01-05-2013, 12:05 PM
There's been a ton of speculation over who should be this year's MVP. It's basically become a 2 man debate: Adrian Peterson vs Peyton Manning.
Let's dig a little deeper though. I'd argue that there are actually 2 candidates more qualified than Manning.
Here's how they'd finish if I had to guess right now:
1. Adrian Peterson. Shouldn't even be close. Coming off of ACL & MCL surgery in December of 2011, Peterson took a 3-13 club on his back and lifted them to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth.
The team only added 3 'impact' players from the year before, a Left Tackle, a Free Safety, and a Pro Bowl rookie PlaceKicker. The rest of the roster remained essentially the same from the previous year's debacle. In Christian Ponder, the Vikes have a QB who is universally considered to be mediocre at best.
All AP did was rush for 2,097 (2nd highest of All-Time) on his surgically repaired knee, including more than 800 in the month of December as the Vikes won their last 4 games to reach the post-season.
Landslide Winner.
2. Andrew Luck. Coming in to a situation (2-14) where you're expected to replace a legend, things don't always go as planned. Luck played particularly well in close games. The Colts won their last 7 when the games was decided by 7 points or less.
I personally have watched him make throws that rookies aren't supposed to make.
He's got a 'winner's' mentality, and has literally gutted his team to wins that they shouldn't have had (Packers, Lions).
There's no way anyone can tell me that Manning was more important to Denver than Luck was to Indy.
3. Robert Griffin III. Dynamic playmaker lifted Skins to a new level. 6-10 in 2011, Griffin helped reverse that record in 2012. He came up big down the stretch, leading Washington to 7 straight wins following a 3-6 start. He was without his top receiver for half the season, and the Skins defense is still terrible, yet they ended up winning the NFC East.
4. Peyton Manning. Broncos were 8-8 with TIM FREAKIN TEBOW running the show last year. They also beat the Steelers in the playoffs with TIM FREAKIN TEBOW.
Broncos defense is greatly improved, but what gets overlooked is, Manning and the Broncos have beat up on many, many shitty clubs during their 11-game streak. They only beat 2 of this year's playoff qualifiers: Baltimore and Cincinnati (arguably the 2 worst teams in the field). They lost on the road to New England and Atlanta and at home to Houston.
They feasted 6 times on San Diego, Oakland & KC (the dregs of the NFL). I know, I know, you can only play who they put in front of you.
Manning is a nice story this year. He should win Comeback Player of the Year, but he is NOT the most valuable player in the league.
5. Aaron Rodgers/Tom Brady (tie). At times we just take greatness for granted. These two go out and perform, year in and year out, and lead their teams to the playoffs.
Without these two QB's on their teams, I doubt they'd qualify for the post-season.
(Either one could actually be ranked as high as #2 if you really wanted to argue their case).
Let's dig a little deeper though. I'd argue that there are actually 2 candidates more qualified than Manning.
Here's how they'd finish if I had to guess right now:
1. Adrian Peterson. Shouldn't even be close. Coming off of ACL & MCL surgery in December of 2011, Peterson took a 3-13 club on his back and lifted them to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth.
The team only added 3 'impact' players from the year before, a Left Tackle, a Free Safety, and a Pro Bowl rookie PlaceKicker. The rest of the roster remained essentially the same from the previous year's debacle. In Christian Ponder, the Vikes have a QB who is universally considered to be mediocre at best.
All AP did was rush for 2,097 (2nd highest of All-Time) on his surgically repaired knee, including more than 800 in the month of December as the Vikes won their last 4 games to reach the post-season.
Landslide Winner.
2. Andrew Luck. Coming in to a situation (2-14) where you're expected to replace a legend, things don't always go as planned. Luck played particularly well in close games. The Colts won their last 7 when the games was decided by 7 points or less.
I personally have watched him make throws that rookies aren't supposed to make.
He's got a 'winner's' mentality, and has literally gutted his team to wins that they shouldn't have had (Packers, Lions).
There's no way anyone can tell me that Manning was more important to Denver than Luck was to Indy.
3. Robert Griffin III. Dynamic playmaker lifted Skins to a new level. 6-10 in 2011, Griffin helped reverse that record in 2012. He came up big down the stretch, leading Washington to 7 straight wins following a 3-6 start. He was without his top receiver for half the season, and the Skins defense is still terrible, yet they ended up winning the NFC East.
4. Peyton Manning. Broncos were 8-8 with TIM FREAKIN TEBOW running the show last year. They also beat the Steelers in the playoffs with TIM FREAKIN TEBOW.
Broncos defense is greatly improved, but what gets overlooked is, Manning and the Broncos have beat up on many, many shitty clubs during their 11-game streak. They only beat 2 of this year's playoff qualifiers: Baltimore and Cincinnati (arguably the 2 worst teams in the field). They lost on the road to New England and Atlanta and at home to Houston.
They feasted 6 times on San Diego, Oakland & KC (the dregs of the NFL). I know, I know, you can only play who they put in front of you.
Manning is a nice story this year. He should win Comeback Player of the Year, but he is NOT the most valuable player in the league.
5. Aaron Rodgers/Tom Brady (tie). At times we just take greatness for granted. These two go out and perform, year in and year out, and lead their teams to the playoffs.
Without these two QB's on their teams, I doubt they'd qualify for the post-season.
(Either one could actually be ranked as high as #2 if you really wanted to argue their case).