That lead in touchdowns might be critical
Posté: Jeu Déc 28, 2017 6:43 amLe'Veon Bell could eat into the deficit during Pittsburgh's game Monday, but Gurley is in good shape if he maintains that massive advantage. Since the 1970 merger, five other running backs have made it to the end of the season while leading the league with a touchdown total seven or more scores ahead of the competition. Three of them -- Tomlinson, Alexander and Marshall Faulk -- have finished
their seasons with an MVP trophy. As for Brady, meanwhile, this isn't an otherworldly campaign. Many of his competitors have fallen by the wayside thanks to injuries, but his league lead in passing yards is by a mere 259 yards over Philip Rivers. He trails Wentz in passing touchdowns despite playing two additional games. Brady is third in completion percentage and yards per attempt and second in passer rating behind Alex Smith.
Brady's season is also below the typical standard we see from MVP-winning quarterbacks. Pro Football Reference tracks quarterback statistics and adjusts them for the scoring level of each year in question as index stats. (More on them here.) Across the board, Brady's era-adjusted statistics in 2017 would make him one of the least imposing MVP winners in recent memory. Here's where he ranks among the 33 other winners of this award since 1970 in PFR's index stats (updated through Week 16):
This isn't even really a particularly notable season for Brady relative to his typical level of play. Rank Brady seasons and, even with a week to go, this one will finish no higher than fourth in passing yards. This season would rank fourth in yards per attempt, sixth in touchdown-to-interception ratio, fifth in passer rating and eighth among 11 http://www.officiallachargers.com/WOMENS_YOUTH_HUNTER_HENRY_JERSEY.html recorded seasons in Total QBR. It's a great campaign for mortal quarterbacks and a good one for Brady, but it's a step below the stratospheric seasons that won him this award in 2007 and 2010.
This is going to be a problem with his candidacy, although it has nothing to do with Brady himself. Voters in all sports, including football, get easily exhausted of perennial candidates and often prefer players who either took a leap forward from their Mychal Rivera Jersey established level of play and/or haven't won an award previously. Brady could quite viably have been a candidate for most of the past decade and has won only two awards. Likewise, Bill Belichick has won Coach of the Year three times in 17 seasons with the Patriots, even though just about every one of us would have picked him as the best football coach alive for 13 or 14 of those campaigns. As much as we know Belichick might deserve Womens Fabian Moreau Jersey the award on a near-annual basis, he doesn't even receive serious consideration most seasons by virtue of setting his own bar impossibly high.
There are exceptions, but if a vote is close, most of the voters tend to lean toward the new face over the guy who will be back next year. Gurley, who looks like a different human than the guy we saw in 2016, is that new face. He's in the middle of what would be a career year for just about any running back. Gurley won Offensive Rookie of the Year for an explosive 13-game campaign in 2015, but he would have never received even the slightest bit of MVP consideration before now.
He doesn't need to make monster plays to be effective, obviously, but the Brady engine works on supreme efficiency. He beats you by staying ahead of schedule, avoiding turnovers and finding receivers for easy completions drive after drive after drive. Brady's style doesn't lend itself to highlight reels. He has eight completions on throws traveling 30 yards or more in the air this season, only one of which has led to a touchdown (against three picks). Rob Gronkowski is the guy who gets lauded for spectacular plays on this team, not Brady.
Gurley, meanwhile, ranks alongside Gronk, Alvin Kamara and Antonio Brown as the season's most spectacular players. Nobody tracks it, but Gurley must hold the record for most times leaping over a defender in a single season. His longest play in 2016 went for 33 yards; this year, Gurley has 10 plays for 33-plus yards, four more than anybody else in the league. He somehow accelerated through the Titans' defense Sunday in taking a screen to the house for an 80-yard score. Gurley is making professional defenders look like overmatched kids from college.
