Before the Packers lost Sunday, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Aaron Rodgers would win the league MVP award. But with Green Bay's loss, along with the recent surge of Drew Brees' Saints and Tom Brady's Patriots, those two QBs are inching into the conversation. So who's your MVP?
Although Brees and Brady are inching closer, the gap was so sizeable that there is no way it's not Aaron Rodgers. He has played at a level that has opposing players and coaches saying there's no doubt he's the best. In fact, I spoke to a coach earlier this season who has partial bias toward Brees, and even he said Rodgers is the best quarterback in the NFL. Throw in the fact that Rodgers has only gotten better after a dazzling Super Bowl run and there's no denying he's the MVP.
My favorite overreaction of the week is the notion that the Packers are broken after having won 19 consecutive games. Yes, the Packers walked into a buzzsaw in Kansas City, but there's a reason only one team has ever been able to navigate a 16-game regular season undefeated: It's really hard to do.
This is a merely a blip for the Packers, who will finish 14-2. Without question, Aaron Rodgers is still the MVP of the league. To be honest, it's not even close.
Brees and Brady are both putting up outrageous numbers for Super Bowl contenders, but Aaron Rodgers is still the MVP. He's thrown more touchdowns and fewer picks than the other two, his team's only lost once in spite of playing in what's arguably the toughest division in the NFL, and he's done it all behind an O-line that's in tatters. Oh, and he's one of the best running QBs in the league. Beating Dan Marino's magical 5,084-yard season is great, but considering that as many as four guys might do it (Brees, Brady, Rodgers and Eli Manning), that achievement will feel more like the product of a pass-happy era than a measure of individual greatness.
I agree that Drew Brees is closing in on Aaron Rodgers, especially as he draws closer to passing Dan Marino for the total passing yardage record. But the Packers and Saints met head to head earlier this season and Green Bay won. I believe Rodgers will win the award, but this debate does raise questions about whether we give the award too early. Why not let the playoffs be part of the equation? As for Tom Brady, the way he plays, he is always in the discussion, but unless the Packers and Saints falter down the stretch, he appears to be headed for third in the 2011 MVP race.
What Drew Brees and Tom Brady are doing may seem almost routine, because we have seen this before from both. Scintillating seasons have become the norm from those two, and this year, both are chasing down Dan Marino's amazing record for single-season yardage. But while both are more than also-rans, Aaron Rodgers is still my choice for MVP in 2011.
Sometimes, when a front-runner emerges early in the season and no other contenders are identified for a long time, when one or two finally do emerge, we get so excited to discuss the new faces that we forget how excellent the front-runner has been. We fall under the spell of the "Flavor of the Week" syndrome, so to speak. In this case, Brees and Brady are shoo-in MVPs ... in any year other than 2011. A-Rod, claim your award. You've earned it!
