A Candidate for MVP Who Doesn’t Play for the Patriots or Colts

A lot of MVP hype is going to Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and, to some extent, Peyton Manning. All three are leading their respective teams to the postseason and all three are putting up spectacular numbers, with an emphasis on the first two.

But is any one of them the league’s MVP?

Think about this: if Randy Moss didn’t play for New England, Tom Brady wouldn’t be putting up these stratospheric numbers. I don’t think there’s any debate there. But the Patriots would still be a darn good team with a near spotless record (one or two losses, probably).

Meanwhile, the biggest reason we’re talking about giving Brady the nod this season is because of the passing statistics he’s achieved this season. If he had his usual 15 touchdowns at this point and the Patriots were 8-1, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion.

And while Peyton Manning has been one of the Colts offense’s few constants this season because of injuries, I’m not so sure he’s the most deserving player in the NFL to earn the award. His 6-interception performance has nothing to do with that; it’s just that the Colts’ defense is so good this season, much like New England’s, that it has given both quarterbacks and offenses a lot of forgiveness.

But there is a quarterback who plays in what would otherwise be “just another town” in America. Brett Favre has heroics, an ever-growing legendary status, and the moments he creates are impossible to reenact or envision another quarterback perform them. He’s led the Green Bay Packers to a stunning 8-1 record that’s this close (imagine my index finger and thumb a millimeter apart) to being a perfect 9-0.

And he’s done with one of the NFL’s youngest offenses. He’s done it without a consistent running game, and, more importantly, he’s shut up the critics who said coming back this season was a mistake, that the Packers aren’t good enough to accomplish anything and his arm isn’t strong enough to make the throws he once could.

But here he is. The Packers are in first place in the NFC North and becoming NFC favorites. Remember, this is a team that Sports Illustrated predicted before the season began to finish 6-10. And the Packers have the league’s worst running game, averaging 77.4 yards per game. It’s a good thing the passing game has been so successful, averaging nearly 300 yards per game and ranking 1st in the NFL.

Of course, it hasn’t been all Brett. But can you see any other quarterback in the NFL having this much success in this offense? Can you see any other player defying his critics this soundly? His numbers this season are better than those he had during the 1996 season, the year the Packers won Super Bowl XXXI.

The point is, Brett Favre has done more this year with the talent around him than any other quarterback in the NFL. The Patriots and Colts had expectations. Fans expected them to win the Super Bowl. But the Packers? They’ve been the underdogs all season long.

And who doesn’t love an underdog, especially one that treats the sport as if he was back in school playing a pickup game with his buddies on the playground?

He’s won my vote. What about yours?