Brady has been among the top candidates for this award all season, and deservedly so. It's also fair to say that he has never really grabbed the trophy for himself. He was neck-and-neck with Carson Wentz for most of the year, and after Wentz went down, Brady http://www.officialsseahawksshop.com/Amara_Darboh_Jersey_Cheap never had the sort of game to stand out versus the competition. Brady failed to throw a touchdown pass the first time against the Bills, delivered a dud without Gronkowski against the Dolphins, then had his winning touchdown drive against the Steelers overshadowed by the drama of the touchdown stolen from Jesse James. Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys NFL
their seasons with an MVP trophy. As for Brady, meanwhile, this isn't an otherworldly campaign. Many of his competitors have fallen by the wayside thanks to injuries, but his league lead in passing yards is by a mere 259 yards over Philip Rivers. He trails Wentz in passing touchdowns despite playing two additional games. Brady is third in completion percentage and yards per attempt and second in passer rating behind Alex Smith.
Brady's season is also below the typical standard we see from MVP-winning quarterbacks. Pro Football Reference tracks quarterback statistics and adjusts them for the scoring level of each year in question as index stats. (More on them here.) Across the board, Brady's era-adjusted statistics in 2017 would make him one of the least imposing MVP winners in recent memory. Here's where he ranks among the 33 other winners of this award since 1970 in PFR's index stats (updated through Week 16):
This isn't even really a particularly notable season for Brady relative to his typical level of play. Rank Brady seasons and, even with a week to go, this one will finish no higher than fourth in passing yards. This season would rank fourth in yards per attempt, sixth in touchdown-to-interception ratio, fifth in passer rating and eighth among 11 http://www.officiallachargers.com/WOMENS_YOUTH_HUNTER_HENRY_JERSEY.html recorded seasons in Total QBR. It's a great campaign for mortal quarterbacks and a good one for Brady, but it's a step below the stratospheric seasons that won him this award in 2007 and 2010.
This is going to be a problem with his candidacy, although it has nothing to do with Brady himself. Voters in all sports, including football, get easily exhausted of perennial candidates and often prefer players who either took a leap forward from their Mychal Rivera Jersey established level of play and/or haven't won an award previously. Brady could quite viably have been a candidate for most of the past decade and has won only two awards. Likewise, Bill Belichick has won Coach of the Year three times in 17 seasons with the Patriots, even though just about every one of us would have picked him as the best football coach alive for 13 or 14 of those campaigns. As much as we know Belichick might deserve Womens Fabian Moreau Jersey the award on a near-annual basis, he doesn't even receive serious consideration most seasons by virtue of setting his own bar impossibly high.
There are exceptions, but if a vote is close, most of the voters tend to lean toward the new face over the guy who will be back next year. Gurley, who looks like a different human than the guy we saw in 2016, is that new face. He's in the middle of what would be a career year for just about any running back. Gurley won Offensive Rookie of the Year for an explosive 13-game campaign in 2015, but he would have never received even the slightest bit of MVP consideration before now.
He doesn't need to make monster plays to be effective, obviously, but the Brady engine works on supreme efficiency. He beats you by staying ahead of schedule, avoiding turnovers and finding receivers for easy completions drive after drive after drive. Brady's style doesn't lend itself to highlight reels. He has eight completions on throws traveling 30 yards or more in the air this season, only one of which has led to a touchdown (against three picks). Rob Gronkowski is the guy who gets lauded for spectacular plays on this team, not Brady.
Gurley, meanwhile, ranks alongside Gronk, Alvin Kamara and Antonio Brown as the season's most spectacular players. Nobody tracks it, but Gurley must hold the record for most times leaping over a defender in a single season. His longest play in 2016 went for 33 yards; this year, Gurley has 10 plays for 33-plus yards, four more than anybody else in the league. He somehow accelerated through the Titans' defense Sunday in taking a screen to the house for an 80-yard score. Gurley is making professional defenders look like overmatched kids from college.
Brady has been among the top candidates for this award all season, and deservedly so. It's also fair to say that he has never really grabbed the trophy for himself. He was neck-and-neck with Carson Wentz for most of the year, and after Wentz went down, Brady http://www.officialsseahawksshop.com/Amara_Darboh_Jersey_Cheap never had the sort of game to stand out versus the competition. Brady failed to throw a touchdown pass the first time against the Bills, delivered a dud without Gronkowski against the Dolphins, then had his winning touchdown drive against the Steelers overshadowed by the drama of the touchdown stolen from Jesse James. Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys NFL