing ability to press which leads to Chancellor in the box.

[Packers Dynasty 2010 116]

I heard this being talked about on one of the football shows and thought it would be good discussion...

 

Choose one player from each division that you believe is more valuable to his team than any other player. Now this is not the "NFL style MVP", but a MVP that is literally valuable to his team as in without this player the team would be drastically different. (Don't be afraid to think outside of the QB box)

 

NFC North: Adrian Peterson...I won't be the one to say that Aaron Rodgers benefits from the McCarthy system, but I do believe that passing system could help a back-up if Rodgers went down. So besides the great A-Rod I don't think there is any other person who embodies the title MVP than the MVP himself who carried the ball, Christian Ponder, and the entire offense for over 2000 yards all on a healing ACL.

 

I understand picking AP but looking at this past season, without Rodgers the Packers would have struggled quite a bit. The o-line was shit, the WRs weren't creating that much separation, and cycling through RBs til the last 6 games. If Harrell was forced to play for any extended amount of time, the Packers would have been a very sub-par team.

 

Also a RB playing amazing can only take you so far. Which hinders AP somewhat in my opinion.

Edited June 8, 2013 by Packers Dynasty 2010

[butta54 371]

I understand picking AP but looking at this past season, without Rodgers the Packers would have struggled quite a bit. The o-line was shit, the WRs weren't creating that much separation, and cycling through RBs til the last 6 games. If Harrell was forced to play for any extended amount of time, the Packers would have been a very sub-par team. Also a RB playing amazing can only take you so far. Which hinders AP somewhat in my opinion.

 

It is tough I believe in any case to pick against a QB unless you have a really good reason to. I can't think of any reason being better than the season AP had. I'm not trying to down play Rodgers and I agree that the play of the offense line was much weaker than usual which would have caused problems for any back up. But my decision to go with AP speaks more to the ability of head coach McCarthy to tailor his offense enough to be effective than to the ability of Harrell being able to take the lead.

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

JJ Watt is pretty much dominant in all phases of the game on defense. Even against us we did everything to hold him and he still had a pretty great game. the 20+ sacks, the pressures, the batted passes, the stops, an OC would have to be brain numb to not gameplan against Watt...

[butta54 371]

Watt dominating last year may have changed how offenses planned for him, but he didn't change what the Texans wanted to do. A dominant player isn't always the most crucial to a team.

[Glanvilles Grits 142]

NFC South is Steve Smith? No way.

 

NFC West: Brandon Browner...Now hear me out on this one. The battle was initially between Beast Mode and the Inconvenient Truth that helped lead the #3 and #4 rushing attacks respectively. BUT looking a little bit deeper you have to realize the domino affect that Browner causes. Browner's ability to play physical and press as well as Richard Sherman allows them both to play up on the line because with a corner opposite Sherman who isn't able to press consistently you are forced to change up your coverage more due to the fact that you don't always want one half of your defense playing a different technique and coverage than the other half. With Browner you are able to play press all the time which in turn allows more cover 3 looks in which Chancellor can play in the box more often in which he is a huge factor in their run defense (101 tackles) and Earl to play over the top and free lance side line to side line as the deep safety. Without a big physical corner on the other side of Sherman you are going to see more two deep looks with Chancellor out of the box to help over the top. And in the end we all know that Seattle's defense is a HUGE reason for the their success and how they like to play.

 

Just no. Just because a guy has 7 interceptions doesn't make him the greatest thing since sliced bread. He's great at times, at others he's the worst corner I've ever watched. Too up and down, they could get by with a middle of the road corner opposite of Sherman.

 

 

AFC East: Tom Brady

AFC North: Ben Roethlisberger

AFC South: Arian Foster (Regardless of the debate of him being good or not, he is crucial to that team succeeding.)

AFC West: Peyton Manning

 

NFC East: RG3

NFC North: Adrian Peterson (Tough, but AP IS the Vikings offense.)

NFC South: Drew Brees

NFC West: Justin Smith(We saw how much that 49ers defense changed after Smith went down.)

Edited June 8, 2013 by Rain Man

[NaTaS+ 958]

AFC North: Ben Roethlisberger? DIdn't Flacco just go on a unprecedented playoff run and was the Super Bowl MVP?

