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Wish more voters would have this type of logic
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Favre over Brady: A voter's reasoning
By Mike Reiss
Globe Staff / January 8, 2008
The lone voter who did not select Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as the NFL's Most Valuable Player explained his rationale for the choice yesterday.
Frank Cooney, the founder of Sports Xchange - an information provider for news organizations - cast his vote for Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Cooney has been analyzing football since the 1960s.
"First, let's be clear that this award is a distinctly individual honor in the ultimate team sport, which makes it extremely difficult to sort out in the first place," he wrote in an e-mail.
"As such, it cannot be based on statistics, which reap their own rewards. The term we are addressing here is Most Valuable Player, which I take to mean most valuable to one's team. It is, at best, an awkward phrase to evaluate, let alone quantify or justify. But, again, mere statistics should not be the sole basis of consideration.
"Tom Brady is a great player on a great team filled with great players in a highly-evolved system and a proven, veteran coach. That team, that franchise was expected to win 14 games and it won 16. Brady was awesome behind an awesome line and with awesome wide receivers in a great system with the help of excellent defense and special teams. He threw 50 touchdowns, 23 to Randy Moss. I appreciate all of that.
"In addressing the subject of the individual honor of Most Valuable Player, however, one is confronted by one of those chicken-or-egg scenarios. Was Brady great because of his team or was the team great because of Brady? There is no right or wrong answer there, just endless debate.
"I am familiar with this debate because it raged when Brady's idol, Joe Montana, was the quarterback in the 49ers' West Coast offense. But the fact that the question can be asked opens the way for comparing Brady's individual accomplishments in 2007 with those of other NFL players.
"In fact, one might ask if Randy Moss was the MVP, considering that Brady and the Pats did not manage 16 wins or 50 touchdown passes before Moss arrived. Or [Wes] Welker, for that matter.
"Favre was the quarterback and unquestioned leader of the youngest team in the NFL, one that was expected to win only five games. He led that team to 13 wins. I think that was a more valuable individual achievement than what Brady managed with his great team."
By Mike Reiss
Globe Staff / January 8, 2008
The lone voter who did not select Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as the NFL's Most Valuable Player explained his rationale for the choice yesterday.
Frank Cooney, the founder of Sports Xchange - an information provider for news organizations - cast his vote for Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Cooney has been analyzing football since the 1960s.
"First, let's be clear that this award is a distinctly individual honor in the ultimate team sport, which makes it extremely difficult to sort out in the first place," he wrote in an e-mail.
"As such, it cannot be based on statistics, which reap their own rewards. The term we are addressing here is Most Valuable Player, which I take to mean most valuable to one's team. It is, at best, an awkward phrase to evaluate, let alone quantify or justify. But, again, mere statistics should not be the sole basis of consideration.
"Tom Brady is a great player on a great team filled with great players in a highly-evolved system and a proven, veteran coach. That team, that franchise was expected to win 14 games and it won 16. Brady was awesome behind an awesome line and with awesome wide receivers in a great system with the help of excellent defense and special teams. He threw 50 touchdowns, 23 to Randy Moss. I appreciate all of that.
"In addressing the subject of the individual honor of Most Valuable Player, however, one is confronted by one of those chicken-or-egg scenarios. Was Brady great because of his team or was the team great because of Brady? There is no right or wrong answer there, just endless debate.
"I am familiar with this debate because it raged when Brady's idol, Joe Montana, was the quarterback in the 49ers' West Coast offense. But the fact that the question can be asked opens the way for comparing Brady's individual accomplishments in 2007 with those of other NFL players.
"In fact, one might ask if Randy Moss was the MVP, considering that Brady and the Pats did not manage 16 wins or 50 touchdown passes before Moss arrived. Or [Wes] Welker, for that matter.
"Favre was the quarterback and unquestioned leader of the youngest team in the NFL, one that was expected to win only five games. He led that team to 13 wins. I think that was a more valuable individual achievement than what Brady managed with his great team."
great explaination. how can one argue with that.
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