There's been a bunch of talk on sports radio lately here in Denver about who deserves to be the NFL's most Valuable Player. Obviously the sentiment around here is for Mr. Peyton F. Manning. The Broncos are suddenly a top team in the league merely by the addition of Manning. Well, and the defense is also even better than what had been a pretty good team last year.
But have you seen what is going on with Adrian Peterson out in Minnesota? The man is going to single-handedly take the Vikings to the playoffs. Seriously, the Vikings don't have much else going on -- teams KNOW they have to run and AD is STILL putting up 200 yards a week at almost 6.5 yards per carry. (As an aside to the sports radio hosts around here, yes his initials are A.P., but the man's nickname is AD as in All Day.) It's historic. He's already matched Jim Brown for what was probably the best year a running back has ever had, and this is the era of the passing game. There are two games left. It will be great to see what he can do over those two games and if, indeed, he can get the Vikings to the playoffs.
There is the argument, particularly by the homers here, that a quarterback is more important, so that P.F.M. should win over Peterson. Again, I love Manning, but if you make that argument, then you have to cast your vote for Tom Brady, don't you? Brady has put up bigger numbers than Manning on a team that does not have near as good a defense. Broncos are an 8 or 9 win team without Manning. Without Brady I think the Patriots win only 5 or 6 games.
With the historic year that Peterson is putting up though you also have to make mention of Calvin Johnson and the year he is having. He is even closer to breaking Jerry Rice's receiving yards mark than Peterson is to Dickerson's rushing record. Of course, as I said, this is an era that favors passing over rushing, but still what Johnson has done is pretty remarkable given that the Lions don't have a lot of other options on offense. Megatron makes these catches that make your jaw drop like watching a Barry Sanders run. I've never seen a man so routinely beat double coverage. Teams play man defense against him and put two men on him. Teams have put THREE men on him to try and cover him. I've really never seen anything like it.
All this said, if I had a vote for MVP I'd give it to Brian Urlacher every year, if he coudl stay healthy. I know as a Bears fan I'm biased. However, the Bears are a completely different team without Urlacher in there. They are a winning team with him and a losing team without him. It's that simple. Every year though we witness how badly the Bears can play wihtout him because it seems that he is out for at least a handful of games every year.
But have you seen what is going on with Adrian Peterson out in Minnesota? The man is going to single-handedly take the Vikings to the playoffs. Seriously, the Vikings don't have much else going on -- teams KNOW they have to run and AD is STILL putting up 200 yards a week at almost 6.5 yards per carry. (As an aside to the sports radio hosts around here, yes his initials are A.P., but the man's nickname is AD as in All Day.) It's historic. He's already matched Jim Brown for what was probably the best year a running back has ever had, and this is the era of the passing game. There are two games left. It will be great to see what he can do over those two games and if, indeed, he can get the Vikings to the playoffs.
There is the argument, particularly by the homers here, that a quarterback is more important, so that P.F.M. should win over Peterson. Again, I love Manning, but if you make that argument, then you have to cast your vote for Tom Brady, don't you? Brady has put up bigger numbers than Manning on a team that does not have near as good a defense. Broncos are an 8 or 9 win team without Manning. Without Brady I think the Patriots win only 5 or 6 games.
With the historic year that Peterson is putting up though you also have to make mention of Calvin Johnson and the year he is having. He is even closer to breaking Jerry Rice's receiving yards mark than Peterson is to Dickerson's rushing record. Of course, as I said, this is an era that favors passing over rushing, but still what Johnson has done is pretty remarkable given that the Lions don't have a lot of other options on offense. Megatron makes these catches that make your jaw drop like watching a Barry Sanders run. I've never seen a man so routinely beat double coverage. Teams play man defense against him and put two men on him. Teams have put THREE men on him to try and cover him. I've really never seen anything like it.
All this said, if I had a vote for MVP I'd give it to Brian Urlacher every year, if he coudl stay healthy. I know as a Bears fan I'm biased. However, the Bears are a completely different team without Urlacher in there. They are a winning team with him and a losing team without him. It's that simple. Every year though we witness how badly the Bears can play wihtout him because it seems that he is out for at least a handful of games every year.
