Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 1419 Born at the wrong time
Looking back at the 2019 season, when people discussed the Defensive Player of the Year, names such as Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, New England Patriots cornerback Gilmore, Arizona Cardinals defensive end Chandler Jones and Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end TJ Watt easily came to mind.

From this we can see that in the era where passing is king, the role of the defensive line continues to dominate, while the roles of cornerbacks, linebackers and safeties are weakened, just as the value of tight ends and running backs is far underestimated. This is a common phenomenon and a structural product.

So, after the era of J.J. Watt and Aaron Donald taking turns to dominate the league, who can continue the momentum?

To this end, Gilmore spoke passionately and fearlessly in front of the media.

"I think my performance proves the value of cornerbacks. In the past two years, the league has been discussing whether we underestimate the value of running backs. In my opinion, cornerbacks are also underestimated."

"I believe I should be on the list of candidates for the regular season MVP."

Confident, outspoken and direct.

Gilmore was on fire, "It's hard to believe that the last time we had a defensive player elected a regular season MVP was more than 30 years ago."

"So, what's wrong with the defensive players? I'm tired of us being underestimated, ignored, misunderstood and treated coldly. I think JJ and Aaron need to stand up and tell everyone that defensive players are also an indispensable part of football and we deserve a higher standard of attention."

“It’s more than just the defensive line.”

A fire set off a gas station.

Ever since running back Le'Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers had a salary dispute, the league's direction has been swinging back and forth, with more and more players rallying behind Levi, trying to gain more attention for positions other than quarterback, and now Gilmore has dropped a bunch of bombshells.

However, Gilmore still doesn't like Levi. He mentioned Watt and Donald, but refused to mention Levi, which shows his stubbornness.

Naturally, the controversy over whether the defensive player deserves the regular season MVP title has once again spread and burned with great force.

Unfortunately, Gilmore chose the wrong season. If it was Watt and Donald in their prime, the controversy would have been more intense; but this season, the offensive players handed in a perfect answer, which would have been a competitive performance at any time. They did not need the league to be partial to them, and they also proved their worth with practical actions.

In the discussion of offensive player of the year, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Jackson, Kansas City Chiefs running back Levi, Carolina Panthers running back McCaffrey, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Mahomes, and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Wilson stand out.

McCaffrey, a junior, finally came into his own this season. Although the Carolina Panthers had a terrible record this season, the young running back became the team's only hope. He rushed for 1387 yards and received for 1005 yards, achieving a double-thousand-yard season. He emerged out of nowhere and showed people the unlimited potential of a running back.

Michael Thomas, the New Orleans Saints' excellent season performance of 1725 wins and 11.58 losses is closely related to the outbreak of this fourth-year student. He has completed the feat of yards in all four seasons of his career so far, and this season he leads the league with ​​yards receiving. But the real strength of this wide receiver lies in his average yards per reception of yards. He not only shows the accuracy of short passes, but also the ability to continue to advance after catching the ball.

From the data, Thomas' average yardage per catch is 3.9, which is far from comparable to players like Levi and Hill who can run long distances after breaking through. But the key point is that Thomas' average catch position is 7.7 yards from the line of scrimmage. In other words, he is standing in the heavy accumulation of short pass areas. He can stand still to catch the ball and continue to advance, perfectly balancing the solidity of a tight end and the agility of a wide receiver. No wonder Thomas was selected for the Pro Bowl and the All-American First Team without any suspense, and is even a strong candidate for this year's Offensive Player of the Year.

Imagine that with McCaffrey and Thomas performing like this, it would be extremely difficult for the defense led by Gilmore to overturn their outstanding performance. After all, Gilmore's performance this year was excellent, but not enough to compare with Watt and Donald in their prime.

What's more, McCaffrey and Thomas are still not the strongest offensive players this year.

If it were any other year, McCaffrey and Thomas would undoubtedly be the top favorites for Offensive Player of the Year, completely rewriting the game. Quarterbacks Mahomes and Wilson would pale in comparison to their statistics. Not to mention the regular season MVP, quarterbacks would no longer be the favorites in the discussion for Offensive Player of the Year, with running backs and wide receivers stealing the spotlight.

Whether it is McCaffrey or Thomas, they are both having the best season of their careers.

However, in the 2019 season, they encountered tougher and more abnormal opponents.

Lamar Jackson passed for 3127 yards and rushed for 1206 yards, making him the first quarterback ever to accomplish such a great feat.

Before him, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick had completed 2006 passing yards and 2474 rushing yards in the 1039 season. That was also the first year when running quarterbacks emerged. However, Vick's mediocre passing ability limited his upper limit, and his passing yardage could not reach the league average until Jackson's comprehensive upgrade, which finally brought a breakthrough.

Three thousand yards passing and one thousand yards running means a complete refresh of the quarterback's dual threat.

In addition, his pass success rate of 66.08%, an average of 6.85 yards per ground advance, passing touchdowns, and running touchdowns were all blowouts. Whether it was passing as a quarterback or running as a running back, Jackson reached the top of the league in his respective positions.

Among them, the average of 6.85 yards per ground advance is so impressive.
In comparison, McCaffrey averaged 4.83 yards per ground advance this season, while Levy's data, which won him the regular season MVP last season, was 5.6 yards.

Of course, such a horizontal comparison is meaningless, because the job of a running back is to run the ball. If he holds the ball many times and his tactical intentions are discovered early, it will be difficult to advance. However, when Jackson, as a quarterback, chooses to advance on the ground, the situation is completely different and the two cannot be compared.

But there is no doubt that Jackson's series of performance data are shocking and deterrent, and the entire league inside and out has been turned into a scorched earth.

Not to mention defensive players like Gilmore, excellent quarterbacks like Mahomes and Wilson were inferior to him, and offensive players like McCaffrey and Thomas who had one highlight reel after another were also overshadowed. All eyes were on Jackson.

No wonder everyone exclaimed that Jackson was the new king and the ultimate development template for quarterbacks, a talented super quarterback that everyone worshipped.

So, when the regular season came to an end, everyone exclaimed, “Regular season MVP”!
But...is it really so?

(End of this chapter)