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An Exception To The Rule

December 17, 2014 • Uncategorized

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Written by: Jordon Hall

Today’s National Football League (NFL) is all about offense. The league has implemented rule changes over the past decade that have allowed for scoring numbers to rise and passing strategies to take over. With this rise of offense the NFL MVP award has also gone through a transformation as it has essentially become an honour bestowed upon the best NFL quarterback each season. This season however has seen an exception to the rule emerge as a defensive powerhouse has ascended beyond the limitations created over the past ten years by not only being a menace to opposing offenses but by also adding a scoring touch to his game. This exception is Houston Texans defensive lineman JJ Watt and he alone should be recognized as the 2014-15 NFL MVP.

Watt is unlikely to reach his 2012 total for sacks in a season with 20.5, but he will still record an astounding 15 plus sacks this season. Watt is unlikely to reach his 2012 total for passes defended with 16, but he will once again record double digits in that category which puts him on par with some of the best defensive backs in the league. Although 2012 may go down as the best defensive campaign in his young career thus far, what separates Watt in 2014 is his involvement in all aspects of the Houston Texans game plan. Along with recording an 80-yard interception touchdown, Watt has also been instituted into the Texans goal-line offense and has converted three receptions into three offensive touchdowns. This kind of singular impact by a player has been reserved for those of a different breed, a breed that Watt is a part of and allows for him to soar above the quarterbacks of this season.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has emerged as the next big thing when it comes to NFL quarterbacks, leading the league in passing yards while most likely recording a 40 plus passing touchdown season, but the last four weeks have seen a plague of turnovers disrupt his otherwise clear MVP campaign. Denver Broncos quarterback and perennial MVP contender Peyton Manning has achieved his 14th 4,000 yard passing season and will also achieve the 40 plus passing touchdown plateau once again, but when compared with previous record breaking seasons it just doesn’t match up. The last opposition to Watt is Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers who has come on strong at the end of this 2014-15 campaign and has a current touchdown to interception ratio of 35 to 5, but he also recently recorded the first game of his career without a single passing touchdown and has been stopped by the top tier defenses on a few occasions.

The NFL has become a league dominated by the pass and quarterbacks are most often viewed as the most valuable player to any team. In 2014 JJ Watt has surpassed this standard notion with another season of pure defensive dominance along with a new wrinkle as an efficient scoring machine. Regardless of who receives the NFL MVP at the end of this season, JJ Watt has become the exception to the rule and he truly is the 2014-15 most valuable player.

 

Jordon Hall is a sports writer and blogger. With a particular love of Canadian football, he is a non-conventional sports fan in Canada. Whether it’s basketball, football or mixed martial arts, Jordon is always ready to join the conversation.

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