LOOK WHO’S TOP PICK FOR MVP

There’s been a lot of talk lately about NFL MVP or Most Valuable Player. We just went thru a week of celebrating this year’s Heisman Trophy winner, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniel’s and now we’re at the point in the year to discuss the MVP in The NFL. I think that it’s important to note here that the only thing I remember about LSU football this year is they were beaten by Florida State University which is of course another story. However, this leads into my next question of what, or who, defines an MVP, a “most valuable” player. It’s sems that it’s almost always a quarterback. Why is this? Is it a quarterback award?  Don’t quarterbacks have their own award? (they do) Sure there have been running backs and receivers that have won the award but it’s almost always a quarterback in the top running candidates. Don’t other positions get a chance?

Well folks, allow into this discussion San Francisco Wonder Boy Quarterback Brock Purdy who for once said something that makes sense.      

Everyone that watches NFL football knows that Mr. Purdy is now the odds-on favorite to win MVP now that Dak Prescott has had a Buffalo Wild Wings sandwich tossed in his face by, you guessed it, Buffalo and Jalen Hurts of The Philadelphia Eagles is, well, hurting. True to his good guy, down home, farm boy persona (he actually went home to help on the family farm during his bye week) Brock was nice enough to say that it was Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers running back, who deserved the MVP award this year. After all, Purdy claimed, it was number 23 doing all the work. Purdy may be a little soft with his arm but his all-around charm and character is making me a believer, sort of. It’s also winning him HUGE points in The Most Popular Player Award, The MPPA.

Let’s take some time to talk about some other MVP and no-chance-in-hell MVP performances this weekend. As usual you can throw out last week’s favorites to win the honors and replace them with some new names. 

No one has had more of an up and down season then Josh Allen. Being a die-hard Dolphins fan I find it hard to like anything about Buffalo, I don’t even like Buffalo Wild Wings. I do however have a grudging respect and admiration for Josh Allen who plays like he can’t decide if he wants to be a running back or a quarterback. The guy takes a beating like I’ve never seen before and just keeps right on coming back for more. If he runs the ball, he’s not afraid of contact in fact it seems he looks for it. It’s scary. How he has survived without major injury is beyond me. Buffalo’s dismantling of The Dallas Cowboys is proof that Allen’s star may be rising again, maybe, in the MVP race. A 31-10 victory over the ever-bumbling Cowboys doesn’t hurt his stock either. Let’s hope he can keep himself in once piece. Either way Buffalo is back in contention for both the MVP producer and the playoffs. 

Dak Prescott has never won a big game. Never. He talks the talk, he looks the look but he don’t walk the walk. I have about as much faith in The Cowboys going deep in the playoffs as I do Man landing on Mars before Easter. It isn’t gonna happen. To even mention Prescott in the MVP conversation should be a federal crime. End of story.

Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia is presently experiencing a not-so-good period in his career. Being a dual threat quarterback is not a position that comes without a few bruises and broken bones and The Eagles quarterback is finding that out the hard way. Philly is presently on a questionable skid most notably losing to Seattle on Monday Night Football in a stunner and to make matters worse Hurts is suffering from a malady that appears serious enough to keep him from practicing although he did play on Monday Night Football. Hopefully that 300 million contract comes with good medical care. 

With Jalen Hurts at less than 100 percent, Dak Prescott playing like a third stringer at Mississippi State, Josh Allen teetering on the edge of disaster and Brock Purdy passing the torch to his running back, it leaves us with one other single potential candidate for MVP, Lamar Jackson of The Baltimore Ravens.

I’ll have to admit Lamar Jackson can play lights out football. He can burn a defense several different ways and catching him for a sack or a knock down is like trying to handle a Moray eel. He’s crafty and he’s not afraid to take chances most of which end up paying off. Many say he is the best all-around quarterback in the league and I’m beginning to lean in the same direction. As long as he gets the attention, he deserves from the national sports media outlets and continues to win and win decisively he’ll be a candidate for MVP at the end of it all. 

In the end I think it’s hard, almost impossible, to win MVP on a team that isn’t a Super Bowl contender. Personally, I don’t agree with that philosophy but I don’t get a vote, yet. I will say however that allot of people who literally live, breath and die football forget it’s a team sport. It’s not all about the quarterback (as Brock Purdy showed us in his post-game conference speech this weekend). There’s backs, linemen, defensive backs and yes even kickers and holders that play just as important a roll as anyone. So how about we give them some love as well!! Play on I say!!!!

Kev

Kev's Corner Our Staffs Weekly Sports perspective

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