Poll: Who Was The 2011 Buffalo Bills' MVP?

You can’t blame the full losing slide for either team on just one player (or body part), but you have to think that each would have won more games had these two stayed healthy-possibly been playoff bound.

The only candidate not on the list that I would have added here was Eric Wood, who I think was missed even more than Fred once CJ got going.

I voted for Fred. Even though he missed time he still was one of if not the biggest factor in every game the Bills won (except for Denver). He was an MVP of the NFL candidate for a long time, and his numbers were ridiculous.

I love Barnett and you could make a case for him I think because of the 4 you mentioned if he was hurt you’d see the biggest dropoff in play from the backup. That’s more of a knock on the ILB depth than anything, though. Jairus Byrd is the man, hopefully a lifetime Bill.

Im a bigger fan of wood but levetre stayed healthy all year. Exclude the debacle at centre and there weren’t too many bad plays that stick out. As they say, the biggest compliment to an oline man is not hearing about him

Before being injured there were talks about him being league mvp and league leader in rushing. His season was one of the best seasons I’ve seen from a bills RB since thurman.

I can’t figure out how to copy paste a paragraph on my phone so just read the next two paragraphs in reverse order…

Our ol collectively played incredibly well. They suffered more injuries than any group on the team and were asked to step into positions they don’t play. Still they nearly led the league in fewest sacks allowed and our RBs rushed for over 5 ypc most games.

If we had to single any one coach for most valuable it would be Big Joe no questions asked. The work he did with that OL was incredible.

but has to be Stevie J.

“…first receiver in team history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons…”

Let that sink in, and think about those that came before him (Reed, Lofton, Moulds, Evans, etc.). OBD had better lock this guy down for a long, long time.

But Byrd was awesome this year. I can’t believe how much hes improved, love watching his game. So many nice open field hits, the clean way.

I thought his absence in the Pats game showed what that offense can look like without him. I know they scored on the possession after he was taken out, but after that nada. I also cede the ofense wasn’t alys productive with him in there, but to me it was obvious they missed him when he wasnt in there and played hurt most of the year. Good to great production considering average QB play. Would have been Freddie if he played a full season, he is the biggest difference maker.

Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred,Fred

Thank you Fred Jackson. You are awesome.

For sticking with it.

While I know Fred Jackson is going to win this, his replace-ability with Spiller was staggering, I thought. While Spiller wasn’t as good as Jackson, he was very good.

Can I say Joe D’Allessandris?

I’d go Levitre. The offensive line did a much better job last year than IO expected it would and in my view, Levitre was the best of the group. Aside from being a very good left guard, he has proven durable (take note Wood, Urbik, Bell, Hairston) as well as a gamer when asked to play out of position (because so many of his teammates absolutely cannot stay out of the trainer’s room). In short, Levitre is one of the few players I like individually on team whose collective personality I despise. To me, he was the MVP of the team in 2011.

Byrd would be my second choice or defensive MVP. As noted above, his transformation into an excellent tackler (when he was absolutely poor at this aspect of the game for his first 20 pro games or so) is one of the most positive developments going for this team right now. I believe Byrd is a decade-long keeper which is a commodity you can count on less than one hand on this roster.

I find that Jackson is running away with this poll early as laughable. How can somebody be the MVP when he didn’t contribute one play of value for almost half the season. Using this logic, Matt Flynn is the MVP of the NFL…Levitre deserves the nod for Buffalo.

Any love for Wood? The offense went flat after he went down. I know FJ went down at nearly the same time but the team definitely missed Wood at the pivot.

But in fact it should be Action Freddy!
A little sidenote: I heard both interviews and I was quite disappointed by Freddy’s answer. He does not seem to want to share or consider sharing the backfield with CJ and I find that a bit disappointing. He is coming across very selfish. If Chan can come up with a split backfield plan, Freddy should embrace it. CJ on the other hand seemed more open to any system that could benefit the team and he seems to acknowledge that together they are way more formidable that alone.

Jairus Byrd is by far my favorite Bills player. Like Brian pointed out , when he came onto the scene he was all about INTs and could not tackle to save his life! He has become the absolute best tackler on our team. He has improved his craft by leaps and bounds and I can only see upside and Probowls in this kids future!

Besides his excellent stats I like the leadership he provided for the younger players and the fact that he continued to play aggressively all through out the season.

When I think about MVP i think of the player that makes the biggest impact. The Bills defense could have been replaced entirely with a local high school team and they would get the same results: most points allowed. So any argument that one defensive player would have hurt them more than the other candidates is plain silly.

You can’t argue the stats with versus without Fred. Give the man some props.

Using the same argument I could entertain thoughts of Stevie after the benching incident but really don’t think that the total team let down was due to him sitting. Unless of course he was supposed to be playing defense too.

If you had to have played 75% of the season or more…….

Really, he played twice as good as he played his rookie pro-bowl year. He was amazing,

Byrd and Wilson in 2012! Yeeeeeehaaaaaaaaa!

Go Bills!

the vote is for most valuable player not unit. Kelsay improved this season, played the whole year in multiple roles and beside a stud rookie, but still a rookie. He was very dependable, versatile, reliable and still improved his game.

When your one of the best players in the league, regardless of position, and your the only member of your team that is even in that conversation, then your the MVP. That’s exactly what Freddy is.

That being said if we were only looking at players that played the whole year then I’d have to split it up in offense and defense.

Offensive MVP: Andy Levitre. He would have been an All-Pro if he played the whole season at LG and I firmly believe that he is in the top 5 guards in the league. Once that Pats reach the SuperBowl (and they should) then I’m looking at Andy to replace Mankins or Waters in the Pro-Bowl. There’s no better deserving player in my mind.

Defensive MVP: Jairyus Byrd. Yes Barnett had a great year, and played the best we’ve seen from an LB since we had London Fletcher, but Byrd was the man! I believe that next season he should be viewed as one of the most complete, and best Free Safeties in the league. I mean there isn’t a single part of his game that he’s a liability in. The kid just keeps on getting better with every game he plays and he should be a op priority to sign to an extension next season.

and probably league mvp

Call me a stickler but it would have been FredEx for me immediately even if he went down in Week 12-13 provided he had somewhat close to the same progression of stats up through week 9. At MOST, the Bills win an extra 2-3 more games w/ Fred in there but that still leaves us out of the playoffs. I voted on full season stats plus leadership and for me, the choice was easy — Barnett.

His durability and skill compared to Poz were questioned when we signed him and oh baby did he respond. Led the team in tackles, had picks, pass breakups, tackles for loss (how much of that did we get with Poz?). Despite some of our better defenders dropping like flies (K. Williams, Wilson, McGee, Merriman, Kelsay, A. Williams) for parts or all of the season Barnett’s production never dropped. Byrd and Levitre obviously get honorable mention for their awesome efforts. I can’t consider Jackson due to the time he missed and Johnson was too up and down for the MVP title.

I voted for Freddy based on his ridiculous year. But seeing as how Spiller was almost as effective at the end of the year, I think the VALUE aspect of Freddy has dropped slightly. If we are talking most valuable to the Buffalo Bills than you have to give Fitz some recognition. I don’t think Edwards or any other scrub QB we picked up could do what Fitz did this year. And giving Fitz a true offseason and preparation will only prove his worth to this team even more. I seriously think Fitz (given a full offseason) is a top 5 QB in the AFC.

That said, I have a huge man crush on Byrd. He comes up and sticks, has those great ball skills, and when there is a big play given up, you rarely if ever look in his direction (most likely #29 is in the vicinity). I’m willing to say Byrd is even more valuable than Kyle Williams or any other defender to this team.