Cedwards38
02-02-2015, 09:28 AM
My heartfelt congratulations to the New England Patriots and to their amazing quarterback, Tom Brady. He's a Hall of Famer, and I salute him!
When I was a young high school football player, I was a big guy. 6 feet tall and around 225 pounds of mostly muscle. (OK, so I'm not that way today, but that is not the point.) I played in the offensive line, mostly tackle, and defensive middle linebacker. I was pretty good, but not good enough to play at the next level.
Now for my issue. Brady throws four touchdown passes. Great day! But how many of those would he have thrown if his offensive line had not been there protecting him? Brady gets sacked a couple of times with hard hits. His offensive line takes a hard hit every down. They get most of the bruises and Brady gets most of the glory. This is not just Brady and the Patriots, of course. It's that way on every football team in America, from youth leagues, to high school, to college, to the NFL.
What would a guard, or a tackle, or a center have to do to be named the Super Bowl MVP? I don't think it's possible. Only scorers are eligible for this award. Am I wrong? Has there ever been an MVP from the offensive line? There is no glory in the line. No accolades, no glory, no money, no girls, and no awards. We don't even have a way to measure the performance of an offensive lineman. There is no BYG (blocks for yardage gained) that shows up in the newspaper stats the next day. On defense they do count tackles and interceptions, but it's pretty rare when someone can gather up and MVP on those stats.
Please someone, make me feel better and prove me wrong! I suspect the answer is, "that's just the way it is." I know, I know, football is a team sport and Brady (and every other quarterback always credits and thanks their linemen) but still there is no way to really reward the job those linemen do. I'm reminded of the Orwell line from "Animal Farm." "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
OK, I've had my rant and I feel a little better already, but are there any of you out there who agree with me?
When I was a young high school football player, I was a big guy. 6 feet tall and around 225 pounds of mostly muscle. (OK, so I'm not that way today, but that is not the point.) I played in the offensive line, mostly tackle, and defensive middle linebacker. I was pretty good, but not good enough to play at the next level.
Now for my issue. Brady throws four touchdown passes. Great day! But how many of those would he have thrown if his offensive line had not been there protecting him? Brady gets sacked a couple of times with hard hits. His offensive line takes a hard hit every down. They get most of the bruises and Brady gets most of the glory. This is not just Brady and the Patriots, of course. It's that way on every football team in America, from youth leagues, to high school, to college, to the NFL.
What would a guard, or a tackle, or a center have to do to be named the Super Bowl MVP? I don't think it's possible. Only scorers are eligible for this award. Am I wrong? Has there ever been an MVP from the offensive line? There is no glory in the line. No accolades, no glory, no money, no girls, and no awards. We don't even have a way to measure the performance of an offensive lineman. There is no BYG (blocks for yardage gained) that shows up in the newspaper stats the next day. On defense they do count tackles and interceptions, but it's pretty rare when someone can gather up and MVP on those stats.
Please someone, make me feel better and prove me wrong! I suspect the answer is, "that's just the way it is." I know, I know, football is a team sport and Brady (and every other quarterback always credits and thanks their linemen) but still there is no way to really reward the job those linemen do. I'm reminded of the Orwell line from "Animal Farm." "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
OK, I've had my rant and I feel a little better already, but are there any of you out there who agree with me?