Morning Sports Update
“Drake Maye’s not the one who put the schedule together. You put them out there, he knocks them all down.”
As the MVP conversation turns: Even before the Rams lost to the Falcons on Monday night, the odds for NFL MVP had already turned in favor of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
The Maye momentum continued to build after Stafford and Los Angeles unexpectedly struggled in Atlanta. By the time of ESPN’s “Get Up!” on Tuesday morning, NFL experts seemed to be growing in confidence that the 23-year-old New England QB would win the prestigious award.
During a segment, former Patriots safety Jason McCourty spoke up for Maye.
“I went with Drake Maye,” he replied when asked which player would get his vote. “I think the way he’s played all season long, we continue to try to knock him down because of who they played and all that other nonsense. Drake Maye’s not the one who put the schedule together. You put them out there, he knocks them all down.
“You saw the performance this past week against the Jets,” McCourty added, nodding to the fact that New York was not exactly difficult opposition, “but nonetheless he was out there balling, throwing touchdown passes. I think his ascension in year two, what he’s been able to do with Josh McDaniels, and the way Matthew Stafford performed last night now to me makes Drake Maye the MVP favorite.”
Interestingly, fellow panelist (and ESPN NFL insider) Dan Graziano concurred, but with a built-in explanation.
“I think he’ll probably win it at this point, unless there’s residual Stafford votes for the lifetime achievement thing they wanted to give him,” noted Graziano, “but Christian McCaffrey, we mentioned this, the 49ers have come from nowhere to be on the verge of the No. 1 seed, this guy has kept it all together. He’s seventh in the league in catches. Not among running backs, among everybody. He has over 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
“To me it’s a quarterback award, and in a lot of ways justifiably so. But in a year where you can ding everybody else’s case at quarterback, I think it’s worth talking about,” Graziano concluded.
McCaffrey, 29, has been a vital constant for the 49ers amid injuries across the rest of the roster (including quarterback).
Former NFL defensive back (and NFL analyst) Domonique Foxworth sided with the McCaffrey group, but not before acknowledging that a quality quarterback such as Maye outweighs the importance of other positions.
“To be frank, they are honestly more valuable,” Foxworth said. “Having a great quarterback, a good quarterback, an average quarterback sometimes is more valuable than having a great player at another position, but I’m going to go on your side, [Mike Greenberg], and I’m going to join you on the McCaffrey train.”
Trivia: Who was the last non-quarterback to win the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He played for Oklahoma at the collegiate level.
Scores and schedules:
The Bruins lost to the Flames 2-1 on Monday night. Boston will face the Oilers in Edmonton on Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m.
Tonight, the Celtics host the Jazz in Utah at 9 p.m.
On Saturday, the Boston Fleet will play the Vancouver Goldeneyes in Detroit at 7 p.m.
On Sunday, the Patriots host the Dolphins in a final regular season game at 4:25 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
Speculating about the next banner: Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy made his pick.
On this day: In 2016, Isaiah Thomas dropped 52 points on the Heat in a 117-114 Celtics’ win.
Daily highlight: Bijan Robinson found an opening and took it 93 yards for a touchdown (simultaneously deciding countless fantasy football championships in the process).
Trivia answer: Adrian Peterson (2012)
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