nfl defensive mvp?

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Defensive MVP goes to the guy who makes the most plays and gets the most hype... Derrick Brooks, Ed Reed, etc.

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Or, if there's a dominant defense (the type that comes along once every 2-4 years, say), it goes to whomever has the biggest name on the unit. This year, then, I'm thinking Urlacher.

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i couldnt agree more. their defense is certainly impressive, cant wait to see them at home in the playoffs

[Jules22]

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I dunno, just watch SportsCenter and you'll probably figure it out. If you don't committ suicide first.

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i dont get it?

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Defensive MVP goes to the guy who makes the most plays and gets the most hype... Derrick Brooks, Ed Reed, etc.

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while i hate espn about more than anyone, if you are suggesting that someone other than ed reed was the best defensive player in football in 2004 youre crazy

(i agree that this is award is tough because it requires comparing players occupying vastly different positions (i.e cornerback vs nose tackle or free safety vs defensive end)

i usually classify defensive mvp as the player i felt made the most big plays at big times, and it was their skill alone who put them there, i.e ed reed in 2004. sometimes there is a reason players receive hype.

this year i have watched multiple highlights of probably every game, and i dont really have an easy answer like ed reed was last year, and i was hoping for somebody who did? is that person out there? fwiw both giants end have been stellar, and have bolstered that defense. mike brown and nathan vashar from chicago have been awesome too. but defensive mvps? im not sure

any other opinions?

i keep editing this cuz im high [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[VarlosZ]

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Defensive MVP goes to the guy who makes the most plays and gets the most hype... Derrick Brooks, Ed Reed, etc.

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while i hate espn about more than anyone, if you are suggesting that someone other than ed reed was the best defensive player in football in 2004 youre crazy. . .

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How do you know that? By watching lots of highlights? A defensive player might be in on close to a thousand snaps in a season; a handful of highlight-reel caliber plays are a very small part of the story.

Maybe the guy making lots of spectacular plays is gambling to get in position for such heroics, and misses his assignment more than he should. Maybe there's a defensive end who faces constant double teams and doesn't put up double-digit sacks, but does lead the league in "hurries" and "forced INTs," for which only his coaches will give him full credit. Perhaps there's an OLB who's so dominant that teams almost never run or pass in his direction, giving him pedestrian numbers and fewer opportunities to make big plays. Players like these put their teammates, on both sides of the ball, in position to make the highlight reel.

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i usually classify defensive mvp as the player i felt made the most big plays at big times, and it was their skill alone who put them there, i.e ed reed in 2004.

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Obviously I think this is a bad system, but as long as the award is voted on by fans and journalists, it's the only way to go. That's why I'd rather take them out of the loop completely. How about this: each team picks the two or three people on their staff who watch the most tape, and they each get a vote (can't vote for your own team, naturally). People who actually have a hand in preparing a team to play, and who actually watch every (or nearly every) game are much better qualified to judge dominance than the writers from the AP.

[Jack of Arcades]

I think Ed Reed was deserving, but he won the award because of hype and highlights, not because he limited opposing RBs and TEs or anything.

[VarlosZ]

Yeah, I'm certainly not saying he didn't deserve to win. I just think there was no way for the average fan (or even the above average fan, or the above average journalist) to be sure one way or another.

[Jules22]

are you serious? ed reed had 80 tackles, 9 picks, 3 forced fumbles and 350 return yards, was the lynchpin for that years best defensive unit and was a terror on special teams. i garnered this knowledge from watching football highlight shows, but i mean it was overwhelming obvious he was the best player on that side of the ball that year. quit being silly.

[Jack of Arcades]

actually, the best defense last year was buffalo, but who's keeping track?

[IHateKeithSmart]

Earlier in the season, I was thinking Polamalu, with all the media hype he gets. Now, probably either Urlacher or Vasher. Freeney is probably somewhere in the running with some good sack and FF #s.

[VarlosZ]

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are you serious? ed reed had 80 tackles, 9 picks, 3 forced fumbles and 350 return yards, was the lynchpin for that years best defensive unit and was a terror on special teams. i garnered this knowledge from watching football highlight shows, but i mean it was overwhelming obvious he was the best player on that side of the ball that year. quit being silly.

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The only thing that was overwhelmingly obvious was that he had the snazziest looking stats (which never tell the whole story) and the most big plays (which are distributed somewhat randomly).

How many of those turnovers were due mostly to bad play from the offense rather than good play from Reed? How many of those return yards were due to having a ton of open field in front of him? How often did Reed blow an assignment, or miss a tackle? I don't know the answers to these questions, and neither do you. And neither, I would wager, did any of the voters from the AP.

Don't get me wrong: I think Ed Reed is an excellent player, and if I'd had a vote last year he would have gotten it, because he was the best defensive player in the league according to the available information. I just think the information that's generally available is inadequate.