MVP means “Most Valuable Player”. This can be determined by knowing that if a certain player was removed from the team, the team would not be very successful. Seeing that the quarterback is the most celebrated position in football, it gives them the advantage in the MVP voting. Peyton Manning, although deserving, will knock out many other well-deserving candidates because he is the field general for his team.

The quarterback can get praise on nearly every play even if all they did was dump the ball off. Lets say Manning dumps the ball off to Addai and Addai makes 4 people miss, and out sprints two other players to score a 71 yard touchdown. Even though Addai did all the work, Manning will get praise and the stats too.

So is the MVP race unfair to people in other positions? From 1957 – 2008, a span of 51 years, the quarterback was chosen MVP 31 times. That is 60% of the time. It gets even worse for players who aren’t a quarterback or a running back. Running backs were chosen 17 times in that same time period. So 94% of the time a quarterback or runningback has been chosen as MVP.

Manning will go ahead and win the MVP award over Jerome Harrison and Adrian Peterson, who by the way led the league in rushing with mediocre quarterback play, which only makes it harder since there are so many 8 men in the box defenses. I’m not saying that Manning shouldn’t win it but it does default to him because of the quarterback position. It is just harder to say that Michael Turner led his team to the playoffs then it is to say Peyton Manning did.

Same goes with the Rookie of the Year award. Chris Johnson, Matt Forte and Steve Slaton have been stellar although, Matt Ryan will probably get the nod. In Chris Johnson’s case most of the attention was on Kerry Collins during the year.

 Although with right reason the quarterback gets most of the praise and most of the blame,  many players miss out on the award just because of a “QB” next to a Peyton Manning as opposed to “RB” next to Adrian Peterson.

Any given preseason, if I ask you, who you think will win MVP this season, you’ll probably throw out some names like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson, or LaDainian Tomlinson. Maybe not those exact players, but you get the idea: the names you pick will always, always, be on offense and they’ll probably line up in the backfield. Before the season starts no one is gutsy enough to say, “Actually, I think Brian Urlacher has a real shot this season.”

I could argue this is because of fantasy football and fans today care more about numbers than in the past, and to some extent perhaps this is true. It’s why most fans look at Trent Edwards and see a player who has thrown for at least 2 touchdowns in just one game this season, rather than a quarterback who has been pretty solid in his second season as a pro. He hit some rough spots but his wins/losses column (7-6) is pretty good, considering the team around him.

But fantasy football isn’t why fans don’t look to defense when picking an MVP. No, this habit goes back to the idea the quarterback is the most important player on the field, and the only time another position should win the award is when his value compensates for the lack of value at quarterback and keeps his team competitive. The only position where you can be certain a player is making this level of impact is running back.

Look at defense. Now, I know a disruptive defensive lineman is important, but is he the most valuable player in the NFL? Can he win football games? This argument is difficult because defenders rarely score touchdowns. They can be part of a unit that prevents opponents from scoring points, but is that the same thing?

Look at Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Ware. If he tackles the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage three times this weekend in Philadelphia, he’ll break the single season sack record with 23. He’s been pretty doggone disruptive this season, no doubt about it. After all, one can only guess the number of times he’s pressured the quarterback and hurried him into a bad decision or the number of times he drew an extra blocker, freeing up someone else on the defense to sack the quarterback or create a disruption. He forces opposing offensive coordinators to game plan differently, to focus more attention on him. Dallas’s defense has been pretty good this season, ranking 4th against the pass and 8th in total yards allowed, but can one argue he is the league’s most valuable player?

How do we measure the value of an individual player in a game which stresses teamwork? Numbers, usually, but those numbers are dependent on the actions of the players surrounding the star, whether he is on offense or defense. Tom Brady passed for 50 touchdowns last season and certainly deserved the MVP award, but watching games in which he played at least one thing was certainly obvious: his offensive line gave him more than enough time in the pocket.

Players do not make things happen without the support of teammates, not in football. In baseball, sure, it’s possible. In basketball, yeah, there’s no doubt. But in football, players are in sync when things go right and out of sync when things go wrong. A quarterback may pass for 50 touchdowns in a season, but someone caught those passes and others threw blocks to give him an extra split-second to make a decision.

No, numbers alone do not justify an MVP. Intangible qualities, those things we have no certain way of measuring, such as leadership and tenacity and coolness under pressure, do. There are times a player may not put up the numbers of his peers, but he can rally his teammates around him and push them to give everything they have and just a little bit more. He is a valuable player.

Records are broken as a result of an alignment of the stars and a dash of luck for good measure. Teams winning games and performing beyond expectations or realistic boundaries; teams playing better than they look on paper; this is where we should look to find the MVP. Forget the stars that turn our fantasy teams into juggernauts; let’s instead look to the players who turn their teams into winners, even against the odds.

Eight weeks ago you could have written off the Indianapolis Colts, and I wouldn’t have complained. I might have told you to slow down because it is Indianapolis, but it would have hard to argue against forgetting about a 3-4 team trailing an undefeated division leader.

Eight weeks later and you’d be a fool to look past the Colts.

Indianapolis, while not necessarily blowing opponents out on a weekly basis, hasn’t lost a game since week eight and clinched the postseason tonight with a fourth quarter win over Jacksonville. And the catylist for this drastic turnaround is none other than everyone’s favorite commercial star, Peyton Manning.

Manning has turned his season around like few players can claim. Through the first eight weeks of the season he had thrown 10 touchdowns and 9 interceptions; hardly the numbers we expect from Peyton Manning. But since week nine’s big win over the New England Patriots, Manning has thrown 16 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions.

