There’s no definitive answer to the MVP question this year, which is great for football fans and a drag for football writers. I love Aaron Rodgers, and obviously I think Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. Truth be told, this MVP trophy could easily go to either of those two guys, and I’d be just fine with it. My guess is Aaron will win it, simply based on the total domination of the Packers. The greatness of Rodgers is unquestionable.
In terms of my Quarterback MVP, I’m giving my vote to Drew Brees. My favorite trait in great athletes is the will to win, and something about Drew Brees touched that nerve in me this season. When a Saints game is nationally televised, Brees makes sure to maul the other team to scraps of bones and tears. It’s not enough for Brees to win, but he really has to make the opposing team look like a junior high school football team -- and I love that about him. That’s my kind of quarterback. He makes other teams (like the Giants) understand that they’re not qualified to be on the same field as the Saints.
There is something I should mention, however, which no one else has really talked about yet. Tom Brady has a big plus in his MVP column -- out of the Pats, Packers, and Saints, Brady’s team has had the most difficult schedule so far. Both the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints have had easy schedules in comparison to the New England Patriots. Consider the first 12 Weeks of opponents:
Green Bay: Saints, Panthers, Bears, Broncos, Falcons, Rams, Vikings, Chargers, Vikings, Bucs, Lions.
New Orleans: Packers, Bears, Texans, Jags, Panthers, Bucs, Colts, Rams, Bucs, Falcons, Giants.
New England: Dolphins, Chargers, Bills, Raiders, Jets, Cowboys, Steelers, Giants, Jets, Chiefs, Eagles.
If New England had Green Bay’s schedule, we’d probably be 10-1 instead of 8-3. And if Green Bay had New England’s schedule, they’d probably be 9-2 instead of 11-0. New Orleans would probably be the same, at 8-3, with New England’s schedule. None of this takes anything away from the greatness of these three teams, but the varying difficulties of their schedules is worth noting.
When it comes to bloodthirsty quarterbacks, you can’t go wrong with Brady, Brees, and Rodgers. If a three-way quarterback tie was possible, this would be the occasion to award such a thing. These are, quite simply, three perfect quarterbacks. One of them has a perfect record, which is big. One of them has three Super Bowl rings, which is even bigger. And one of them has a Vicks commercial. I kid, I kid.
Drew Brees, Quarterback MVP.
But for my league MVP, I’m going with Wes Welker. Through 11 games, he’s first in receiving yards with 1,143. In context, that’s 120 more yards than Calvin “Megatron” Johnson.
When discussing “the most dangerous man in the NFL,” we’re always very quick to name Brady, Brees, or Rodgers. Acceptable, of course, and understandable. But take a moment to really think about the concept of danger. Is there really anyone more dangerous this year than Wes Welker? I won’t put up a fight with Rodgers or Brady or Brees -- but in my mind, it just doesn’t get more dangerous than Wes.
