Justin Tucker, is he a legit MVP candidate?

[Sherly_Tebow]

I saw this link in another thread and I thought it was interesting.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000749913/article/matthew-stafford-is-the-nfls-best-qb-justin-tucker-for-mvp

A kicker has only won MVP once (1982), and in today's football world, it's hard to imagine a kicker winning league MVP. Tucker is almost a shoe-in for the Ravens MVP as of now, but with his stellar performances week after week, is there a realistic shot at him winning league MVP?

He's 27/27 this year on field goals, with a long on 57yds, plus he's 15/15 on extra points.

He's made 34 field goals in a row, the longest active streak in the NFL. I believe 43 in the record give or take 1.

If I'm correct, he's put up 96 points so far.

He's a dangerous weapon that any team would love to have.

I don't really know where I stand on this. Kickers are people too, but they normally aren't in the trenches, making crazy catches, or throwing touchdowns (If only Tucker would've completed that pass to Crockett Gillmore). He's definitely the best kicker in the league, but could he also win MVP?

Edited December 3, 2016 by Sherly_Tebow

[RavensPunkXVX]

Based on his separation from every other guy at his position, absolutely he should be, but that's not the way the NFL works. He's not at the right position to get anywhere close to MVP.

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

I think in my definition of MVP he should get legit consideration because of how much the kicker can and does impact the game. They're involved in pretty much every score and with so much parody, and a majority of games across the NFL being decided by 1 score -- having a clutch kicker is more important than ever. 

Hes literally the difference between us being a contender for the division title and legit playoff threat, and being just another 3-8, 4-7 pretender with a really good defense. 

The pats showed they could still be a really good team with Brady out. The Cowboys would probably still be really good with Romo. 

Without a perfect kicker we're probably no where near the playoff picture right now. 

Obviously a QB is bound to win. Zeke is probably the only non-QB with a prayer of winning it. 

But in terms of one player being the difference for his teams chances, Tucker is definitely on the short list for this year. 

[trevorsteadman]

I don't see a kicker winning MVP in today's NFL the way the league has been recently. It is unfortunate because his talent compared to his position is off the charts and he is a huge part of the team. I saw him hitting field goals in Denver a few years ago in warm ups from the Ravens' 40 yard line. He has talent for sure.

[Cillmatic]

No, MVP is based on impact. Tucker hasn't had much of an impact this year outside of the last game. He's just REALLY good at field goals. Compare that to a guy like Julio Jones, Dak or Elliot. Tucker doesn't have half the impact those guys have.

The only MVP a kicker can could possibly get is super bowl MVP, which I think is ENTIRELY possible for Tucker with this offense.

Edited December 3, 2016 by Cillmatic

[Sherly_Tebow]

40 minutes ago, Cillmatic said:

No, MVP is based on impact. Tucker hasn't had much of an impact this year outside of the last game. He's just REALLY good at field goals. Compare that to a guy like Julio Jones, Dak or Elliot. Tucker doesn't have half the impact those guys have.

The only MVP a kicker can could possibly get is super bowl MVP, which I think is ENTIRELY possible for Tucker with this offense.

Tucker's had a huge impact on the Ravens season this year. Without him, we most likely lose to the Jaguars, maybe the Bills, maybe the Browns, and probably the Bengals. We're 6-5, and we could be 3-8, maybe 4-7. Without him, our season is over. I hope our offense can pick it up a little. As much as I love watching Tucker kick, I'd rather watch us score TDs.

Edited December 3, 2016 by Sherly_Tebow

[reed20]

Our record is 6-5. An NFL MVP is typically on one of the best records in the league. For Justin Tucker to win NFL MVP we'd have to be like 14-2 while winning damn near all 14 of those games with just field goals. 

[terrynjulia03]

No. Hey we love Tuck. But did Stover ever get it when he carried the team for years? No. Harsh reality but kickers just don't get the respect. 

[Inqui]

If JJ Watt didn't win it a couple of years ago despite doing quite literally everything (including scoring TDs) there's no way a kicker (however great said kicker is) will ever win it. At this point I'm convinced a QB is going to win it every year until the NFL is finally replaced by blernsball or something.

[Tru11]

If defenders have no shot at winning MVP then its pretty much impossible for a guy who plays special teams to win it.

we probably have to go 16-0 winning every game by only scoring 6 FGS from 50+ in all kinds of weather to have a shot lol

 

 

[Gtown Purple]

Of the ravens maybe but not the league

[Willbacker]

Tucker play about 3% of plays if that. Nope.

[darklight1216]

I'd love it if that happened, but this will never happen . 

[BOLDnPurPnBlacK]

2 hours ago, Willbacker said:

Tucker play about 3% of plays if that. Nope.

And accounts for like 50% of the teams points. In terms of "value" that's pretty significant.

Not saying he has a shot - I know he doesn't. It'll be Stafford, Carr, Ryan, Brady, Prescott or maybe Zeke,

Just don't think usage by itself is a good criteria to measure most valuable. If anything I think producing more with less is a better indicator of value. 

[Willbacker]

2 hours ago, BOLDnPurPnBlacK said:

And accounts for like 50% of the teams points. In terms of "value" that's pretty significant.

Not saying he has a shot - I know he doesn't. It'll be Stafford, Carr, Ryan, Brady, Prescott or maybe Zeke,

Just don't think usage by itself is a good criteria to measure most valuable. If anything I think producing more with less is a better indicator of value. 

Unfortunately that's the way the NFL will probally look at it tho but right now I think he's at least the Ravens MVP... but you know 32 teams.

[52520Andrew]

Most accurate kicker in NFL history now

[Inqui]

1 hour ago, 52520Andrew said:

Most accurate kicker in NFL history now

Him and Dan Bailey have been swapping that mantle for a couple of years now it seems. Though the difference is that Tucker doesn't need to play every other game in a dome to light it up.

[RaineV1]

If there was an award for special teams mvp he could get it, but not league mvp. That award will almost always go to a QB or RB. WRs, defensive players, and special teams players simply aren't in contention.

Edited December 19, 2016 by RaineV1

[Inqui]

Just now, RaineV1 said:

If there was an award for special teams mvp he could get it, but not league mvp. That away will almost always go to a QB or RB. WRs, defensive players, and special teams players simply aren't in contention.

I'd say even RBs are slipping away from contention - Adrian Peterson's the only one to win it in the past 10 years (before that it was Ladanian Tomlinson in 2006).

Though like you say, non-QB/RBs winning it are even rarer. The last time someone outside those parameters won it was the other "LT" back in 1986, a Giants LB who wasn't too bad at his job.

[trevorsteadman]

Jimmy Smith should be MVP after showing what this defense truly is without him....

Tucker definitely won't especially after that blocked field goal. Long shot before needing a bunch of people to not play well like Elliot, Ryan, Rodgers, Bell, etc. but it is definitely not an option now I don't think.