Atlanta Falcons: Why Matt Ryan is Unanimous choice for NFL MVP
The Atlanta Falcons can officially say they have received their thank you from Matt Ryan this season. Ryan should be on his way to his first ever NFL MVP unless the league does something silly like reward it to a player they like more. As long as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers continues to throw touchdowns and win games, there is always a possibility the voters can be short-sighted.
But, as a football fan, how can you turn your back on Ryan this season?
[Mark]First, let’s get the team attributes out the way. The Falcons won 11 games this season, up from 8 in 2015. They beat out the Carolina Panthers who won the NFC South for three straight seasons and made the playoffs for the first time since 2012. The Patriots are playoffs mainstays and so are Rodgers and the Packers.
Last season Ryan threw for 4591 yards, 21 touchdowns, 16 interceptions with a completion percentage of 66. This season Ryan passed for 4944 yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a completion percentage 70. I bring up last season to show growth. These are the numbers you expect to see from Brady and Rodgers but to see Ryan outshine them both lets you now how far he has come. The biggest knock on Ryan was his inability to make the big plays and his obsession with WR Julio Jones.
In past seasons it was the Jones show and rightfully so as Jones may be the best WR in the NFL but in 2016 Ryan began to spread te ball around and it opened up another dimension for the offense. Opened it up so much so that the Falcons were able to score an NFL-best 540 points. Needless to say, Ryan has proved his worth to the Falcons and the league in 2016.
But, there are still some that will like to throw the stats of Brady and Rodgers into the mix. I believe they do so without checking Ryan’s. Check below:
Passes Attempted: Ryan (373) Rodgers (401)
Passes Completed: Ryan (534) Rodgers (610)
Passing Yards: Ryan (4944) Rodgers (4428)
Passing TD: Ryan (38) Rodgers (40)
Passer Rating: Ryan (117.1) Rodgers (104.2)
Completion Percentage: Ryan (69.9) Rodgers (65.7)
So, explain to me how fans can still say Rodgers deserves the award over Ryan. It’s not even close, to be honest. Brady should be nowhere in the discussion but due to the love fest the media has with him, they found a way to try to throw his name into the mix. We can hear all the Rodgers has no running game and he lost Jordy Nelson talk all we want but isn’t that what an elite QB is supposed to do when faced with adversity? He’s supposed to step up and win. Brady turns no name players into millionaires every season. No excuse.
It’s clear that Ryan is the MVP.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
