NFL MVP: Peyton Manning

I voted for Plax.

 

Well, bb, a couple of bounces and the Chargers would have lost to the Chiefs — twice, so it works both ways. I'll tell you what: You find another human being, or at least another Red Sox fan, to argue for Rivers as MVP and I'll rethink my position.

 

No in the literal sense, because he did suck more than Addai, but yes.

 

Jamie Dukes ripped the media earlier. Simply not qualified to vote on these things, he says.

 

1. Is Dukes aware of his own job description?
2. Answering my own question, no, because Jamie Dukes isn't aware of much that I've noticed.

 

He's right about this choice. Manning was not the Most Valuable Player this season. The selection was a lazy one.

He beat his drum for about 15 minutes about 20-sack DeMarcus Ware. The only thing that produces more pointless giddiness than sacks is saves.

Dukes is that old lineman fat guy most of us worked for in newspapers who wants more stories and more mentions about the men in the trenches than anyone else.

 

So who is your choice?

 

DeAngelo Williams. Inexplicably, he didn't even get a vote.

Manning was statistically inferior to Warner, Brees and Rivers, and his own poor play is part of what put them in the 3-4 start.

 

Just for the record....

Tom Brady went down and the Pats finished FIVE games worse than last year and missed the playoffs despite an easier schedule.

If you take Peyton off the Colts in Week 1, they finish 4-12 at best.

That, to me, defines an MVP.

Manning is the best choice and the only choice.

And this is coming from someone who hates both Mannings.

 

As mentioned earlier, Williams was hurt by the fact that before he became the machine he was the last half of the season, the Panthers were already 6-2. So that, to me, undermines his value.

 

I don't get that argument. The Panthers could have gone in the tank at 9-3 or shortly before, and they'd be sitting where the Bucs are right now.

 

Every team has an offensive player someone concentrates on stopping, but Manning is the only player who for years has been attacked like the old North Carolina four corners stall. The Colts' defense is 11th because their games feature the fewest possessions per game. (I believe the Colts had 150 on offense, less than 10 per game.) The Colts cover-two is designed to prevent long plays, but Manning is an extra defender on the field because no one wants to put the ball in his hands any sooner than it has to. Manning himself is inside the heads of defensive coordinators the way no other player is.

And this year, Manning threw his team on his back even more than usual. It turned out he was coming back with no preseason after two knee surgeries, having to lift the rest of an offense that wasn't in one piece for most of the year. He didn't have the stretch play to rely on, and Harrison is a shell of himself. That killer quick slant sometimes shows up, but it doesn't produce big plays anymore. But he still put up his usual numbers, and he played the last two minutes better this year than he ever has.

His MVP case is solid.