The Patriots offense will struggle
without Welker and Hernandez. Tom Brady can’t throw the deep ball any more.
Stevan Ridley is not a reliable back. These are all insults that I’ve had to
endure since summer, repeated over and over by naysayers of all kinds. Well,
yesterday the Patriots scored 55 points. Tom Brady threw two touchdowns to his rookie receiver Aaron Dobson, one of
which he slung for 81 yards, and Stevan Ridley found the endzone twice. New
England’s points were the highest total this season, and that is why Tom Brady
finds himself back atop this week’s Redding Report MVP Watch™. In case you were
wondering, I went to sleep before my brain completely shut down, but I did wake
up with blood in my nose and on my face. Talk about a close call. Anyway, let’s
get into the list!
1. Kansas City Chiefs Defense- Oh, you
thought “atop” meant number one? No my friends, not even my ridiculous bias
could justify ranking Brady first this week. The Chiefs are 8-0 and it’s
because they feature the absolute best defense in the NFL. Nobody has managed
to score more than 17 points against KC this season, and the defense has scored
six touchdowns themselves. The Chiefs are also first in the league with a
turnover differential of +15. Can they just square off with Denver already
please?
2. Tom Brady- The man, the myth, the legend,
the model, the superhero, the…oh sorry. I got distracted for a second. New
England’s defense has carried them for much of the season, but now injuries
have bumped them back down to liability status. A unit that included rookies at
the corner, safety, and defensive line positions allowed 31 points yesterday
afternoon. Unfortunately for the Steelers, Tom Brady still has the ability to
make receivers better by sheer force of will (see: Aaron Dobson).
#PatriotsVsSeahawksSuperbowl48
3. Russell Wilson & Golden Tate- We’ve
seen co-MVPs before, but never from the same team. On Sunday, down 21 to the
Tampa Bay Possibly Infected Bucs, Wilson and Tate both saw a need for something
big. Wilson kicked it off, throwing a touchdown and running another in himself,
but Tate’s relentless 71-yard punt return made the Hawks believe that they
weren’t done yet. Last week, Tate’s 80 yard touchdown, despite the penalty,
lifted Seattle past the Rams. These two need each other almost as much as the
team needs them. Pay attention folks, there’s magic in that locker room.
4. Andrew Luck- Like the Seahawks, Luck
and the Colts found themselves in a hole going into halftime against the
Texans. However, Luck remembered that T.Y. Hilton also plays for Indy and acted
accordingly. By the way, I hope you picked up T.Y. Hilton when I suggested that
you do so, this guy is the real deal. More about him later this week.
5. T.Y. Hilton- Hilton seems to do
nothing but come up big when the Colts need it most. In their matchup with the
Seahawks, Hilton went off against the highly-touted Legion of Boom. On Sunday
night, as the Colts clawed back into the game, Andrew Luck threw three
touchdowns. All of them were caught by our friend T.Y. Not to mention that he
added about 30 points to my fantasy score this week (but then again, who didn’t?).
Could Luck-to-Hilton be Indy’s next great passing connection?
6. Honorable Mention: Andre
Petties-Wilson- Confused as to why you haven’t heard of this player? That’s
because Andre plays for Mission Bay High School, where I graduated in 2012. Andre
has been the Buc’s most dynamic player for a couple of years now and is a big reason why they're 8-1 this season, making an
impact on offense, defense, and in the return game. Look out for him at the
college level next year and on Sundays in the future.
I almost felt obligated to add Nick
Foles to this list, but then I realized how terrible the Eagles are this year.
They don’t need an MVP. Darrel Young may have powered the Redskins to an
overtime win over the Chargers, but the only thing he’s the MVP of is the
Touchdown Vultures Association of America. Alfred Morris could have had such a
great day! Why does Mike Shanahan hate letting his good running backs score? Anyway,
keep your eyes open for these players to make their mark in this upcoming week
of games. Until next time!
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