NFL Midseason Awards Per ESPN MVP is interesting

[Guest]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25177946/2018-nfl-midseason-awards-bill-barnwell-picks-mvp-players-year-best-rookies-plays#mvp

 

Seems like people are quietly realizing that Falcons offense is looking just as good as 2016.

[fuego]

Most Valuable Player

 

Third: Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons

I recognize that 2018 has been a higher-scoring campaign than 2016, but compare Ryan's first eight games of 2018 with the first eight games of his MVP campaign under Kyle Shanahan in 2016:

YEAR	CMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	Y/ATT	TD	INT	PASSER RATING	QBR
2016	193	279	69.2%	2636	9.4	19	4	115.8	77.7
2018	213	301	70.8%	2685	8.9	19	3	115.1	74.8

Yes, Ryan is not going to get as much consideration because his defense stinks and his team is a distant third at 4-4 in the NFC South, but he has been every bit as good as the guy we saw win MVP two years ago. Keep in mind he was doing that with a better offensive line and Freeman as his lead back in the running game. This version of Ryan has Calvin Ridley, which helps, but the Boston College product just went five-plus games without an interception before throwing a pick on Sunday afternoon. If the Falcons make their way back into the wild-card hunt in the NFC, Ryan deserves MVP chatter.

[fuego]

Offensive Player of the Year

 

Third: Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Do you care about the touchdown total? Jones finally did make it into the end zone for the first time this season, taking a screen to the house for a 35-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal a win against Washington. It was a fitting cap to yet another 100-yard day for Jones, who has run off four such games in five contests. He's the rare wideout who is so productive that fantasy owners can't even realistically be upset that he hasn't been scoring touchdowns.

We know touchdown rates for wideouts are generally dictated by volume and target location as opposed to innate skill, and if you've seen Julio play, you know skill isn't a problem. More importantly, though, we know that Jones is drawing attention away from other receivers and creating opportunities for the Falcons in the red zone. After their prime-time opening-night debacle in the red zone against the Eagles in Week 1, the Falcons have averaged 6.2 points per red zone trip, the best mark in football. They've done that without Devonta Freeman and are down both of their Week 1 starters at guard. Jones is the sun in that offense.

With even a middling touchdown rate, Jones would be a viable top choice here. He's averaging 116.6 receiving yards per game and attracting targets on 32.3 percent of his routes, both of which are tops among wideouts. Jones is also averaging nearly 14 air yards per target, which is crazy for his usage rate. The only WR1s topping that are Mike Evans and Tyreek Hill, who aren't the same sort of intermediate weapon Jones has been for years. If you can't get past the touchdowns, you're missing greatness.

 

[Mr.11]

4 minutes ago, Zone#7 said:

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25177946/2018-nfl-midseason-awards-bill-barnwell-picks-mvp-players-year-best-rookies-plays#mvp

 

Seems like people are quietly realizing that Falcons offense is looking just as good as 2016.

It's more so Matt Ryan. The running game, save for yesterday and Week 2, has taken a step back, while Matt Ryan has had to carry the load in the passing game. He's averaging about 38 pass attempts per game (roughly 34 attempts per game in 2016), which I believe is the most since 2015 or 2014.

[fuego]

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Second: Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons

The touchdown rate from Weeks 2-4 was never going to be sustainable, although Ridley did get back on the board for the first time since September with a 40-yard catch in traffic and score during Sunday's comfortable win over Washington. The former Alabama star caught six passes for 71 yards, his second-highest yardage total of the season, and Ridley has caught an even 75 percent of his targets despite averaging nearly 11.2 air yards per attempt. The presence of Julio Jones is a blessing and a curse for his Rookie of the Year chances; Jones keeps the double-teams away from Ridley and opens him up for red zone opportunities, but with Julio averaging more than 11 targets per game, Ridley might not get the target share to compete.

 

 

 

[Tribal Chief]

I think Denzel Ward should be in the top 3 for DROY. Dude has been good for Cleveland. It'll definitely come down to Barkley and Ridley for OROY. That's gonna be a close one. I think the only way Ridley does it is with 1000 yards and 10 touchdowns minimum. Barkley gets the edge with all purpose yards

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, JerseyNo12 said:

It's more so Matt Ryan. The running game, save for yesterday and Week 2, has taken a step back, while Matt Ryan has had to carry the load in the passing game. He's averaging about 38 pass attempts per game (roughly 34 attempts per game in 2016), which I believe is the most since 2015 or 2014.

I agree he's shouldered most of the blame too for anything this team does wrong as well. Especially without some OL help, and again that Defense that is now starting to come around it looks like.

 

Edit: One thing think we forget speaking of the defense in 2016 a lot of the guys we truly love Campbell, Neal, Jones, and a few others rookies this year it's the same thing only difference is their older, but we got rookies in place of guys who were injured. Save for Beasley who knows we just might get it all together, and make that run to ATL(anyways you know what I mean).

Edited November 5, 2018 by Zone#7