*NSFL MVP Rankings (S17, Through Week 11)

[nickyvmlp]

With just two games left in the regular season, everyone is scraping and clawing to get as many big games in their portfolio as they can before the final whistle sounds. Everyone wants to be in contention for the postseason awards, especially the big one. Let’s kick things off with our honorable mentions.

First up, we have three receivers whose statlines are in the same general area: Xavier Flash (Sabercats, @Leafs4ever), Vinny Valentine (Outlaws, @Unicorn), and Errol Maddox (Hawks, @PigSnout. Valentine is still leading the league in receiving yards, but he’s doing so on more receptions, with fewer scores to show for himself. If I had to give a big nod to any of them, it’d be Maddox, who has the most touchdowns and highest yards per reception of the trio, however, his numbers may decline with the trade for Sunnycursed. After that comes a couple of runners, Apollo Reed (Otters, @NylarthePhoenix) and Slim Shady (Outlaws, @J.G.10), who were paired up last time, and their numbers are still pretty close. Again, if I had to choose one, I’d take Shady, who’s averaging nearly five yards per rush, and is a pretty big part of the Outlaws passing attack. Finally, there's Cooter Bigsby (Wraiths, @timeconsumer), who's leading the league in passing yards and TDs, but is also tied for the most interceptions and has the 2nd worst completion percentage in the league, so he falls just short of the list to…

6) Corvo Havran (@Raven) (Prev.: HM) : 3004 pass yards, 60.3% completion, 26 TDs, 10 INTs, 94.6 QB rating

The Hawks are in win immediately mode. They just traded their first-, fourth-, and sixth-round picks in a loaded draft to sign Sunnycursed and Vander Jones, the latter of whom is on the verge of retirement (plus an extra third). This is a roster that can probably make a deep run, and it’ll be on Corvo Havran to shepherd that talent to succeed. The Hawks have put together a four-game winning streak, three of which were against playoff teams, so they’re on the right track, and Havran has been rock-solid in that time frame. 262 yards, two passing scores, and a rushing score against Chicago. 341 yards and two scores against Yellowknife, all very good games that are helping cement Baltimore’s playoffs hopes. He’s only thrown two picks compared to eight touchdowns during this four-game stretch, and both his completion percentage and QB rating have gone up a tick. I don’t think he’ll be an MVP contender, maybe he’ll be a finalist, but he’s come a long way, and if he can keep this up, then maybe Baltimore’s window will still be open after this season.

5) Danny Grithead (@Trautner) (Prev.: NR) : 76 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 FF, 1 FR, 11 sacks, 3 INTs, 16 deflections, 2 safeties, 1 TD

Just like last season, Danny Grithead is making a mad dash to rush into the MVP conversation at the last possible second. Last week, he wasn’t even on my honorable mentions page. Now he’s in the top five, and building his case nicely. His strongest game was probably his most recent one, Week 11 vs. Philadelphia. In that game, he terrorized Adriana Falconi, registering two sacks, two deflections, and a safety to go along with eight tackles, while helping the Wraiths hold the Liberty offense out of the end zone all day. But he’s also been piling up the sacks and deflections everywhere he goes. Right now, he’s fourth in the league in sacks, tenth in deflections, and tied for eighth in picks. He’s also, unsurprisingly, the only person in the league who’s done the safety dance twice this season. He’s the first person to have multiple safeties in a season since Kolby Deringer did it in Season 10, his rookie year. Grithead is doing all he can to vault himself into the conversation, and without spoiling anything, no one is head and shoulders above the pack. If he has two more insane games to close out the season, who knows? Maybe Grithead can win MVP in back-to-back seasons.

