I bet the chargers.. I also think that Ryan should've got MVP.. Last place falcons make it to the Playoffs with a Rookie QB and there starter in Jail. NO ONE THOUGHT RYAN WOULD DO WHAT HE DID... FUCK ROOKIE OF THE YEAR MATT RYAN DESERVED MVP!
I can't agree with you on Matt Ryan as MVP. Manning is the MVP. Let me first say that I am a huge fan of Matt Ryan, and I am thinking of doing my masters at BC. I have watched the kid play since he came to the school, and he is going to be a great one. If you look at Ryan for MVP you have to look at Cassel to. Cassel has better numbers, and some of these facts may suprise you as to why I think he would deserve the MVP more than Ryan (and to prove why Manning is the MVP).
1.) Ryan turned around a franshise as a rookie. Cassel stepped in for the best QB in the NFL and led a team to a 11-5 record with 14 starters on IR. He also didn't start a game since highschool, and did not play a single snap in college. There is more pressure to win in Boston, and with the pats going 16-0 last year the pressure was magnified. Atlanta would have been happy with a winning record. They got much more, but no one expected Ryan to do what he did.
2.) The patriots had the most allowed sacks in the NFL this year and they don't have a star rb on the team due to injury. Infact at one point a UDFA rookie was running the ball for them. Matt Cassel put up better numbers than Ryan while being sacked over twice as much, and without a high powered running game. The running game makes the passing game easier, and the Falcons O-line and running game was much better than the pats this year.
3.) Roddy White and the falcons weapons are highly overlooked. Roddy White had better numbers than randy Moss this year, and although Welker is a total beast, that advantage over Ryan is canceled out by the fact that Micheal Turner is a star running back who causes huge problems for opposing teams. As a whole, the Falcons had comparable total offensive numbers as the pats this year and Cassel still had better numbers. The fact is that Ryan is sorrounded by a lot of offensive talent, and they were pretty damn good.
Total Yards Rk Team G Pts/G TotPts Scrm Plys Yds/G Yds/P 1st/G 3rd Md 3rd Att 3rd Pct 4th Md 4th Att 4th Pct Pen Pen Yds ToP/G FUM Lost TO
1 New Orleans Saints 16 28.9 463 1,047 410.7 6.3 22.1 97 200 48 10 18 56 86 797 30:28 18 8 -4
2 Denver Broncos 16 23.1 370 1,019 395.8 6.2 22.1 95 200 48 4 10 40 77 739 28:44 18 12 -17
3 Houston Texans 16 22.9 366 1,019 382.1 6.0 21.2 83 197 42 14 23 61 80 664 32:04 28 12 -10
4 Arizona Cardinals 16 26.7 427 998 365.8 5.9 20.5 83 198 42 8 16 50 107 781 30:11 27 15 0
5 New England Patriots 16 25.6 410 1,095 365.4 5.3 22.2 96 222 43 17 22 77 57 501 32:25 17 10 +1
6 Atlanta Falcons 16 24.4 391 1,011 361.2 5.7 19.6 95 219 43 6 13 46 71 591 31:10 18 10 -3 4.) The Falcons had far less injuries than the pats
5.) The 08 version of the AFC east was much harder division than the one the Falcons play in. Also, the weather sucks in the winter.
6.) The numbers don't lie:
8 Matt Cassel NE QB 327 516 63.4 32.2 3,693 7.2 230.8 21 11 182 35.3 76T 37 6 47 89.4 9 Chad Pennington MIA QB 321 476 67.4 29.8 3,653 7.7 228.3 19 7 180 37.8 80T 38 8 24 97.4
10 David Garrard JAC QB 335 535 62.6 33.4 3,620 6.8 226.2 15 13 183 34.2 41 42 1 42 81.7
11 Brett Favre NYJ QB 343 522 65.7 32.6 3,472 6.7 217.0 22 22 184 35.2 56T 40 7 30 81.0
12 Tony Romo DAL QB 276 450 61.3 34.6 3,448 7.7 265.2 26 14 150 33.3 75T 48 11 20 91.4
13 Matt Ryan ATL QB 265 434 61.1 27.1 3,440 7.9 215.0 16 11 157 36.2 70T 45 9 17 87.7 I don't think that Cassel is an MVP and I don't think that Ryan is either. Manning is the MVP and as shown above, Ryan is getting a ton of hype to go along with his awesome play. The Falcons are way better than people think. Ryan is going to be great and he is the clear OROTY, but he aint an MVP.
