Ten most valuable players in the NFC West

[EastCoastHawksFan]

Fitz is 29 and will be 30 on Aug 31st. I think Fitzgerald may be the best wide receiver in the game and will continue to be one for the next 7 years . But Kolb , Hoyer , Skelton .. Jerry Rice would falter in that situation.

 

[davidonmi]

1. Wilson
2. Kaepernick
3. J. Smith
4 Sherman
5 Fitzgerald
6 earl
7 long
8 okung
9 bowan
10 willis

 

[Blitzer88]

Very interesting list Kearly. I would throw Bouldin in there for SF. Because if they lost him on top of Crabtree they would be in trouble.

 

[ensett]

I think a case could be made for Red Bryant. After he was put on IR in 2010, our defense completely fell off a massive cliff, it was putrid. Then of course he came back strong in 2011 and our defense followed. the 2012 season, the defense was obviously strong, but it did take a noticeable decline after Red was hit with his foot injury, and while it didn't keep him out, it kept him from giving his 100%

I feel like so far Red has proven he can do everything asked of him at a high level...other than rush the passer.... But he makes up for it by making everybody around him much better

 

[RockHawk]

An MVP list without Rockhawks name on it?

:roll:

Check's in the mail my friend! :th2thumbs:

 

[themunn]

I love Russ, but without him we're still a playoff team.

Marshawn has to be #1, and it isn't even really close IMO.

Were you here year before last, when we had pretty much the same players as now but without Wilson? You remember T-Jack, right? No playoffs. Therefore, your premise is false and all conclusions based on it are also false.

We also had no Wagner, no Irvin, lost Okung, Trufant, Moffit, Carpenter and Rice to IR among others - all players that played a significant amount of time this season - not to mention Jackson's pectoral injury which forced Charlie Whitehurst in for a game - that's basically a guaranteed loss right there (3 points against the Browns, I mean really?).

Even still, we finished 7-9 and were still (long shot) playoff contenders until we lost against SF despite the lockout reduced offseason.

We are a playoff team without Wilson, but we're a Superbowl contender with him.

 

[Seafan]

I love Russ, but without him we're still a playoff team.

Marshawn has to be #1, and it isn't even really close IMO.

That was true last year. Not so anymore. If Russ goes down for more than a couple games the Hawks aren't going to the playoffs.

 

[jammerhawk]

An MVP list without Rockhawks name on it?

:roll:

Brown noser

 

[HawkGA]

I don't think Clemmons is as important as he was last season. Free agency changed that. I think the depth behind Lynch keeps him off the list too (or at least moves him down).

 

[kearly]

Fitz is 29 and will be 30 on Aug 31st. I think Fitzgerald may be the best wide receiver in the game and will continue to be one for the next 7 years . But Kolb , Hoyer , Skelton .. Jerry Rice would falter in that situation.

Thanks, serves me right for going by memory.

 

[Scottemojo]

If Lynch is so important, Why were the Hawks a .500 team halfway through last year, when Wilson hit his stride so did the Hawks? I love the attitude Lynch brings, but saying he is more important than the point guard is just being contrarian.

Besides, If Lynch goes down, the Hawks are still a SB contender. If Wilson does, they are not.

 

[justafan]

I would have the 4 starting Qbs in the top 4 spots.There is no other position that carries the responsibility of that position.Even the strongest teams are usually going to struggle with a backup

 

[HawkGA]

Well, 3 starting qbs. Arizona kinda sucked regardless last year. We'll see if Palmer makes a difference.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

I'll give it a go, in no particular order

• Russell Wilson
• Colin Kaepernick
• Sam Bradford
• Justin Smith
• Earl Thomas
• Larry Fitzgerald
• Marshawn Lynch
• Chris Long
• Aldon Smith
• Richard Sherman

If Lynch is so important, Why were the Hawks a .500 team halfway through last year, when Wilson hit his stride so did the Hawks? I love the attitude Lynch brings, but saying he is more important than the point guard is just being contrarian.

Besides, If Lynch goes down, the Hawks are still a SB contender. If Wilson does, they are not.

