RGIII for MVP

Could the Washington Redskins new superstar rookie actually be in the running for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award? Before you entirely scoff at the notion, think about what type of player should win the award? Is it the best player on the team with the best record, the one with the best stats, or the player who is the most valuable to their team’s success?

Clearly, the biggest critique of Robert Griffin being considered the league’s MVP at this point in the season would be the Redskins’ losing record. However, given DC’s defense and schedule so far, RGIII should not be penalized for their 3-4 record. Washington’s defense is currently ranked 29^th in yards allowed per game, 28^th in scoring, and dead last in passing yards. All four of their losses were decided within the last two minutes of the game and by seven points or less.  Their last three games were against teams with a combined record of 16-4.  There have been instances in the past where the MVP came from a losing team or a pitcher won a Cy Young award with a losing record due to a lack of run support, so the feat has some precedent.

Maybe in this fantasy football/videogame driven era of the NFL, all the MVP voters would care about would be numbers and statistics. Well, Griffin is third in the NFL in passer rating, ahead of the likes of Brady and Brees. He is first in yards per attempt and at 70.4% has the highest completion percentage of any quarterback in the league. His mere three interceptions are also tied for fewest in the league.  With RGIII, the attention is obviously focused on his running abilities as well. He is currently 12^th in the entire league in rushing yards and second in rushing touchdowns. His 468 rushing yards are more than the Saints and Raiders have as a team and his six rushing TD’s are more than 24 entire teams.  In fact he is leading the NFL in yards per rush and yards per pass attempt, the first player in history to do so. (While Cam Newton and Michael Vick have also recently had outstanding dual threat seasons, Newton was 15^th in passer rating last year while Vick’s career year in 2010 was still only 10^th in the league in completion %.)

Those impressive stats mean even more to the team, illustrating his immense value. His 2,069 combined yards account for 73% of the Redskin’s total offense and he has had a hand in 13 of the 19 offensive touchdowns. DC’s offense is ranked sixth in scoring per game, fifth in overall yards, and first in rushing yards. The last time they finished the season ranked this high in these categories was 13 seasons ago. Amazingly, the Redskins have scored 30 points or more three times already this season, which is the same amount of times they achieved that in the past four entire seasons combined.

           Given all his numbers and value to the team, RG3 should not lose out in an early MVP race to similar rated quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Rodgers, Big Ben, Brady and Brees, who already have hardware and only have a combined record of 16-16 themselves anyways. 

The Real MVP of Sports: Dr. James Andrews

Before Brett Favre made his third return from retirement this week, he had to consult with a very significant person. No, not his wife Deanna, nor his children, nor his coach Brad Childress, not even his Viking teammates. The 40-year-old indestructible gunslinger needed the blessing of one of the most influential men in sports, 68-year-old orthopedic surgeon of the athlete superstars, Dr. James Andrews.

The renowned doctor started off in Alabama in the early ‘70s and after successfully operating on Roger Clemens’s torn labrum in the early ‘80s, both careers took off. On his way to 40,000 lifetime surgeries, including 2,500 Tommy John operations alone, Dr. Andrews has treated Bo Jackson’s broken hip, Michael Jordan’s shoulder and Peyton Manning’s knee. Similarly to Clemens, in 1991 Troy Aikman’s career began after going under Andrews’s skillful knife. More recently, the Saints should give the surgeon an honorary Super Bowl ring after repairing Drew Brees’s shoulder before he signed with New Orleans.

Even this month, if you search his name under Google news, 1,000 article hits come up noting his procedures. Speaking of Google hits, in a testament to his influence, if you just Google his name, he gets 7.3 million hits, compared to 208k and 390k for the super-agents for his clients, Scott Boras and Tom Condon, as well as only 700k or less for three of the four commissioners of the sports he repairs. So next time your starting quarterback tears his ACL or ace pitcher blows out a shoulder, the following day you better hope to hear the familiar name of the man behind the curtain.

Further reading:

Much longer bio pieces from ESPN and FastCompany.

Slideshows of a team of future MLB Hall of Famers made up of his recovered players and twelve star QB patients.

Win the Trophies that Matter

Now that Lebron has won his second MVP trophy, the Cavaliers are now seeking a more important one, a NBA title. However, setting records and getting multiple shiny trophies is obviously secondary to team success. My favorite NBA, NHL, and NFL players are now the two-time reigning MVP’s but have had no team success to show for it at the end of those seasons, with only this year’s Cavs left. After winning his third and forth MVP the past two seasons, Peyton Manning’s Colts failed to claim the Lombardi Trophy. Alex Ovechkin’s MVP seasons ended in first and second round defeats for the Caps. This year even though OV is a finalist for another Hart Trophy, Washington was bounced early from the playoffs yet again. Last year, after winning Cleveland sports’ first MVP since Brian Sipe 30 years ago, the Cavs fell to the Magic before reaching the Finals to meet Kobe and his Lakers. In fact, when Peyton did win his only Super Bowl in 2006, Tomlinson was the MVP. While the most valuable player not winning the title is nothing new, the stats are interesting.

If Lebron doesn’t deliver Cleveland a championship, he’ll be the seventh straight MVP in the NBA to fail to bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy. Tim Duncan was the last to accomplish both, in 2002-03, part of a 37% correlation since 1956. However, of the 20 instances out of 54, 8 were just two players, Jordan and Russell.

In the NFL, only 26% of MVP’s won the title, with Kurt Warner in 1999 being the most recent. Strangely enough, between 1993 and 1999 seasons 5 of 7 MVP’s accomplished the feat as well as 4 straight in from 1959-1962.

Even though the Hart Trophy has been around in the NHL for 82 years, only 15 or 18% of those winners took home the Stanley Cup. Even when the Great One rattled off eight straight MVPs, the Oilers only won three championships. The last instance was Martin St. Louis and the Lightning in 2003-04.

The MLB is a little different since there are two MVP’s and less teams in the playoffs. The correlation that one of the MVP’s wins the World Series is higher than the other sports at 47%. From 1939 to 1948, all ten champion teams had the MVP on their roster. However, only one MVP has won the Commissioners Trophy in the past 25 seasons, and that was Kirk Gibson…on one leg.

When looking at one of the most prestigious individual awards in team sports, the Heisman, there is a small correlation as well at 14%. Even though the Heisman sometimes is just the best player on the best team that season, like this year with Alabama’s Ingram, the numbers for the BCS trophy are still low.

While winning the MVP is by no means a curse, like Madden cover or Sports Illustrated cover, it is no guarantee of team success as well. Here is the sporcle with the full list of MVP and Title winners.

Note: I used the AP Poll for the NCAA Football title, and I’m well aware that my favorite NFL player should be a Cleveland Brown. But come on, how could any of these QB’s, RB’s, or WR’s be a fan favorite? Hopefully Josh Cribbs does not have a letdown after his contract year last year.