For Your Consideration: Charles Woodson

Seeing as my MVP campaign for Charles Woodson never took flight, I thought I'd throw my not inconsiderable girth (in physical terms, of course, not in terms of any kind of sway with the voters, who no doubt could care less what some hack blogger has to say...) behind Woodson for Defensive Player of the Year, which he seems to be in jeopardy of losing to New Your Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Which is beyond absurd.

Look, all year long, when pushing Woodson for MVP, the constant refrain I heard back was 'Oh he's Defensive Player of the Year, no question. Well, he and Sharper' - which would drive me nuts, because Sharper's name was in the conversation only because of the big plays he made early in the year. Yes, big plays are nice, but what those people didn't take into account were the numerous big plays he allowed.Week after week, Sharper takes bad angles and misses tackles (sights that Packer fans are all too familiar with) that go for big gains and scores. Of course, these don't show up on the various highlight shows, and if they do, the announcers are talking about the offensive player, not how Sharpers bad play led to the score.

Lately, this talk has been fading away, but it's been replaced with something equally absurd. That Darrelle Revis should be mentioned in the same breath as Woodson. The most egregious and public example was Peter King last week, a  man who should know better (East Coast bias anyone...?)

It'll probably be a close vote, but I'm leaning toward Revis. He's been matched against Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, Marques Colston, Steve Smith, Roddy White and Reggie Wayne a total of seven times, and he hasn't allowed a 70-yard game. He's been the definition of shutdown corner. He combines wily coverage with a physical presence, and, at 24, there's not a young defensive player in football I'd take over him. Should be a good race.

No, it shouldn't be a race at all.

Look, has Revis given the Jets blanket coverage on some of the games best receivers? Of course.

If I may be so bold? So what?

Does he engineer the entire defense? Does he sack the quarterback? Does he give his teammates heads-up on plays where his film study tells him the offense is tipping its hand, as he did last week when a certain formation led him to tell safety Atari Bigby that the ball was coming his way - which it did, for an easy interception. Revis is a good, no, great cover corner. But that means he, at most, is responsible for one quarter to one half of the field, typically wherever his man is. Woodson is truly the quarterback of the defense, responsible for all 11 men on his side of the ball.

It's not 'Cover Player of the Year' - it's 'Defensive Player of the Year'

(As a side note, you notice not once do I mention how many of this and how many of that, ie interceptions, sacks, etc each contender has, as Mr. King and countless others love to do. Why? Because it cheapens the argument. It's no secret that I hate stats, and that hatred is doubly so in this argument. You have fun with your numbers - I'll watch the game. Thanks.)

 

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Comments (15)

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PACKERS's picture

January 03, 2010 at 09:04 am

Agreed. Revis is a good corner, but Woodson is everywhere. He blitzes, he covers the pass, he covers the run... and, of course, the work he puts in to studying all week long just for small moments like the Bigby play, which probably didn't influence the game much, but in a bigger game... who knows?

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bogmon's picture

January 03, 2010 at 09:07 am

My main criticism of the argument in favor of Revis (beside the fact he doesn't play for the greatest sports organization of all time) is that offenses can simply "scheme" away from him...he is a DB...that is all.

When playing against the Pack, Capers puts C-dub all over the place...he is so versatile that there is no way of getting away from his impact on the field.

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Erik's picture

January 03, 2010 at 09:34 am

They way woody has just taken over a game is just unreal. Look at the Dallas game. Look at his body of work in a new scheme. Superman stops on the goal line. Forced fumbles, sacks, interceptions.

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Jim in DC's picture

January 03, 2010 at 09:50 am

In my opinion, Woodson is the league MVP. :)

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jerseypackfan's picture

January 03, 2010 at 09:52 am

Woodson is a all world player.
Revis is JUST a shut down corner.
Case closed. Give the award to Woodson.

Peter"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"King
should shut his mouth.

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Pack Fan In Enemy Territory's picture

January 03, 2010 at 11:40 am

Peter King is the king hack of all hacks... Remember he picked the bears to go to the Super Bowl, and well.. we all know how that turned out.

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WoodyG's picture

January 03, 2010 at 11:40 am

Aaron
Spoken like a true-blue Packer Fan ............. I agree whole-heartedly. ......... However, Woody plays in GB, Wi. while Revis plays in the 'Big Apple'. .......... The same town that thinks E. Manning is second only to P. Manning.......... The NY media versus MJS & GBPG ......... Doesn't seem fair.

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PACKERS's picture

January 03, 2010 at 01:04 pm

WoodyG: What does the media of the hometown have to do with the decision? People from all over the country will vote, not just people from New York.

Just curious; why do you always split up your sentences with tons of periods?

Oh, and if anyone cares, I might not comment on here very much in the near future. Things are going to get kind of crazy in the next couple of weeks, but I'll be back.

Go Pack Go!

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alfredomartinez's picture

January 03, 2010 at 03:59 pm

peter king...you bastard...

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WoodyG's picture

January 03, 2010 at 04:33 pm

Packers
You're an infant in the world of 'how things come down & why'............ 20 years from now you'll understand. .... What happened to your blog ?

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seekr's picture

January 03, 2010 at 04:46 pm

Aaron, greatly respect the fact that you have no need to lower the argument to stats. Further proves Woodson's value.

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ZeroTolerance's picture

January 03, 2010 at 06:32 pm

Statistics are like a bikini. What's revealed is interesting, what's concealed is vital.

Any idea how this most recent game may sway the voters?

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PACKERS's picture

January 03, 2010 at 06:39 pm

WoodyG: My blog's dissapearance is a VERY long story. I think I might be able to put back up soon. Please look for my name to have a link.

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PACKERS's picture

January 03, 2010 at 08:42 pm

Btw ZeroTolerance: That has got to be the best analogy I've ever heard.

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frozentundragirl's picture

January 03, 2010 at 11:32 pm

The adoration that CW's teammates have for him speaks volumes for me. When MM brought up his name in the postgame 'pep-talk' and the team began to chant 'MVP', I couldn't contain myself. 'Defensive player of the year' is the Least that he deserves. And, when you consider the injuries he's had to overcome and his age, he actually deserves league MVP. JMHO

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