Roddy White Easily the NFC South's Most Valuable Player in 2010

Filed under: Atlanta Falcons, NFC South

Some people look at the Most Valuable Player Award like this:

How would a team perform without a certain guy?

That's not the right way to do it. It's too hypothetical to look at the MVP pick like that. If you did that means in today's NFL you are going to have to always select the quarterback as the guy you can't do without. He is the MVP of every team (unless you are the Steelers).

The quarterback, in today's NFL, is asked to do the most important thing with the ball: move it forward. Easy choice as MVP.

But you have to pick an MVP on ability and production and intangibles. You have to pick him not on wins and losses, but impact.

It's why Roddy White was the MVP of the NFC South.

He grabbed 115 passes in the regular season and scored 10 touchdowns. That was important, but there was much more.

Did you see what happened to the Falcons (13-3) when White was bracketed by two defenders and when he got some attention? The Atlanta offense didn't function as well.

White was a focal point of the defense, moreso than Tony Gonzalez. Running back Michael Turner got a lot of attention, too, but White was a guy who made third down plays, even on passes not thrown right into his hands.

You have to look at White's play late in the win against San Francisco. Quarterback Matt Ryan throws an interception to Nate Clements. Clements takes off with it and only has to fall down for the 49ers to win.

White runs him down and forces a fumble. The Falcons recover and go the other way for a winning field goal.

It was not just the play that should be highlighted, it was the hustle, the determination and lack of quit. That play was part of the professional culture of the Falcons. It showed them early in the season that they could erase deficits and make a comeback.

Here's another thing about White. The running backs said he blocked for them. He hit people on the corners of the defense.

White was a bandleader for Atlanta. He gave the locker room some juice, some charisma. The Falcons had the best team in the NFC South this regular season and they had the best player.

If Aqib Talib had played all 16 games, I would have given him some consideration because the Bucs' corner he could take away a side of the field. Matt Ryan could have been MVP, so could have Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman and New Orleans linebacker Jon Vilma.

 

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