It's hard to make that distinction. Because Lynch came before Wilson. Would we have even been a .500 team without Lynch and only Wilson to begin with?

Ultimately I opted to include Lynch for one particular reason. He is and has been, the embodiment of the philosophy of this team. Mora wanted more dirtbags. Carroll wanted to be more physical. But it took adding Lynch to bring that plan to life. More than any other player on the club, our identity and how we go about winning games is tied indelibly to Lynch's qualities.

In that regard, I can't think of any other player in the division who has had that kind of impact on the organization. Outside of Bill Walsh, I can't think of one guy who meant more to the alignment of the franchise in the entire history of the division. Even today, Jerry Rice's qualities haven't left any lingering effect on the niners.

I do think that this team is in a position to carry on that style without him. But it's taken a distinct effort to do so. As we stand here today, Lynch doesn't make the difference in wins and losses like Wilson does. But this team was floundering in the 4 to 5 win per season range before Lynch got here. A team completely adrift with no idea what kind of team it was going to be. And more than Wilson, Lynch has been responsible from breaking a 2+ decade reputation of being a soft/finesse organization and turning it 180 degrees into a fearsome/physical team literally the moment he walked in the door.

Wilson is going to win more games. That's the nature of the impact of the QB position, as well as the quality he brings to it. But Lynch will have had a more lasting impact on the culture and identity of the team -- which should survive his playing days and beyond.

 

[Scottemojo]

I'll give it a go, in no particular order

• Russell Wilson
• Colin Kaepernick
• Sam Bradford
• Justin Smith
• Earl Thomas
• Larry Fitzgerald
• Marshawn Lynch
• Chris Long
• Aldon Smith
• Richard Sherman

If Lynch is so important, Why were the Hawks a .500 team halfway through last year, when Wilson hit his stride so did the Hawks? I love the attitude Lynch brings, but saying he is more important than the point guard is just being contrarian.

Besides, If Lynch goes down, the Hawks are still a SB contender. If Wilson does, they are not.

It's hard to make that distinction. Because Lynch came before Wilson. Would we have even been a .500 team without Lynch and only Wilson to begin with?

Ultimately I opted to include Lynch for one particular reason. He is and has been, the embodiment of the philosophy of this team. Mora wanted more dirtbags. Carroll wanted to be more physical. But it took adding Lynch to bring that plan to life. More than any other player on the club, our identity and how we go about winning games is tied indelibly to Lynch's qualities.

In that regard, I can't think of any other player in the division who has had that kind of impact on the organization. Outside of Bill Walsh, I can't think of one guy who meant more to the alignment of the franchise in the entire history of the division. Even today, Jerry Rice's qualities haven't left any lingering effect on the niners.

I do think that this team is in a position to carry on that style without him. But it's taken a distinct effort to do so. As we stand here today, Lynch doesn't make the difference in wins and losses like Wilson does. But this team was floundering in the 4 to 5 win per season range before Lynch got here. A team completely adrift with no idea what kind of team it was going to be. And more than Wilson, Lynch has been responsible from breaking a 2+ decade reputation of being a soft/finesse organization and turning it 180 degrees into a fearsome/physical team literally the moment he walked in the door.

Wilson is going to win more games. That's the nature of the impact of the QB position, as well as the quality he brings to it. But Lynch will have had a more lasting impact on the culture and identity of the team -- which should survive his playing days and beyond.

Agreed. But the criteria of the OP was specifically about if a player was lost to injury, how would his loss affect the team's chances. That is not a historical issue, that is a 2013 issue. What Lynch did to establish the tenor of this team up to now is immaterial to how his loss would affect us in 2013. I think the addition of 2 running backs in this draft would insulate us far more than trotting out TJ or any other backup.
I think this is a top 5 offense with Wilson, but a bottom 15 offense without. I can't say that about Lynch. Which is fine and good, think how a Vikings fan would have to unfortunately answer this question.

 

[salukihawk12]

Percy Harvin was arguably the best player in football when he was on the field last year and he can't even make a top 10 NFC West list??