*NSFL MVP Rankings (S17, Through Week 3)

nickyvmlp · (This post was last modified: 09-14-2019, 05:47 PM by goodvsevil1275.)

The NSFL is back in action, and after a somewhat tumultuous start, were in full swing and we're ready to start talking MVP. Now as a little bonus, just for funsies and just for this week, I'm going to include the resimmed Week 1 stats in parentheses. It's not going to factor into the rankings of these guys, I just thought it'd be nice to have data for four games instead of three. Honorable mention time.

Short list this week begins with Andrew Reese (Outlaws, @SwagSloth) who's been rock solid all season except for a ghastly completion percentage that ranks 2nd worst in the league. Aside from that, he's 2nd in passing yards and touchdowns. Our two best defenders are here: Lanzer Grievous (Otters, @Rising Equinox) and Lightsout Lewis (Butchers, @flyeaglesfly29). Grievous is the only person in the majors who's forced multiple fumbles this season and has recovered them both, while Lewis is tied for the league lead in both deflections and defensive touchdowns, while ranking in the top ten in tackles. Lastly, there's last season's folk hero, Sam Torenson (Butchers, @Jonny2x), who's second in rushing yards. Unfortunately, he's not as versatile or explosive as the two other backs who made the cut, which we'll get into shortly.

6) Ahri Espeeyeesetee (@steelsound) BAL

, 22 receptions, 270 rec yards, 3 TD (4 rec, 60 rec yards)

Five out of the ten people I have in this article are Season 15 players. This is important because a lot of these guys are in a contract year. And boy, are they playing like it? Ahri Espeeyeesetee is currently leading the league in receptions, is tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns, and is fifth in receiving yards. He torched Arizona in Week 1 for eight receptions, 102 yards and a score. Week 2 was more of the same, with seven grabs for 87 yards and two TDs. Week 3 was "quiet" for Ahri, but that still meant a 7-for-79 day. Ahri is establishing himself in short order as one of the best up-and-coming receivers in the league, and I bet San Jose is really starting to regret letting him slip through their fingers. *grumble grumble*

5) Corvo Havran (@Raven) BAL

, 898 pass yards, 58.1% completion, 10 TD, 3 INT, 100.3 passer rating (22/40, 261 pass yards, 1 TD, 3 INT)

In his second full season with the keys to the Hawks offense, and after a full offseason developing a connection with the aforementioned Espeeyeesetee, Corvo Havran is finally starting to properly fill the shoes of his predecessor, Childish Gambino. He's currently leading the league in passing TDs, is third in passing yards, and has a passer rating topping 100. He has two games already in the top 10 Offensive Performances of the Year list, a Week 2 game against Philly where he threw for almost 400 yards and four TDs, but also all three of his INTs on the season; and a Week 3 clash with the Yeti where he was more efficient with the ball, nearly hitting 250 passing yards and getting his second four-TD game of the season. Right now, this Hawks offense is firing on all cylinders. These two rankings show the potency of their passing attack, and we’ll see what their rushing offense looks like momentarily.

4) Dorfus Jimbo (@ScorpXCracker) BAL

, 69 attempts, 390 rush yards (29 att, 109 rush yards, 1 TD, 1 rec, 5 rec yards)

And now is that moment. I swear, I didn’t intend to put all three Hawks back-to-back-to-back. I put these in, and then put the team names in at the end. So, Dorfus Jimbo is now suddenly, the most electrifying runner in the league. 390 rush yards on just 69 carries. That is sickeningly efficient running. Not only is he leading the league in yards per carry (min. 20 rushes), but there’s only one back within a full yard per carry of him. Oh, and this isn’t a case of Jimbo just taking all of the carries for himself, he’s only getting about 70% of the workload, with Corey Trevor actually doing fairly well with his carries too. He ran for 139 yards against Philly in Week 1, and absolutely pantsed the Yeti in Week 3 for 160 rushing yards, the most by any player so far this season. Two things are holding him back on this list though, and they’re pretty obvious. A lack of touchdowns and receiving yards. He only has three catches all season, and his only touchdown on the year got redacted in the resim. Still I don’t think he’s complaining. Those numbers from the redacted game would’ve just hurt his average.

