Who will win the Heisman Trophy?

Are there 7 NFL players on that defense? I don't know ND well enough to say it one way or the other. Those who know ND, who besides Te'o, Motta and probably Tuitt whenever he comes out?

 

Kapron Lewis-Moore, Jamoris Slaughter, Prince Shembo and Bennett Jackson join those three. I am not saying they all will be stars or even starters, but they're NFL players.

And Stephon Tuitt isn't a probably. He might be the most gifted player on the team.

 

Nix, Lewis-Moore, and Slaughter, probably?

And Shembo.

That's seven.

 

Just for argument's sake, who had a bigger impact on the Baltimore Ravens in 2000 -- Ray Lewis or Trent Dilfer?

Did he have as good a case for MVP as, say, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Kurt Warner or Daunte Culpepper?

 

Jesus, man. I said good quarterback.

 

I forgot Louis Nix. Make it eight.

 

How many NFL players on the A&M offense?

At least two offensive linemen, for sure, right? Both were in the top 10 on NFL.com's recent list of top 20 college players. The running back, Michael and the receiver, Swope? How many others (I ask sincerely because I don't really follow the college game)?

 

Manning, Favre, Warner and Culpepper (that year) weren't good QBs?

 

I was referring to Trent Dilfer. And no, Ray Lewis didn't have as good a case for MVP as Peyton Manning or Brett Favre or the guy who won, Marshall Faulk.

There's an adage in football that the closer you are to the ball, the more important your role is. Therefore, the guy with the ball in his hands is the most important player on the field.

 

Lewis had the most impact on the team that won the title -- by a lot. He was certainly as valuable that season as anyone in the league. He didn't win the MVP but he surely had as strong a case as any quarterback and as strong a case as Faulk. If the playoffs had been included, he might well have won, even though voters for such awards are loath to vote for defensive players.

 

Marshall Faulk that year played 14 games in which he scored 26 touchdowns and accounted for about 2,200 yards. He led the NFL in yards per carry.

Ray Lewis was better in 1999 and 2001 than he was in 2000 by most measures.

Team playoff success is a bullshit measure of individual accomplishment.

Ask anyone who follows college lacrosse how fucked an MVP voting becomes when playoffs are factored into it.

 

How good Ray Lewis was in other years has zero impact on his MVP-worthiness in 2000. That he was better in other seasons means he probably had a good case in those seasons, too. I just picked 2000 because he was by far the most impactful player on the league's best team (as measured by the championship), similar to Teo's situation at Notre Dame.

Is Teo an easy choice for Heisman? Of course not. There are certainly other deserving candidates. But to dismiss him as not able to have enough impact simply because he plays MLB is flat-out wrong.

Just to give full disclosure here, I haven't seen Notre Dame or Kansas State play at all this season, and the only game I saw A&M play was against Alabama (because it was on in the press box before a game I was covering). I'm just debating this because I think it's possible to be the nation's most outstanding player from a position other than QB or RB, especially when you're talking about a leadership position like MLB -- and because I love a good sports argument.