You know, there are some people out there that really don't know what "MVP" really means. To me, MVP means the player that's been "VALUABLE" to their team and the player who's literally playing like he's the best player in the league, and in a class by himself.
I read this absolutely biased article earlier today with Skip Bayless defending an average year by Tom Brady, comparing him to Michael Jordan. Seriously. If we're gonna compare anybody in the NFL to Jordan, it's Joe Montana. Why? 1 simple reason. Jordan is 6-0 in the NBA Finals, like how Joe Montana is 4-0 in the Super Bowl. I could go on, but this isn't a MJ vs Montana article. I won't go deep into that article Skip wrote.
Feel free to read that ridiculousness here:
I wasn't going to make this article until the season was over, but that nonsense got to me, so I had to say my peace. I'll let my article speak for itself.
Brady is Top 5 all time, IMO, but has NOT been playing at an MVP level this season. You can throw out all the stats you want. The man hasn't even been playing better than Philip Rivers.
I can see people making cases for Jamaal Charles, Russell Wilson, Lesean McCoy, and Drew Brees. But, I think even most people would agree, there's only 1 person that deserves the MVP….
Yes. Peyton Manning.
Why? Let's start simple; He leads the league in passing yards, TD's, passing yards per game, completions, and passing plays that go over 20 yards. He's only 2nd in pass plays that go beyond 40 yards, and in total QBR right behind Nick Foles.
He has 47 TD passes. Not only is he about to retake his Single Season TD record, but he's about to shatter the one Tom Brady set in 2007. And also, he's been named Sportsman of the Year. The man is practically having a perfect season.
Peyton and his team have damn near dominated almost every team they've come across. They dropped 40 & 50 in 3 games, and have only scored 20 points only 3 times. They're 54 points away from tying the 2007 Patriots for the most points scored in a single season. Let's go deeper.
- In all his games this season, Peyton has had 3, 400 yard games, and 8, EIGHT, 300 yard games. Statistically, his worst game was in New England, and that's because Knoshown Moreno ran for 200 yards, and was averaging 6 yards per carry. If my running back was having that kind of production, I wouldn't throw the ball that much either.
- Peyton has thrown for 4 or more TD's in 7 games, including his 7 against Baltimore, and his 5 against Kansas City.
- Peyton's completion% has been 60% or higher in 12 games. He had a 59.18 completion% against the Colts and 52.78 against the Patriots.
- Peyton's QBR has been 90, or higher except for 1 game (@New England.)
- Peyton has the 3rd highest QBR when throwing from the shotgun formation, and when setting up play action.
- Look at what he's done for guys like Decker and Demaryius Thomas. Demaryius could easily be in talks of the top receivers this season with Megatron, Gordon, AJ, Alshon, & Dez. Decker had the best game of his career against the Chiefs where he 4 TD's in one game. Julius Thomas has emerged as a star. This is why I never understood why people say, "Peyton's always had top notch talent around him." Yeah, because he MADE the talent around him.
Let me explain. When Dallas Clark was with Peyton, he was consistently in Top 5 TE talks each season. Where is he now? When the Colts went to the Super Bowl in 2009, guys like Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie were big play guys. Where are they now? Brandon Stokley was one of the best slot receivers under Peyton. What's he doing now? Who even knew about Eric Decker, Demaryius, and Julius Thomas before Peyton came to town? Look at how they're performing with a QB like Peyton Manning. The only receiver Peyton didn't make was Reggie Wayne. Reggie is a great player before, during and after Peyton Manning. TWICE, Peyton took an injured, and average Colts team to 12-4 records. What happened when Tom Brady went down in 2008? The Patriots went 11-5.
- As far Skip goes, and declaring that Brady's comebacks were Jordan-esque, I'll say this, notice how all of Brady's "comeback wins" this season were decided on last second plays, or referee involvement. Harsh, but true. Games against Cleveland and New Orleans could easily be losses if not for questionable referee calls. Against Denver, a fluke special teams play wins them the game. Against Houston, a clutch kick from almost 60 yards away seals the game for them.
Was Peyton ever down before this season? You might not notice because of the final box scores, but Denver had to dig themselves out of holes early.
- Peyton's team was down early 21-7 to the Cowboys. What happened? Denver won 51-48.
- Peyton was down 33-14 to the Colts. What happened? Well, they lost. But they almost engineered one hell of a comeback, getting within 6 late in the game.
- Peyton was down 21-7 to the Redskins, 21-10 to the Titans, and 21-7 to the Chiefs in Kansas City. What happened? Chiefs were outscored 28-7 the rest of the way, and the Redskins and Titans ended up getting BLOWN OUT.
It's amazing what Peyton has done for this team. You forget, before Peyton arrived in Denver, they were an 8-8 RUN FIRST team. Peyton came along and now, they're on their way to a second consecutive #1 seed and have become the most dominant passing attack in the last 2 seasons. His QB IQ is through the roof, the way he attacks the blitz and defensive backs, fitting his passes into such tight windows, throwing guys open, taking advantage of the match ups, and the overall way he commands the offense. He's an offensive supercomputer at Quarterback.
You can say Peyton's a choker (false), and you hate the guy all you want. But would Denver be this good without Peyton Manning? How good would they have been if Tebow was still there? Denver is an average team without Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning makes them a juggernaut, and a force to be reckoned with. That's what makes an MVP.
I can see people arguing for Russell Wilson, and Jamaal Charles and the way they've carried their teams, but Peyton Manning far and away has been the best player this season. He's got the stats to prove it. He is the MVP.
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By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete
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