Ah, league MVPs. I personally take zero stock into them in any sport. Why, you may ask? Two reasons: Michael Jordan only won five and Tom Brady hasn’t won one since 2010. So, I truthfully don’t care about them, but I know that many people do. Why more people don’t just look at championships won by an individual athlete is beyond me. That’s past the point, though. In a hypothetical world where MVP actually means something and is correctly voted on by the definition of Most Valuable Player and little old me had a real-life vote, I would vote for the obvious winner, Tom Brady. No, not Carson Wentz. Tom Brady.
I understand that Wentz will probably win it unless he has an embarrassing final six games because one, the league is tired of Brady doing everything right and two, the league LOVES fresh new faces. I get that. What really grinds my gears is how the new face with the best team record will forever and always be rewarded. I’m sorry, but the Eagles would still be one of the better teams in the NFL this season with someone like, I don’t know, say Derek Carr behind center every week. Carson Wentz is not why Philadelphia is having the season they are. Any team with a top 10 defense, top 2 running game and top 3 offensive line will probably be a dominant team no matter who the quarterback is. Folks, if you gave ME Wentz’s job with the exact same team surrounding him, I’d be the MVP favorite.
Wentz’s numbers aren’t exactly sexy. By the time the third quarter rolled around in Philly’s most recent game against Dallas, he was 10-23 with 137 yards which was good for a 77.6 passer rating. The Eagles were on the road against a division rival and up by 14 points. First of all, Tom Brady would never. Second of all, this only goes to show that whether Wentz is playing well or not, the Eagles are still going to find a way to dominate their opponent.
Wentz’s completion percentage is good for 30th in the league at 59.7 percent, while Brady’s clocks in at 68.7 percent. Brady leads the league in yards with 3,146, leading by nearly 400 yards..000. He leads the league with a 110.9 quarterback rating and a 110.8 passer rating when under pressure this season. He’s thrown 22 touchdowns as opposed to two interceptions; again, per usual. He’s second in the league in yards per attempt, behind the injured Deshaun Watson. Remember, this is through ten games. That’d be a solid 16-game season for any other quarterback. I could go on, but I won’t. I’m getting sweaty.
What Brady is doing this season is even impressive by his standards. As we say around this time every season, Brady is probably playing the best football of his career. The man simply defies Father Time. Take away the stats, and he’s still the league’s most valuable player. He has literal and figurative control over his entire team. There is simply no other single player more integral to a team’s success than Tom Brady. Even with a revolving door surrounding him on offense whether that be his receiving corps or his offensive line, he still manages to do what Tom Brady does best week in and week out.
As Brady himself has said, he’s seen it all. You can’t fool him. He has the answers to the test. If that isn’t something worthy of MVP, then what is? Brady forms a bond and trust with his teammates with total confidence, specifically with his receivers, that alone make the team better. Thus, confidence in the player is instilled subconsciously even if he isn’t actually confident in himself. Take Danny Amendola, for example. Throughout his entire Patriots career, he’s been behind Julian Edelman, watching him take the majority of the snaps. When Edelman went down for the season, Amendola was the automatic next guy up. He had no difficulty adjusting to this role because from day one, Brady built a trust with him that still sticks. I don’t want to be rude, but I find it hard to believe that Wentz does anything even remotely close to that. Comparing anyone to Brady is just unfair, but let’s simplify it: does Wentz make his own offensive weapons better in any way, shape or form? No. The answer is no.
Again, I don’t care even in the slightest about who wins MVP in any league at any time. Although, if the MVP was correctly voted on, Brady would win it this season. I mean, he should win it this season, but he won’t, and I don’t mind. Neither should you. I wouldn’t personally hate seeing them face off in Minnesota in February, though.
Comments