Guys the NFL regular season is winding down and as it draws closer to the playoffs the MVP convo is going to heat up. I can't remember a time when the race was so close. Everywhere you look there are guys putting up HUGE numbers while leading their teams to gaudy records. Obviously the big three are Brett Favre, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. If the Titans didn't get off to such a slow start I think Chris Johnson would be talked about more and is definitely deserving of recognition (I think the league should come out with awards like the golden glove in baseball. I guess being named on the All Pro Team is the same thing, but it doesn't sound as cool). I also think it's crappy that defensive players have a hard time getting into this debate, but it's a quarterback league and it's hard to argue that any one defensive player matters more to his team than those three gentleman. Regardless, I want to give my props to Jared Allen, Elvis Dumerville, Darren Sharper and my man Dwight Freeney for making QB's shit their pants all season. Anyway, I wanted to look at each of the big three and see what their chances are of putting that trophy on their mantle.
Brett Favre
If perhaps the most beloved and celebrated signal caller of all time has his best season shouldn't it be a no brainer that he should get the MVP award? With a QB rating of 108.5, 69% completion percentage, 26 TD's and a mind blowing 5 int's it would be hard to argue with giving him some more hardware for his gigantic trophy case. Maybe his biggest stat is that he's doing this all at the ripe age of 40!
Drew Brees
How to you get into the MVP conversation with the likes of Peyton Manning and Brett Favre? I dunno. How about lead a historically bad franchise to a currently undefeated season, while blowing out teams all along the way. Maybe lead the league in passer rating and touchdowns while showing the world that you command the leagues most explosive offense. It doesn't hurt to beat the Patriots so badly that Bill Belichick looked like Jim Zorn and Tom Brady looked like Rex Grossman. Does Mr Brees deserve the regular season's most coveted trophy? Absolutely. Will he get it? Only time will tell.
Peyton Manning
If you are the reigning MVP how do you top what you did last season? How about doing something, the likes of which have never been seen by reeling off 21 straight regular season victories (yes they are tied with the Pats, but not for much longer). Maybe take a slew of rookies that have been thrown into playing time before they are ready and make them look like fantasy favorites. You could also throw for more yards that anyone at a 70% clip even though the opposing defense knows your running game is shaky. Truth is no one does more with less and no player matters more to his teams success than Peyton does to the Colts. Peyton could win this award every year and no one would bat an eye.
Obviously I'm a Colts fan and, therefore, a bit biased towards Peyton. But, truth be told I wouldn't argue with Favre or Brees getting the accolades in 2009. Just don't do a three way tie...that would be lame.
My take is that the award is called the Most Valuable Player, and out of the 3 candidate mentioned who's team is worse without that player. Not the Vikings, they still have Adrian Peterson and a freaky defense. The Saints still have all sorts of talent on the offensive side, they would be ok without Brees, but the Colts might only have like 3 wins without Peyton. So because Peyton is the most valuable to his team he should be the MVP.
ReplyDeleteYea, the race is insane, with Manning, Brees, and Favre doing so well. I really like Peyton and the Colts....I don't care for Brees or the Saints (don't know why, I just don't)....and Favre, well, he is just the man.
ReplyDeleteNothing against Peyton, he is unbelievable, and I think he's actually a better QB than Favre is, or will turn out to be by the end of his career if he stays healthy.
I just became a HUGE Favre fan this season as soon as I heard more of the details about how the Green Bay GM treated him.....i.e., when they drafted a QB with their 1st round pick instead of building around Favre....or when one the of the ALL TIME GREAT WIDE RECEIVERS, RANDY MOSS, was a free agent, Green Bay reportedly had plenty of "salary room", and they didn't even pursue him....etc. etc.
So because of all this I hope Favre and the Vikings WIN the Super Bowl and Favre gets the MVP, because that would be EXACTLY what he (and the Packers, for that matter) all deserve.....and the Green Bay GM would go down as the guy who got rid of Brett Favre in his PRIME.