Day 133

Fresh Start_133: How is nobody even talking about this?

It is that time of the year again—where coaches get fired and the MVP talk is at the forefront of the discussion in the NFL. Also, it is about that time where people around the league display their displeasure with the fact that a team with 9 wins or less gets to host a team with 10+ wins. So, before I get any further, there should be 2 players in the conversation for the MVP. Those 2 are Matt Ryan and Derek Carr. These are the only players that have remotely shown their value throughout the course of the season. If you take these 2 players off their respective teams they are nowhere near as successful as they are with them on it. The Pats without Brady this year proved that they could win without him, so he is out. Ezekiel Elliot will probably win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, but the Cowboys would still win the division with Darren McFadden in the backfield with that offensive line. Aaron Rodgers had the exact same type of season that Russell Wilson had last year; struggle at the beginning of the year and play like your hair is on fire the last 6-9 weeks, so he is out. Lastly Le’Veon Bell can’t win the MVP because he was suspended the first 4 games of the year, so automatically he is out.

Derek Carr and Matt Ryan are the 2 players that have put up ridiculous numbers regardless the odds against either of them. For Ryan, he has a terrible defense, the highest chance out of any team in a division to split each of their divisional matchup because of how close the teams are, and he had one of the toughest schedules had to play both Kansas City, Denver, and Oakland in their out of conference schedule. I get that Ryan has Julio Jones and the best running back tandem in the league but he has still put up some gaudy numbers this season. Ryan was just short of throwing over 5,000 yards this season, ending the season at 4,944. Ryan also put together 38 touchdown passes to only 7 interceptions, with an average passer rating of 117.1. Ryan also lead the league in yards per attempt with an average of 9.3 on every throw. If that doesn’t scream MVP when you are averaging partially a first down every time you throw the ball I don’t know what does.

Now, moving on to Carr. Carr probably won’t win it because of the injury and the shear fact that nobody is putting him the conversation besides myself and Colin Cowherd. Carr has so much against him this season it’s almost laughable. Carr not only has the worst defense out of any of the MVP candidates, not only is in the toughest division personal wise, and as a matter of fact could only take a snap out of the shotgun due to finger injury, but also has changed the way the NFL looks at the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders have been a franchise that has been one of the laughing stocks of the league for the better part of a decade and Carr has seemingly changed that in just one season. What Derek Carr has done is lead his team down the field time and time again and win football games. He has taken a losing team and made them a Superbowl contender in a very short amount of time. Carr has lead the league this season and broke an NFL record for putting together 5 gaming winning touchdown drives in the 4^th or later (7 in total). Carr had a slightly easier schedule than Ryan did, but with the way the Raiders have been playing over the past decade that team could have easily ended up in a similar position as the Jacksonville Jaguars. You don’t believe me? Well just look at the beating they took at the hands of the Broncos yesterday. The Raiders looked lost and out of place. The Cleveland Browns could have ran laps around the Raiders yesterday and they have the 1^st pick in the upcoming draft. Derek Carr’s season looks like this… 3,937 yards, 28 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions, 50 throws for more than 20 yards, and a lack luster 96.7 passer rating compared to Ryan. What Derek Carr has done this season is make as big of an impact to a team as Lebron James or Mike Trout. Those are 2 guys that change the game for their team, and for Carr to take a lottery team from a year ago, and make them a 12-win team is something that can’t go unnoticed when the time comes to vote for the MVP this season. The Raiders until this injury were the only team standing the way of the Patriots for the appearance in the Superbowl. The Raiders and Patriots was pretty much a sure thing until the injury to Carr, and well the Patriots now have to face the likes of: Matt McGloin, Tom Savage or Brock Osweiler, Matt Moore, or Alex Smith. It is possible that Big Ben could sneak his way into the AFC Championship game, but it is unlikely. So, on the way to the Patriot Superbowl parade, all the Patriot fans should stop by Derek Carr’s house and thank him for another ring, while also personally handing him the MVP trophy for 2016.

Sources:(nfl.com, footballdb.com, foxsports.com)

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