Against MVP; starting then and now

by Josh Kirkendall on Nov 24, 2008 2:28 PM EST in Analysis

After beating the Patriots and the undefeated Tennessee Titans, there's momentum that should include Brett Favre in MVP discussions. Favre's 20 touchdown passes ranks third, and he's generally in the top-ten of every major quarterback category. However, the argument for his "nomination" isn't his numbers, rather his play in big games, leading the Jets deep into the season as playoff favorites, leading the AFC East with the third best record in the AFC.

In the past ten years, the Bengals have faced five players during their MVP season, voted on by the Pro Football Writers of America (not the AP). We've lost every one of them except for the first time the Bengals met up with Jamal Lewis in 2003.

Season	MVP	Performance
2008	Brett Favre (?)	Thomas Jones controlled much of the Jets 26-14 win over the Bengals, though Favre completed 25 passes for 189 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
2007	Tom Brady	During the Patriots 34-13 beating on Monday Night Football, Brady completed 25 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown.
2006	LaDainian Tomlinson	Scored four touchdowns in a 42-point second half to beat the Bengals 49-41 after the Bengals held a 28-7 first half lead. Recorded 158 yards total (104 rushing, 54 receiving)
2003	Jamal Lewis	Bengals won the first meeting of the two-game series, 34-26. Lewis rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown. The second game was totally different, riding Lewis' 180 yards on 30 carries and three touchdown, the Ravens easily won 31-13.
1999	Kurt Warner	During their godly 1999 offense, Kurt Warner and the Rams piled on 38 points to the Bengals 10. Warner completed 17 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns, all to Az-Zahir Hakim, who recorded a fourth touchdown on an 84-yard punt return.
1998	Terrell Davis	Heading into the fourth quarter, the Bengals were down by one point (13-12). Bengals scored 14 points in that final quarter. Broncos scored 20 with a five-yard touchdown run by Davis, who finished the game with 149 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Starters. Comparing the starting roster during kickoff weekend against the Ravens, and the week 12 starting roster against the Steelers, there's 10 lineup changes due to injury or feeling sleepy. Receiving, tight end and full back (h-back) is often dictated by the formation the Bengals come out in, so that's kind of messy.

	Week 1	Week 12
Quarterback	Carson Palmer	Ryan Fitzpatrick
Running Back	Chris Perry	Cedric Benson
Fullback/Tight End	Reggie Kelly	Andre Caldwell
Wide Receiver	Chad Johnson	Glenn Holt
Wide Receiver	T.J. Houshmandzadeh	T.J. Houshmandzadeh
Tight End	Ben Utecht	Reggie Kelly
Left Tackle	Levi Jones	Anthony Collins
Left Guard	Andrew Whitworth	Nate Livings
Center	Eric Ghiaciuc	Eric Ghiaciuc
Right Guard	Bobbie Williams	Bobbie Williams
Right Tackle	Stacy Andrews	Stacy Andrews

DEFENSE	Week 1	Week 12
Left Defensive End	Robert Geathers	Robert Geathers
Left Defensive Tackle	Domata Peko	Domata Peko
Right Defensive Tackle	John Thornton	Pat Sims
Right Defensive End	Frostee Rucker	Frostee Rucker
SLB	Rashad Jeanty	Rashad Jeanty
MLB	Dhani Jones	Dhani Jones
WLB	Keith Rivers	Brandon Johnson
LCB	Johnathan Joseph	David Jones
RCB	Leon Hall	Leon Hall
SS	Dexter Jackson	Chris Crocker
FS	Marvin White	Marvin White

If this team were made of rookies, we'd have two wins, maybe more. I think it's becoming evident that this rookie class is going to be a good one. Anthony Collins came through with the toughest task asked of a rookie tackle. Andre Caldwell got into the offense. Pat Sims has performed well this season, Keith Rivers was coming into his own, and Corey Lynch made some plays. At one point we were wondering where our rookies are. There they are.

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It's even worse than you thought...

From Bengals.com:

…[D]fensive ends Robert Geathers (knee) and Frostee Rucker became the fifth and sixth Opening Day starters to go on season-ending injured reserve and the 13th and 14th players to go on the list since the first week of practice for the regular season.

The Bengals signed somebody named Josh Mallard to replace Geathers and Rucker. Uggh.

I really, really, really hate the Ravens. I don’t know if I can watch Sunday’s game without physically hurting myself. It is going to be painful.

"Ryan, Things in here don't react too well to bullets." - Marko Ramius

by TarZander on Nov 24, 2008 10:37 PM EST reply actions

Hey Tarzander

Head on over to BaltimoreBeatdown please. We have a front page article involving your very intelligent post from after the Ravens’ 17-10 Victory over your pussy cats. We were only going to win 3 games right???

by Mr MaLoR on Nov 25, 2008 11:10 AM EST up reply actions

Can you translate that into English?

I’m not fluent in douchebag.

"Ryan, Things in here don't react too well to bullets." - Marko Ramius

by TarZander on Nov 25, 2008 10:36 PM EST up reply actions

TarZander

BTW – since we were lucky to win the first game and likely wouldn’t win another all year, I thought you might like to know that we are 7 – 4 and in the thick of the playoff race. I know how much you love to have the Ravens and bad the dyspepsia is when we win, but I felt it necessary to remind you of your post back early in the year when everyone and his brother had written us off.

Have a great Turkey Day.

Enjoy the game.

Please don’t hurt yourself. It is only a game, played by men who really in their heart could not care how we feel about them or our teams.

by ppdoc on Nov 25, 2008 9:42 AM EST reply actions