4) Raymond Vans (@karl) (Prev.: NR) : 96 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 FF, 15 sacks, 1 INT, 19 deflections

Danny Grithead isn’t the only defender gunning for the big, shiny trophy. Raymond Vans is trying to defend his Defensive Player of the Year crown with an upgrade. So far, he’s fifth in the league in tackles, third in deflections, and first in sacks (for the second straight season). He picked up ten tackles, two sacks, and two deflections against San Jose; nine tackles, four deflections, and a sack against New Orleans; seven tackles, three sacks, and three deflections against Austin; and nine tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble against Chicago. He’s not getting a lot of the extra stuff that put Danny Grithead into contention like forced fumbles and safeties. Raymond Vans is just focusing on three things: tackling the ballcarrier, hitting the quarterback, and swatting the ball down. And he’s great at all three of those things.

3) Jerrod Canton (@Sweetwater) (Prev.: 3rd) : 70 receptions, 1093 rec yards, 11 TDs, 58 attempts, 220 rush yards

Last time, on NSFL MVP Rankings, Jerrod Canton was coming off of two monstrous games of over 190 receiving yards. How would he follow that up? Well, it was unsurprisingly less than 190 yards, but it was still ok. In Week 8, he scored what would’ve been a game-tying touchdown if the extra point hadn’t got shanked. And he’s gone for over 100 total yards in three of these last four games, including a very healthy 7-105-1 game against Philadelphia and a 5-98-1 against Chicago. His numbers have been good, just not to the insane degree that they were last time around, which is why Canton finds himself in the same spot he was last week. There’s still time for him to leap the board, but we’ll need to see Week 4-7 Jerrod Canton more than Week 8-11 Jerrod Canton.

2) Joliet L. Christ (@`AndrewWarren13`) (Prev.: 1st) : 3139 pass yards, 60.5% completion, 17 TDs, 4 INTs, 93.9 QB rating, 73 attempts, 256 rush yards, 2 TDs

What in the world happened with the San Jose Sabercats? Last week, they were 5-2 and looked like a lock for the postseason. Now, they’ve lost four straight, and are in danger of getting bumped out of the playoffs in favor of the Copperheads of all teams. This coupled with the news of Joliet L. Christ’s impending retirement, has sent the Sabercats scrambling for answers. Joliet hasn’t thrown for more than 220 yards during this four-game skid and had a horrendous two-pick game against the Outlaws. He’s still taken care of the football in the rest of his games, and his stats on the season still rank in the top three in most categories, so I can’t dock too many points. But if he wants to go out like Childish Gambino did, then he’s got two games left to go for broke. Leave it all on the field and give ‘em something to remember you by.

1) Sam Torenson (@Jonny2x) (Prev.: 2nd) : 279 attempts, 1222 rush yards, 10 TDs, 9 receptions, 92 rec yards

And with Christ’s sudden decline, the door is open for Sam Torenson, the second-year back, to claim the most prestigious single-player award the NSFL has to offer. After an abysmal Week 8 where he barely cracked three yards per carry, he stepped into high gear and delivered some impressive lines of 109 yards and a score against Yellowknife, 106 yards against San Jose, and 93 yards and two scores against Arizona. There’s just one problem. Aksel Daniellson is getting more work by the day. In fact, against San Jose, they split the rushing load evenly: 21 carries for Torenson and 21 carries for Daniellson. This hasn’t affected Sam’s numbers that much, as you can see. If anyone on Chicago’s offense is suffering from this, it’d be Rose Jenkins. But Aksel poached a pair of scores from Sam in the San Jose game that would’ve given him the outright lead in the rushing scores category. Torenson’s still playing at a high level, but when your teammate is pilfering so many carries from you, it’s hard to say with any certainty that you’re the best player in the league.

1441 words .

[Rise of Smitty]

Grithead should win it.

Torenson just gets force fed stats. He isn't that effective.

[Jonny2x]

Torenson just gets force fed stats. He isn't that effective.

Wow, having a differing opinion is one thing but this is a really asinine thing to say. Not that effective? Leading rusher on a team that has gone 18-8 in his two seasons is not that effective? Do you understand the game of football at all?

[Jonny2x]

@nickyvmlp my bad getting sidetracked. Appreciate the kind words. Really enjoyed your articles all season. Well written and thorough.