Let’s see:10 touchdowns + 9 interceptions = 3 wins + 4 losses 16 touchdowns + 3 interceptions = 8 wins + 0 losses. I think Colts fans can appreciate the second equation.

Why did Manning start the season with such a stumble? He was injured during preseason and missed practice during the period most players finish shaking off the rust and offenses perfect their timings. Manning didn’t have that opportunity this season. He had to shake off the rust during the regular season, while the Colts lost a key starter on defense, Bob Sanders, to an injury. Throughout the season Joseph Addai has been in and out of the lineup and the running game has been almost nonexistent, placing even more pressure on Manning’s shoulders.

But the Colts are playing like a team on fire, right now. The Manning (tee-hee) responsible is Peyton. He’s been the crucial piece of the puzzle that was at times missing during the first half of the season. But he and the Colts offense are firing on all cylinders now and I pity their opponents, especially those they’ll face in the postseason. The Colts are playing with a chip on their shoulders and will take advantage of the postseason to silence their critics.

Watch out, NFL contenders. Here comes Indianapolis, led by my bid for MVP, Peyton Manning.

In recent seasons it has been relatively easy to pick the league’s MVP, since record-breakers often get the nod, especially when the record is significant (i.e., throwing 50 touchdowns in one season is usually worthy). This season, however, it doesn’t seem quite so clear-cut. I think it’s fair to suggest the league MVP will be a quarterback or running back because that is the trend in the NFL. Offensive skill positions are in for two reasons: one, in the era of fantasy football, few fans care enough about individual players on defense to argue for them a case as the league’s “most valuable player.” You will never see an offensive lineman win the award because that offensive group is, well, a group. As far as wide receivers or tight ends are concerned, it’s difficult to point to one as being the reason for a team’s success since their success depends heavily on the quarterback.

With that “narrowing” concluded, here is my list of candidates (four quarterbacks and two running backs) and my pick, which is probably obvious if you caught the drift of my article’s lame clever title. I encourage you to also take advantage of the comments section to voice your opinion. Who do you think deserves the league’s most prestigious individual award?

Quarterbacks

1. Brett Favre - New York Jets

His individual numbers warrant some attention: 2,461 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. But the most telling stat isn’t on Favre’s NFL.com page. Instead, let me point to the New York Jets’ record without Brett Favre (last season): 4-12. Since acquiring Favre, New York is 8-3 and on top the AFC East. Might I also mention they just beat the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team? The Jets are serious Super Bowl contenders, and I would argue that Brett Favre is the catalyst of the surge.

2. Aaron Rodgers - Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers’ numbers might not be gaudy (2,351 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions through ten games), but his play has been more than impressive this season. The Packers remain in the postseason hunt, and it sure isn’t because the running game has led it. Rodgers has showed incredible poise in the pocket and is the single biggest reason Green Bay’s offense is clicking. Now, normally he might not be worth an MVP bid, but consider the pressure he is playing under: he replaced Brett Favre in the offseason, much to the dismay of a good many Packers fans, and has spent the entire season gaining the respect of them and his teammates. I think he’s earned it.

3. Kurt Warner - Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals (7-4) have emerged this season as a contender in the NFC, something that is sure to have made fans believers in Ken Whisenhunt. The team hasn’t been perfect, and Arizona has had trouble running the football this season, which has led to Warner throwing 40-50 passes per game. His response can be described, in a word, as admirable. Warner was impressive in 2007, as well, but he has been in the zone this season. Through eleven games he has thrown for 3,506 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 8 touchdowns and has put the Cardinals’ offense, which ranks 3rd in points per game and 2nd in passing yards per game, on the map.

4. Drew Brees - New Orleans Saints

The Saints (5-5) have struggled this season - mostly because the defense can’t shut down anyone - but the team’s passing game has not. In ten games this season, Drew Brees has passed for 3,251 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 11 touchdowns. The number in that group to watch is his passing yards - he’s averaging 325 yards per game. That puts him on pace for 5,200 yards, enough to easily snag a record. He hasn’t thrown fewer than 30 passes in a game this season, and only twice has he passed for fewer\ than 300 yards.

Running Backs

1. Adrian Peterson - Minnesota Vikings

No running back means as much to his team as Adrian Peterson. While the Vikings have had their ups and downs this season with a pair of ill-suited quarterbacks and a disappointing corps of wide receivers, Adrian Peterson has kept the team afloat through his undying determination. Against the Green Bay Packers I saw a running back take command of an offense in the final minutes to lead a scoring drive. Rarely will we witness a player rush for 40 yards and catch 2 passes for 24 yards to directly account for 64 of an offense’s 69 yards on a scoring drive that puts his team ahead with less than three minutes to play. The dependence on Peterson has been tremendous all season long, and his numbers reflect that: 1,180 yards rushing and 8 rushing touchdowns.

2. Michael Turner - San Diego Chargers

Describing Michael Turner’s numbers in one word is simple: remarkable. Turner has rushed for 1,080 yards and 13 touchdowns through eleven games, taking much of the pressure off rookie quarterback Matt Ryan. The Falcons are 7-4 right now for a number of reasons, but I don’t think anyone would deny that Turner has played a very significant role.

My Pick: If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m going with Favre. He’s the biggest reason New York has turned it around so dramatically this season, and with him at the helm it’s not hard to envision a Super Bowl run for the Jets.

Maybe I’m right (I like to think so), maybe I’m wrong. Put your pick in the comment, and let’s get some discussion going!