Brees' Record & The MVP Award
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 8:28AM | by Otter I've written elsewhere in these blogs about Drew Brees and his importance to New Orleans: he's just a good man in a time when New Orleans has needed good men, and successful when New Orleans needed success. For those who don't know, Brees' career was all but ended by a shoulder injury before having his throwing shoulder reconstructed and undergoing a year of painful rehabilitation. In his memoir, he works out the story of a used up quarterback and a used up city that found each other.
Brees is one of the smartest quarterbacks in the NFL right now, athletic and capable and with an elusive quality that produces lots and lots of wins. Last night, in a 45-16 pummeling of the division rival Atlanta Falcons, Brees eclipsed Dan Marino's 1984 record for piling up 5,084 passing yards, something I haven't had time to do yet as I've been busy with other things.
Some disgruntled Atlanta fans (and others) believe that Brees' record ought to come with an asterisk, as Marino played a shorter season. That's foolishness, for a lot of reasons. It's not like defensive backs and linebackers have gotten slower since Marino's time: those positions have evolved as much as the rest of the game has, making it harder to throw. Then too, as ESPN pointed out in a graphic during the game, if you look at the league averages for Dan Marino's NFL and that of Drew Brees, they both threw more or less the same amount higher than the league average. That is, they both throw about 40% more yards than their peers.
More philosophically, if records respect the changes in the game, records never really have any meaning. Each player has to play in the league he's in and play according to the conditions he's given. Brees' record (and Tom Brady of the Patriots is not far behind him right now) is astonishing by any measure.
There's lots of talk in New Orleans about whether the record should increase the volume of Brees' name in the conversation about this year's MVP.
I don't think so, or if it does, MVP voters shouldn't be too star-struck by the record. Virtuosity alone is not a valuable quality: it suggests qualities, but very imperfectly especially in a team sport.
Brees, the only player to throw for 5,000 yards or more in two seasons, has piled up yards in seasons when the Saints couldn't get a game deep into the playoffs. Then too, Aaron Rogers of the Packers has put together so many near-perfect games that I have trouble seeing anyone else as the most valuable player right now. It's impossible to overlook Rogers: if he were not on the planet, the thing would be clinched for Brees.
But as it is, wins are more important than records. In a year when Brees outplayed the great Peyton Manning in the Superbowl, he did not win the MVP award (and should have). At this moment, Aaron Rogers has put together more wins than Brees, under conditions just as difficult. He has fewer interceptions (that is, he's given away fewer points). Most importantly, in the first game of the season, Rogers beat Brees.
That award is highly subjective, though.
If the award comes down (as it should) to performance on the football field, give it to Rogers.
If it should include things like breathing life into dead cities, resurrecting hope, and cheerfully kicking the stuffing out of division rivals in important games and actually giving credit to the fans, you can't tell New Orleans that anybody but Drew Brees is the most valuable player in the history of the game.
And if it were up to me, we'd hold that award back until the Saints play the Packers again and see who comes through in the biggest of games. Maybe that game would change a few minds. We'll see.
Otter
Pay attention, youngsters: "We," not "I." It's a team sport, even for the guys at the top of the game. (My dear friend Jennifer used to say, "There's no 'I' in 'Team.'... " and then add thoughtfully, "but there's an 'M' and an 'E'.")
Drew Brees, Football, New Orleans, New Orleans Saints in Sports 
Reader Comments (3)
Drew knows. He knows how to inspire, how to lead, how to support, how to allow others to support him, how to love and how to be loved. He knows how valuable he is to his team and city. He knows how much he is needed and how much he needs his team.
We love you Drew! We love our SAINTS. I believe!
I don't know, Otter. I think the case can be made that Peyton's the indisputable MVP this year. Without playing a down, he's shown that his team is totally lost without him. Imagine how different the playoff picture might look had he been in the pocket instead of on the sideline.
Good point, DaIsy!
If the goal is to demonstrate your worth, Peyton, like Achilles in his tent, gets what we might call the Apophatic MVP.