From the other thread on QB and record - I didn’t want to hijack that thread.
But an interesting look on some projected numbers should QBs had played the full season.
Fajardo - 17 GP
71.5% - 4302 yds - 18TD - 8 INT - 105.2 EFF – 611 Rush yds
Evans - 13 GP
72.2% - 3754 yds - 21 TD - 13 INT - 103.9 EFF
Projected - 17 GP
Evans - 4909 yds – 72.2% – 27TD – 17 INT – - 103.9 EFF-- 210 Rush yds
Harris - 5266 yds - 71.8% – 21 TD – 8 INT – 102.9 EFF
Bo Levi - 5407 yds – 67.4% – 30 TD - 18 INT – 98.2 EFF
Adams - 4324 yds – 65.1% – 24 TD – 15 INT – 99.2 EFF – 476 Rus Yds
Fajardo hasn’t done anything special. If the QBs played 15-17 games each, Fajardo would be pedestrian and likely not strongly considered an MOP candidate.
The Rider argument is that in 2019, you have to add up a QB’s passing stats and rushing stats. It also applied in 2007, when the award went to Kerry Joseph as possibly the weakest MOP winner of this century.
The Pass + Rush formula never applied to Damon Allen, Dunigan or Ham in their prime (except once for Ham in 1989). And it didn’t help Mike Reilly last year when his 600 rushing yards and 13 TDs (plus 5,500 passing yards) did not prevail over BLM’s passing-only stats.
Brandon Banks is flat out the most exciting player of the 2019 season. At 5’7?, and 150 pounds, he plays every offensive down, occasionally returns punts, and goes back to handle possible missed FGs. He is double teamed by taller and heavier DBs and still comes up with the catch. On runs he is hit, and tackled, by D-linemen who outweigh him by 100 pounds and LBs who outweigh him by 50 and more. He leads the league in receptions, yards and TDs. As a fan he can draw your attention on every play that he breaks open.
I’m a Begelton and Burnham fan, but they don’t bring the excitement like Speedy does. Evans, Fajardo, Adams and Mitchell have all shown their worth to their respective clubs, but Speedy is far and away my choice for MOP this season.
So prorating to 18 games.
In Masoli’s 5 full games he prorates to 5,461 passing yards with 32 TDs and 11 rushing TDs.
And if you add Masoli to Evans you end up with a wonderful 5,642 passing yards with 32 TD passes. Pretty damn impressive and pretty similar numbers for our 2 QBs.
Evans has an impressive efficiency % but that number could end up even higher next season if he reduces his seldom mentioned interceptions. Too many deep balls forced into double coverage. Something Evans and Condell need to straighten out before the playoffs.
If Banks doesn’t win MOP and Steinauer isn’t Coach of the Year then it will be the “Crime of the Century” (no disrespect to Supertramp), and I’m not even including Simoni or Van Zyl as other possible award winners.
Three receivers have won MOP since 2000: - Milt Stegall in 2002 had 1,896 yards and 23 touchdowns - Geroy Simon in 2006 had 1,856 and 15 TDs - Chad Owens in 2012 had fewer receiving yards with 1,328, but that still led the league, and on the strength of this returns he also set a new record for total yardage with 3,850.
In contrast, Banks currently has 1,550 yards with one game left, and 16 total TDs. Throw in rushing and return yards and he is at 2,029. Nowhere near the Owens benchmark on total yards or the Stegall/Simon receiving yards benchmarks.
Furthermore, Banks’ 2019 figures do not particularly stand out among recent league leaders who went unrecognized: Duke Williams with 1,579 (2018 ), Zylstra with 1,687 (2017), Bowman with 1,761 (2016).
The only reason he gets so many yards is because of his speed and because his team has so many weapons the defence cannot just focus on Banks.
Meh, thats the “its traditionally a QBs award” argument since the above players had to something extraordinary to take it away from QBs.
Banks is the best all around weapon, Harris’ numbers are tainted . Fajardo isnt spectacular enough, Evans hasnt played enough…its recs award this year and Banks more than deserves it.
OK, here’s my next argument, if you like receivers so much.
Burnham had a lot of spectacular catches and probably has better hands than Banks. He has more “highlights” assuming you define a “highlight” as jumping up for a ball that’s been thrown up for grabs, making the catch in spectacular fashion, and falling down immediately.
While Banks has better stats across the board, his highlights skew towards shorter, higher-percentage passes which he turns into long gains and touchdowns by outrunning defenders and his unparalleled vision for the field - and those just don’t count as “highlights” according to the above definition.
(My arguments are getting weaker already. Please don’t make me stoop to invoking the Jesus Sprinkles.)
