Defense! Defense! Defense! Do we really appreciate that side of the ball?
(Photo Cred: www.nfl.com - The last 4 remaining teams from the 2017-2018 NFL season)
What is the definition of Most Valuable within the makeup of a team? They say having a great defense wins championships. Yet, why is it that the offense always seem to be the lasting beneficiary of the brutality the defense adhere’s? It is a team sport and can’t have one without the other, so let’s start recognizing both as the equals they are in this gladiator sport we love. If not, we might as well just convert everybody to quarterbacks and running backs. No, really! Since the NFL came about back in August of 1920, there has only been a total of 2 defensive MVPs: Alan Page in 1971, and Lawrence Taylor in 1986. Even Kicker, Mark Moseley, won a MVP. Yes, that is correct! There has been half as many kickers receiving the highest feat ash there has been defensive players! The fact that the NFL allows it to be known that only an offensive player can win MVP is ridiculous. Yet the phrase, “defense wins championship” has been coined and used in all sports genres. Looking over both Page’s and Taylor’s stats during the years they won MVP: Page played and started in all 14 games - He recovered a total of 3 fumbles for 8 yards - while recording 2 safeties - No tackles; Taylor played in and started in all 16 games - he recorded a total of 20.5 sacks - No tackles. Both guys were ferocious pass rushers that wanted to get to the QB by any means. Both were anchors. What could be misleading without watching them play a game, even for a young lad like myself, was the fact that neither intercepted the ball; Taylor didn’t force any fumbles, neither had any tackles. However, their presence was felt, and opposing team offenses had to game plan for them night in and night out; while placing multiple blockers to prevent them from penetrating. In comparison to K, Mark Moseley MVP season: 20/21 for 95.2% - none eclipsing the 50+ yard mark either. To prove my point, Joe Theismann, a great, was the quarterback of the Redskins team. He threw for 13 TD’s while throwing 9 Int’s. Yet, there wasn’t a defensive player the NFL sought worthy of receiving the MVP, so it was given to a Kicker (not saying that is bad) that only missed one kick. However, we still don’t have a measuring method on how defensive players can get the MVP.
Please check out this article from BR on JJ Watt being snub from MVP award back in 2015:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2349684-jj-watts-mvp-snub-proves-offense-reigns-supreme-in-nfl
So, they get no credit for stopping opposing offenses while putting their offense and their QB in prime position to score, and score fast? That is disrespectful in the most since of the word. Records can be misleading as well, as the QB or RB are not the only positions representing the team. While they may be the glue to the offense, ask Jim McMahon (15 TDs and 11 Ints - 1985) and that offense how much that defense did for them that year in efforts of becoming Super Bowl Champs. That 1985 Bears team allowed total points of 12.4/g while the team score a total of 28.5/g. Defense and running was that teams pedigree; with a total of 2,761 rushing yards and 27 rushing TD’s. Mind you that 85 defense led the NFL with 54 takeaways from opposing offenses. How many points do you think that led to for the offense? Looking over that teams stats, why wasn’t Richard Dent awarded the MVP vs Marcus Allen that year? Richard Dent possessed a stat line of: 17 sacks, 38 tackles, 2 Int’s - 1 TD, 7 FF - 2 FR - 0 TD. Marcus Allen possessed a stat line of: 1,759 yards - 14 TD’s - 109.9/g - 67 Rec - 555 yards - 3 TDs - 17 TotTDs. It can look good as the oh’s and ah’s came from the explosive runs and flashy scores. After all, even that Raiders defense (9th PF & 4th Yds) was ranked better than that Raiders offense (12th PF & 11th Yds) that featured the MVP in Marcus Allen. The defense eclipsed top 10 in both categories, while the defense was in the top 15. A spade is a spade, it is what it is!
Watch the video from Inside the NFL:
We don’t look at the game planing offensive coordinators do in order to stop some mean pass rusher from taking down the quarterback. We don’t look at how they need the tight end to bump him and then run their routes. We are not looking at how they use jumbo packages, more linemen, to prevent holes in the line. We are not looking at how some receivers can’t catch a ball against the best defensive back. We don’t look at how interceptions prevent opposing offenses from scoring, while putting their offense in prime position to score. We are not looking at the fumbles. We are not looking at the interceptions ran for touchdowns or the fumbles ran for touchdowns. We don’t look at all the tip balls. So what are we playing defense then?
Over the years, the league has seen the likes of: Julius Peppers, Jared Allen, JJ Watt, Khalil Mack, Ray Lewis, Deion Sanders, Ed Reed, Brian Urlacher, Deacon Jones, Reggie White, Ronnie Lott, Von Miller, Richard Sherman, Dick Butkus, Darrell Green, Troy Polamalu and a plethora of top defensive groups, and many, many, many more defensive studs and only 2, to date has been acknowledged as MVP of the league; not the Defensive Player of the Year! It’s kind of easier for a quarterback to stand out more so than a defensive player, as they have the ball more and they dictate whom they can throw too, with the defense blowing coverage or not being so great. How do we mark a great defensive performance for the year the same way we do for quarterbacks? We don’t! We can say, give Brady the MVP for throwing 30+ touchdowns, but we can’t give JJ Watt the MVP for eclipsing 20+ sacks (as he’s done so twice), for such a feat. We can give Marcus Allen the MVP for running for 1,759 yards with 14 TD’s, but we can’t give Deion Sanders a MVP for shutting down one side of the field, while fielding punts. It is not fair to both parties. As mentioned earlier, there is no way there can be one without the other in football. Football isn’t like: basketball, hockey, baseball, soccer, rugby or tennis. Where the players have to play and be great on both sides of the ball. So, it is about time that we figure out a way to take notice to the statics being put on the offensive side as well as the defensive side. While giving defensive players means to winning MVP awards in the NFL.
Statistical contributions are from the following sources:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/the-50-greatest-defensive-nfl-players-of-all-time/ss-BBM2pdG#image=4
https://thegruelingtruth.net/football/nfl/the-top-20-defensive-players-in-nfl-history/
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