Dan Orlovsky Idiotically Crowns C. J. Stroud NFL MVP Favorite Despite Stroud's 5-4 Record
Dan Orlovsky is ready to fall at the feet of Houston Texans quarterback C. J. Stroud and crown him the NFL MVP.
After leading his squad to a dramatic win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Orlovsky thinks Stroud has catapulted himself to the front of the NFL MVP conversation.
“Last week, I said C.J. Stroud (was) in the MVP conversation. I was wrong, he’s the leader,” Orlovsky confidently claimed.
Before he could go much further down that train of thought, Tedy Bruschi served Orlovsky a strong dose of reality. He rightly pointed out that while Stroud is in exceptional form, the Texans as a whole are not.
“The team’s not good enough. You’ve got 7-2 football teams out there, you’ve got 8-1 football team’s out there,” Bruschi said. “I recognize the skill and all of that, get up in the division first. Can we have the MVP lead his own division first?”
That’s a fair argument. Both of Bruchi’s MVP favorites - Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown and Miami’s Tyreek Hill - are on teams that lead their divisions. Meanwhile, the Texans sit in second place with a 5-4 record in one of the worst divisions in football.
“The context matters in this conversation,” Orlovsky continued. “They’re 5-4, he’s gone back-to-back games against Todd Bowles and Lou Anarumo and thrown for like 860 (yards) and seven touchdowns, he’s gone on the road and beat Joe Burrow.”
Dan Orlovsky Didn't Look At Everything C. J. Stroud Has Done This Season
To be fair, I do like Orlovsky as an analyst. In many instances, he uses his football IQ to provide great insight on the NFL. But I hate stupidity more than I like Orlovsky. And when I see it, I call it out.
If “context matters in this conversation,” here’s a little more context on Stroud’s season. Two of his losses include a clunker against the Atlanta Falcons (who are 4-6), and a vomit-inducing performance against the Carolina Panthers, who are in line to secure the league's worst record. In those two games, he had less than 400 passing yards combined and one touchdown pass.
C. J. Stroud (7) could win the NFL MVP award someday, just likely not this year. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MVP candidates can have an off-game, no one is perfect. But they don’t lose multiple times to some of the worst teams in the league - and play poorly in those losses. And like Bruschi said, at a bare minimum, Stroud has to be on a division-leading team before he gets consideration for the award.
Dan Orlovsky Has A History Of Awful QB Takes, Despite Being One Himself
Orlovsky did play quarterback in the NFL for several seasons, so he knows a thing or two about evaluating these types of players.
At least, that’s what you’d think.
Back in February, Orlovsky put together a head-scratching list of who he thinks are the five best quarterbacks ever. For no good reason, he left Joe Montana off the list, and doubled-down on his take.
In no sane world would anyone ever leave Joe Montanta out of the Top-5 list. Frankly, no one should leave him out of the Top 3.
Fortunately for the rest of America, Stephen A. Smith did the honors of ripping apart Orlovsky and his list.
Not only that, he obsessively believes that New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones deserves no blame for how poorly he’s played this season. Orlovsky thinks everything bad about the Patriots is to blame for Jones making crucial mistakes, and not Jones himself.
Unsurprisingly, Orlovsky hasn’t made any effort to defend Jones after he once again choked against the Indianapolis Colts.
ESPN might need to find a different guy to evaluate quarterbacks, and if they’re worthy of the MVP award. Orlovsky misses the mark way too often with his quarterback takes.