Tom Brady Isn’t the MVP

The time has come to hand out the NFL Annual Regular Season Awards. It’s been a peculiar season to say the least, as we have seen below 500 teams turn into playoff contenders and vice-versa. But more importantly, we have seen veterans and young guns alike rise to the top of the league on their respective sides of the ball. Football is a team game that runs off of wins that bring the locker room closer together and closer to the Lombardi trophy. These players really display the great caliber of skill it takes to put that “i” in “win.”

Most Valuable Player (MVP)

The MVP award every year is meant to go to the player that is the most valuable asset to his team’s success for the season, even though the modern voters and media have really just turned it into the best player award. Every year, guys like New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady lead the MVP race, but newcomers like LA Rams running back Todd Gurley, second-year Philly quarterback Carson Wentz, and Case Keenum, a career backup who broke out as Minnesota’s quarterback, have thrown their hats in the mix.

Let's start with the so called greatest of all-time, Tom Brady. As great as he is, his position as this year’s MVP reflects an unfortunate truth—he’s overrated. He plays under the most stable and intelligent ownership in the league with Robert Kraft, the greatest football coach of all time in Bill Belichick, has had a top 10 defense for the greater part of his career, and has had the luxury of having receivers like Randy Moss and Rob Gronkowski, who NFL analysts have said are essentially two of the most unguardable receivers in recent history purely on their size and athleticism alone. Brady receives too much support to be the sole MVP, and with that, you can question this team would probably be just as good with Jimmy Garoppolo, who was tearing it up with the San Francisco 49ers in the back half of the season.

With that said, the real MVP for the 2017-2018 NFL season is Case Keenum. Hold the laughter, but with all that said about Tom Brady, Keenum deserves it more than any of the other front runners.

Todd Gurley’s shots at the MVP were boosted by that incredible performance rushing and catching the ball out of the backfield against the Seahawks week 16. Other than that, he has failed to perform at that MVP level against quality opponents like the Saints and Vikings. In addition, he rushed for less than a 100 yards for half of his regular season games, including one against the Colts when he averaged 2.1 yards a carry.

As for Carson Wentz, he was sure to be the MVP when he was leading the league in touchdowns, but that season ending injury essentially put an end to his chances at MVP. The fact that his Eagles moved on to a NFC Championship birth without him didn’t help his cause.

On the other hand, Keenum started the season as the third string quarterback for the Vikings and ended the season with 3,500 passing yards and 22 touchdowns, with a 3:1 touchdown to interception ratio. He also had the second highest completion percentage in the league, second only to Drew Brees.

Keenum also lost his starting rookie running back, Dalvin Cook, out of Florida State early in the season, whereas Brady had a half back core that went three deep trained by Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who is a hot commodity in the coaching carousel this upcoming offseason.

If you want to talk about a clutch gene, there are not many backups in this league that can lead the league in game winning drives, but Case Keenum did exactly that with four game winning drives to Tom Brady’s three. And as the Saints learned, you don’t leave this guy with 25 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter.

But Keenum’s argument for MVP really boils down to the fact that he filled the most important role on the football field seamlessly as a third-string quarterback and carried an injury-plagued team to the second seed in the NFC. He came into the season as the third option, and when Sam Bradford got hurt, the load and pressure of an entire season was placed on his shoulders. Any other backup quarterback would have folded over, just ask Brett Hundley or Brock Osweiler. But Keenum held his troops together and carried them beyond their expectations.

Without Keenum playing the way he did, the Vikings are a below 500 team even with that defense. Keenum has been the most important asset to a talented Vikings team that was ready to fall apart. Case Keenum does not have the receivers, coach, ownership, or two free wins from the Jets that Tom Brady has every year, but he gave his team confidence and found a way to win when everybody thought the Viking’s season was over, ultimately making him the most valuable asset to his team this season.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Alvin Kamara has been the best offensive player to come out of last year’s draft class as proven by his immediate impact on the New Orleans Saints. Because of his presence, he has almost shifted the entire offensive philosophy of the Saints. With Mark Ingram as Kamara’s running mate, the Saints have been the most balanced offensively in years with the addition of Alvin Kamara. This year, Drew Brees had a down year compared to his previous years where he was throwing for 4000 yards for fun. But even though Brees isn’t throwing the ball like he usually does, the Saints won their first division title since 2011. With his explosive speed and athleticism, Kamara has balanced out this offense and taken the load off Drew Brees. Not many rookies can come in and say he took half the reigns from Drew Brees.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

The New Orleans Saints were one of the most exciting teams in the league last year, and that's because of rookies like Alvin Kamara and my pick for Defensive Rookie of the year, cornerback Marshon Lattimore of the Ohio State University. Not many defensive players can come out of college and be a legitimate top five corner in the league their rookie season, but Marshon Lattimore can. He matches up against other teams’ best receivers every game, but it is not only his playmaking ability that makes him so great—his football I.Q. is pretty high for a rookie. His understanding of coverage and scheme helped him get those five picks. This defense was one of the worst in the league last year, and this revamped secondary took the Saint’s defense to one of the better defenses in the league.

Offensive Player of the Year

Though he may not be the true MVP, Tom Brady takes this award hands down. Tom Brady leads the league in passing yards, is third in passing touchdowns, second in passer rating, and first in yards per game. He has been the best offensive player in the league, the most important position in the game. This is simple: even though he may not be the most critical to his team’s success because of the subsequent parts around him, he has been the best offensive performer by the numbers in the league this season.

Defensive Player of the Year

A team doesn’t get the nickname “Sacksonville” for nothing. From the eye test and numbers perspective, Jacksonville has been the best defense in the league this season on all three levels, defensive line, linebackers, and secondary, and that defense was built around the man among boys who is Calais Campbell. Calais Campbell has been the focal point of this defense that has struck fear into the hearts of opposing quarterbacks all around the league. 14 and a half sacks will help a team win a championship. Because of Campbell and the rest of the Jacksonville defense, Jacksonville has gone from one of the worst teams in the league to legitimate contenders. He told us the Jaguars could win the Super Bowl this season before the season started—I guess we should have listened to him.