Edited June 8, 2013 by NaTaS

[Omerta+ 1,206]

AFC North: Ben Roethlisberger? DIdn't Flacco just go on a unprecedented playoff run and was the Super Bowl MVP?

 

How did that taste ? I bet that was a bit hard.

 

I will echo this. I am not saying that Flacco is the better QB, but I will say he is the more important of the two. The reason is the backups. If Ben goes down it is proven almost year after year that Batch can scratch some wins together to buy Ben time. Now Flacco has never been injured (knock on wood) however, if he were Tyrod Taylor and Caleb Hanie are his backups ? How many games do you think we win with that ?

 

Basically, Ben goes down almost every year, and the steelers are still in contention. IF Flacco goes down we are fucked.

[Glanvilles Grits 142]

How did that taste ? I bet that was a bit hard.

 

I will echo this. I am not saying that Flacco is the better QB, but I will say he is the more important of the two. The reason is the backups. If Ben goes down it is proven almost year after year that Batch can scratch some wins together to buy Ben time. Now Flacco has never been injured (knock on wood) however, if he were Tyrod Taylor and Caleb Hanie are his backups ? How many games do you think we win with that ?

 

Basically, Ben goes down almost every year, and the steelers are still in contention. IF Flacco goes down we are fucked.

 

I hear the arguments, and it's probably the same with both guys out of the picture for their teams. However, I've seen how bad off the Steelers are without Ben, we all have. Flacco had an absolutely amazing playoff run, but I'm going to hold my argument that I want to see him do it during the regular season as well. There were 3 or 4 games this past season that the Ravens could have won if Flacco didn't play like absolute garbage in. Talking about posting all time low QB Ratings in a couple. The jury is still out for me on Flacco. I would make a case for AJ Green before I went to Joe Flacco. Not saying he's not important, just saying he hasn't really shown us much in the regular season up to this point.

[Omerta+ 1,206]

And I can definitely understand that. I am just saying we have seen the Steelers have success without Ben. If Flacco goes down it WILL get ugly and it will get there fast.

[BradyFan81 404]

AFC East: Brady

AFC North: Roethlisberger

AFC South: Luck

AFC West: Manning

 

NFC East: RG3

NFC North: Rodgers

NFC South: Matt Ryan

NFC West: Wilson

 

non QBs

AFC East: Gronk

AFC North: Geno Atkins

AFC South: Foster

AFC West: Von Miller

 

NFC East: Cruz

NFC North: AP

NFC South: Julio Jones

NFC West: Justin Smith

[Ravensdan 0]

So if any of the playoff teams qb goes down the season as far as winning a championship is over. I don't know of any contending team with a championship caliber backup. That said here are my choices for division mvps

 

Afc east: rob gronkowski. The pats offense has been much less effective when he is out of the lineup. With his current injury issues it could be a long year for Brady

 

Afc south: jj watt. It's not close. He can single handed ly win a game from the defensive line. He is the definition of a game changer.

 

Afc north: jacoby jones. In a division full of the toughest defenses this guy can single handedly won games on special teams as well as at wide receiver especially furring the playoffs.

 

Afc west: Ryan clady. This guy leads one of the most solid pass blocking lines in the league and kept manning upright. The key to the season with him coming off the neck injury.

 

Nfc east: tony romo. He has been carrying this team. All of their other key contributors have failed to come up big.

 

Nfc south: lavonte David. A linebacker in a division full of high flying offenses you say? Yes. None of these teams have trouble scoring points by bid rookie could be just the playmaker to finally be the cornerstone of some defense in this division.

 

NFC north: Adrian Peterson. This guy is a complete freak of nature and the only running back in the league that can skngle handedly take over and win games in this passing era.

 

NFC west: Justin smith. He is the key to the vaunted 49er defense. He makes their pass rush dangerous which covers up the deficiencies in their secondary. Look how susceptible this defense was when he was out of the lineup.

[AllYouNeedIsLovie 377]

Afc north: jacoby jones. In a division full of the toughest defenses this guy can single handedly won games on special teams as well as at wide receiver especially furring the playoffs.

 

Nfc south: lavonte David. A linebacker in a division full of high flying offenses you say? Yes. None of these teams have trouble scoring points by bid rookie could be just the playmaker to finally be the cornerstone of some defense in this division.

 

Jones and David aren't even the most valuable players on their team, nevermind their entire divisions.