3) Apollo Reed (@NylarthePhoenix) OCO

, 73 attempts, 300 rush yards, 3 TD, 15 receptions, 94 rec yards, 1 TD (22 att, 120 rush yards, 5 rec, 55 rec yards)

If I told you on S15 Draft Night that three seasons in, the two best running backs from this class wouldn’t include Morgan Marshall or Forrest Gump (the two big MVP contenders from DSFL S14), you might be pretty skeptical. But nope, so far it’s Jimbo and Apollo Reed. Can’t always trust the draft. (No disrespect to Marshall or Gump, they’re both really good too.) But anyway, the reason Reed surpassed Jimbo here is in the two categories Reed lacked, receiving stats and TDs. The former puts him third in receptions among running backs (who are actually playing in the backfield and not exclusively lined up on the line), and the latter leaves him in a tie for most all-purpose touchdowns with four. His best game for sure was in Week 1 against San Jose, where he ran and caught all over the Sabercats defense for 149 total yards and 3 TDs. The RB of the Year race is going to be one of the most exciting ones this season. So many people, not just Reed and Jimbo, could be in the running to win it, it should be a fun storyline for the season.

2) Joliet L. Christ (@`AndrewWarren13`) SJS

, 1053 pass yards, 65.5% completion, 6 TD, 1 INT, 99.6 passer rating, 30 attempts, 88 rush yards, 2 TDs (22/37, 276 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 9 att, 46 rush yards)

Oh believe me when I say, I wanted to put Joliet L. Christ in the top spot here, but there’s one thing that keeps me from going there, and we’ll get to it, but for now, let’s just gawk at those passing stats. Christ is averaging more than 350 passing yards per game, while completing more than 65% of his throws, both of which lead the league pretty comfortably, and he’s less than a single point behind Corvo Havran in passer rating. He’s helped engineer two come-from-behind victories already this season, and he is spreading the ball to all of his receivers with ease. (I’m second in the league in receptions because of this, I’m very happy about this fact.) Easily his two best games on the year were in Week 1 against Orange County (358 pass yards, 2 pass TDs, 2 rush TDs) and Week 3 against Philly (400 pass yards, 2 TDs). But there is just one thing missing. When I think of Joliet L. Christ’s offensive output, I think of some rushing yards. Where da rushing yards at? For a guy who’s averaged more than five yards per rush in each of the last three seasons to go down to less than three is a bit disturbing. But, either way, Christ is making a huge impact, just more as a pocket passer than he usually is, and he’s helped lead San Jose to the only undefeated record in the league right now.

1) Vinny Valentine (@Unicorn) ARI

, 14 receptions, 391 rec yards, 3 TD (5 rec, 60 rec yards)

If you’re good at math or just have a calculator handy, just crunch the numbers real fast on how many yards per reception Vinny Valentine has. Did you get it? Did you get almost 28 yards per reception, because that’s what I got, and I’m pretty sure my calculator is broken because of it. That means that following a touchback, three average throws to Vinny would put them in the end zone. Now, this is probably not sustainable; no one has ever maintained a 28 yard per reception average all the way through the season, even with just a single reception. So, let’s just enjoy this while we have it. He’s scored in all three games so far, and his box scores look like 4-117-1 against Baltimore (his worst game so far), 6-121-1 against Austin, and a beastly 4-153-1 against New Orleans that included the longest pass and catch on the season, a 64 yard bomb that gave Arizona the lead. The only thing I can say is get the ball in Vinny’s hands more often. He’s making magic happen on the field. Oh wait, Arizona plays the Sabercats in Week 5. Um, throw to anyone besides Vinny Valentine, maybe see if Devon Baxter can get it done for you.

1563 words .