NFC South: Why Cam Newton winning the MVP is ludicrous
The Carolina Panthers are off to the best start in franchise history with an astonishing 10-0 record and many people are calling for a Cam Newton MVP award. Here’s why that’s the moronic, imbecilic, half-witted thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.
In what universe do sub-par numbers from the most important position in football with the league’s second easiest schedule up to this point deserve to be in the discussion for an MVP award?
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The Panthers have the second easiest strength of schedule through the first 11 weeks of the season and have only played one team thus far with a winning record. Only two of the 10 teams that the Panthers have played are currently in position to make the playoffs. Those two teams are the 5-5 Indianapolis Colts and the 7-3 Green Bay Packers.
Many would argue that the most important passing statistic is a quarterback’s completion percentage. The Average QB hovers around 64 percent with the highest going to Drew Brees at 69.5 percent. Newton ranks 28 in the NFL in completion percentage at a dismal 57 percent.
Newton also has a rather alarming interception ratio which sits at one interception for every 33.8 attempt’s. Tom Brady’s ratio in comparison sits at one interception per every 102 pass attempts.
The Panthers’ bread-and-butter is the run game on offense. Carolina ranks No.4 in the NFL in rushing yard with 1,399 but have only faced one defense ranked inside the top 10 in rushing yards allowed. In fact, the Panthers have faced five defenses ranked No.20 or worse. Six of the Panthers’ games have come against teams whose defenses rank 19th or worse overall as well.
If you’re arguing that Newton should be awarded as the NFL’s most valuable player over the likes of Tom Brady or Adrian Peterson then I’m not sure what you’re basing your information off of. Newton has not played any good teams thus far and hasn’t fared all that well against the teams that he has played against.
Newton had his best game of the season last week in which he threw five touchdown passes in the Panthers’ 44-16 win over the Washington Redskins. Sounds pretty nice doesn’t it? However, the Redskins have the NFL’s No.22 ranked defense.
Newton is nowhere near Brady in 2015. Brady has Newton beat in just about every category including passing touchdowns, yards, interceptions, quarterback rating, and completion percentage. The only category that Newton has Brady beat in is well, nothing actually. There is not a single passing statistic that Newton trumps Brady in. Not one.
One argument that people will state is that Newton has no wide receivers and the ones that he does have drop almost every pass thrown to them. Well, you’re right and wrong. Ted Ginn ranks third in the NFL in drops, but other than that, nobody on the Panthers’ team has more than two drops. That’s well above the league’s average.
The bottom line is this. The Panthers aren’t 10-0 because of Newton, they are 10-0 because of their disturbingly weak schedule and a top-notch defensive unit. Newton in no way shape or form deserves to be the leagues’ MVP award. That my friends, has Brady’s name written all over it. Count on it.