Take your pick, who’s your 2011 NFL MVP?
The NFL MVP is a special award that goes to the most valuable player on their team or at least it is suppose to be for that special player. The award has had many questions mainly pertaining to if it’s just a popularity award or if it really does go to the most valuable player in the league, but we all know that many times ‘he with the grandest stats goes the spoils’. If we look at past winners we see that there were pretty good competitions for the award; from Peyton Manning vs. Chris Johnson (with Manning winning the award to my surprise) to Tom Brady vs. Michael Vick (with Brady winning the award) the MVP award has often fallen into the hands of a quarterback. It seems that this year will be no different, in the eyes of many it will be a three man race and those three men are…you guessed it quarterbacks. It seems that the NFL has really turned into a pass first league over the past few years it is even more evident with quarterbacks passing for over 4,000 and even 5,000 yards this season. The NFL has really become an offense friendly league with defense put on the back burner, the offenses today are high powered and highly efficient and that spells trouble for many opposing defenses. The saying used to be defense wins championships, nowadays it’s all about points on the board early and often. Many NFL teams are attempting to build offensive juggernauts and in order to do so you must have a more that average field general. In this article we want to look at the three possible candidates that will be up for NFL MVP award:
Drew Brees #9- Quarterback- New Orleans Saints
College: Purdue
11th season in the NFL
2011 NFL Stats: 46 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 5,476 yards passing, 110.6 rating
Drew Brees is in his happy place with the New Orleans Saints; this is an offense that is perfect for the skill set that Brees brings to the game. The 6’0’’ quarterback with the big arm has made New Orleans the best passing offense in the NFL.
Tom Brady #12- Quarterback- New England Patriots
College: Michigan
12th season in the NFL
2011 NFL Stats: 39 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 5,235 passing yards, 105.6 rating
The fact is Brady has been doing “his thing” since he got his opportunity when Drew Bledsoe was injured and he never looked back. Brady a multiple Super Bowl Champion has shown that he does not need big names to get the job done. Brady this season has been extremely vocal with his team and has pushed them to be better, he is not only an exceptional talent but he is also a great field general.
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Aaron Rodgers #12- Quarterback- Green Bay Packers
College: California
7th season in the NFL
2011 NFL Stats: 45 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 4,643 yards, 122.5 rating
It is not easy to follow a legend but if there is a blueprint Aaron Rodgers invented it. The success that Rodgers has had could in part be what he learned early on but let’s face it he has a rocket arm, he’s fleet of foot and he has a quick mind all a good recipe for a top notch field general in the NFL.
MVP honorable mentions:
Jared Allen (league leader with 22.0 sacks)
Calvin Johnson (league leader with 1,681 receiving yards)
Maurice Jones-Drew (league leader with 1,606 rushing yards)
No doubt that the race for the MVP could be one of the closest in the history of the NFL chances are it will be a quarterback that takes home the award but what do you think? Who would you pick and why? Is it stats? Is it playoff wins? Is it on the field leadership? Many great choices but only one will walk away being the most valuable player.
By Sam Adams
Pro Football Fans Staff Writer