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For those who didn’t know, Antonio Brown won an Offensive Player of the Year award on Wednesday. This award was given out by the NFL 101 Awards Committee, a group that includes 101 NFL sportswriters and broadcasters.
After hearing this news, it made me wonder why, if Brown can win this league-wide award, why couldn’t he also win the NFL MVP award?
No receiver, not even Jerry Rice, has won an MVP award, and most suggest the reason why is usually based on the fact that someone has to throw the receiver the football. This is truth, not fallacy, but when you look at Brown’s overall body of work in 2017, the catches he made were downright jaw-dropping.
To me, the value of a player isn’t just in the volume of their production (not that Brown lacks anything in this department), but also the timeliness of the plays they make. There’s no doubt in my mind Brown was the most clutch player in the NFL in the 2017 regular season. His ridiculous and improbable catches equated to wins — period.
Props to Ben Roethlisberger for threading the needle on more than one occasion, but let’s not assume just any receiver would be able to do what Brown has done this season. For that, and so many other reasons, I believe Brown should be considered for league-MVP, even though he won’t win it. As everyone always says, this is a quarterback and running back award. But if ever there was a player and a year to make an exception, Antonio Brown in 2017 would be it.
Time to check in on the news surrounding the Steelers outside the walls of BTSC:
Brown finished with an NFL-best 1,533 receiving yards despite missing the last two games of the season with a calf injury.
Brown also had a league-high eight 100-yard receiving games.
Former Pitt standout Aaron Donald was named NFC defensive player of the year by NFL 101.
Donald led full-time interior rushers with 11 sacks and had 91 quarterback pressures on the season — 12 more than any other edge rusher and 25 more than any other interior defensive lineman.
Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone won’t mind being left out in the cold when he brings his team to Heinz Field on Sunday for an AFC divisional playoff game against the Steelers.
The forecast calls for a high temperature of 18 degrees with a low of 4, which will make it the coldest conditions the Jaguars will play in this season. It’s also a stark contrast from when the teams played at Heinz Field in October. It was 73 degrees at kickoff that day.
“We’ve been fortunate that we have played in some cold weather,” Marrone said. “I think it’s all in the mindset. It’s no different than when you’re up north and you’re coming down south early in the season with the heat. People have to adjust to that.”
It can be argued that the 30-9 victory at Heinz Field on Oct. 8 was the most impressive win of the season for the Jacksonville Jaguars
In advance of the rematch in the AFC divisional playoffs Sunday, the Jaguars’ coach confirmed as much Wednesday with his compliment of the Steelers during a conference call with Pittsburgh reporters.
“When you look at Pittsburgh’s roster, it’s probably the most talented roster that we’ve played,” Doug Marrone said, “with the weapons that we have that can hurt you in so many different ways.
“They have the most Pro Bowl players, and there’s a reason for it; there’s a lot of good players. It’s a great challenge for our guys.”