After delighting his readers with a missive from Saints LB Scott Fujita about why voting is important (yep, the same Scott Fujita who injured himself at a water park last year), Petey returns to his weekly Tuesday ritual of interacting with his adoring fans via the internets!
From Jason, of Norwalk, Conn.: "Love your column. Since we are at the midseason point I am wondering who gets your vote for MVP? I think a legit case can be made for Matt Ryan. Playing the toughest position in all of sports for a team that drafted in the top three and still having a winning record and avoiding the killer rookie mistakes? And the throw he made with seven seconds left to beat the Bears looked like an MVP throw to me...."
[Nice point made by Jason here. When I started to think about who I would consider for MVP at the mid-way point of the NFL season, I also based my analysis largely on the "Who Made The Single Most Awesome Throw Through Eight Sixty-Minute Football Games" category.]
I've given this one a lot of thought, and if I had to pick the most deserving MVPs, 1 through 10, it would be: Kurt Warner, Matt Ryan (your argument, Jason, is an excellent one), Jason Campbell (despite an awful game last night)....
[Yep. So Petey is on board with Jason's masterful analysis. And not to be outdone by a novice head-scratcher, Petey throws Jason Campbell's name into the mix only to immediately point out that he was beyond atrocious in his most prominently featured game of the season. I feel good about this.]
From Josh Wymard, of Vero Beach, Fla.: "As good as Matt Ryan has been, I have to take issue with your comment that, "You'd have to go back to Peyton Manning to find a rookie quarterback as poised and full of promise as Ryan." Big Ben was 13-1 as a rookie in 2004 and led the Steelers to the AFC Championship game with a 98.1 QB rating. Not too shabby."
[Reminder: King gets paid to do this. Josh from Vero Beach, Florida does not.]
You're right. I blew that one.
[(nodding self-righteously)]
Oh, and just to go back to the Matt Ryan-for-MVP nonsense for a moment. Look, Ryan is playing pretty well. He's exceeding expectations for a rookie QB. But let's settle waaaay down. Not to take the air out of Petey's new man-crush, but let's consider the following:
In the five games that Atlanta has won this season, Ryan has had the luxury of facing the 32nd, 31st, 20th, 18th and 28th ranked defenses (out of 32). Those opponents have a combined 12-28 record. His numbers against those teams are solid (7 TDs, 1 INT, 69.7 comp %).
In the three games that Atlanta has lost this season, Ryan has faced the 6th, 8th and 5th ranked defenses. Those opponents have a combined 17-8 record. His numbers against those teams suck (2 TDs, 4 INTs, 48.3 comp%).
I'm not saying that you shouldn't be optimistic if you are a Falcons fan, but Petey just said that Matt Ryan is the SECOND MOST valuable player in the entire NFL this season. Oh, wait, but I keep forgetting that one awesome throw he had that one time....
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