johnnyboy
Guru
TheAnimal said:warhawk46 said:<div></div><div>On the other hand, statistics do not tell the whole story on how effective and disruptive a player can be. I love this site, but some of you are so over-the -top it hurts Caste Football's standing and reputation. For those of you who cannot accept that Polamalu deserved this award I question whether you've watched the Steelers games or are nearly as biased as those who we are trying to fight against...</div>
Considering the NFL's current push of all things Pittsburgh I have seen more Steelers games than I care to. The truth of the matter is Troy Polamalu is probably the most overrated player in the NFL. Anyone questioning that is free to look at the stats, he's no better than any other number of safeties. The big difference between he and everyone else? His highlights are crammed down our throats via the MSM giving the appearance he is this superman that he isn't. Pay closer attention from this point forward, they beat each highlight the guy mans into the dirt. Reality? He's often hurt, for every amazing play it appears he makes(Appears meaning: He gets away with hits that anyone else would draw a penalty over as well as being the only guy in the NFL who can grab a ball that hit the ground and have it counted as an amazing interception) there are twenty he doesn't make and he is a benefactor of his surroundings. As for Clay Matthews it has nothing to do with his race except maybe to those who snubbed him. The fact of the matter his play on the field speaks for itself, he is legitimately a one man game changer that offenses have had to game plan around. He is a guy that can cream your QB, he can stuff the run and he can drop back in coverage playing the pass. Simple put teams spend their weeks gameplanning around Matthews. I'm also going to state this in another matter via breaking down player v.s. player. First let me preface by saying I am big on integrity. This is a area where the NFL lacks any. That said...Let's start with interceptions, shall we? Troy has 7, Matthews has 1. This one goes to Troy. Fine. HOWEVER this here is where it gets muddy and the NFL's lack of integrity shows through. Out of those seven INT's exactly TWO came off of intercepting top franchise quarterbacks, namely Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan. The rest? Vince Young(1), Jason Campbell(1), Ryan Fitzpatrick(1), interception machine Carson Palmer(2) and rookie Colt McCoy. Not so impressive. I believe they call it padding stats. Now you brought up the tackles, correct? Clay having 60, Troy having 63. You are correct that the stat DOESN'T tell the entire story. 54 of Matthews sacks were SOLO. 49 of Troys were solo, the other 14 being his specialty of running in after another Steeler has the guy wrapped up and throwing on. Edge: MatthewsSacks: 13.5 for Matthews, one for Troy. Edge Matthews. Pass deflections: Troy with 11, Clay with 4. Edge: Matthews. How so you ask? 1: Because he is a passrushing linebacker in a 3-4 defense, it isn't his job to defend passes yet he excels at it. Also because like with everything else in regards to Polamalu, two of his deflections came against elite franchise QB's. You guessed it, Flacco and Ryan. The other 9? Vince Young(1), Jason Campbell(2), Ryan Fitzpatrick(3), Palmer(2) and McCoy(1). Hopefully you're noticing the trend here, Polamalu is at his best against weak quarterbacks. As anyone can see who goes and looks at the breakdown he disappeared from entire games from week 3 through week 10 as well as being "injured" in weeks 15 and 16. Forced fumbles: Clay with 2, Troy with 1. Edge Clay. Now I wrote out the above to show that Polamalu is highly overrated as well as to break down why Matthews deserved DPOY. The only thing Polamalu beats Matthews in is interceptions and as we can see they came via a weak schedule against horrible quarterbacks. The great thing about stat sheets? They break them down by each game. That's the key, especially when it comes to things like interceptions as well as to judge a player based on their entire season. If they vanish for large stretches only to pull out a nice game against a horrible opponent? They're not very good. That brings me to another point, anyone who cares to read through Matthews seasonal stats? They will quickly see despite being doubleteamed and game planned against he was STILL having productive games week after week. Polamalu? No dice.
so if Peyton Hillis had won running back of the year over Arian Foster or some other back with better stats you'd cry foul right? haha. good one. i'd vote for Hillis for offensive MVP over any runningback this year, based on what he meant to the browns and his shattering of the 25 year glass ceiling. does that mean he's overrated?