The Season of Redemption

There isn't much debate as to what the most prestigious honor for an individual player in the National Football League is.  But every year sparks a new debate when discussing who deserves to be the "most valuable player".  Looking back to last season however, Packer's QB Aaron Rodgers boasted the award by winning in a landslide over the only other candidate, Drew Brees. It makes perfect sense when you throw for 45 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and the greatest passer rating in a single season at 122.5.

Things get a bit more interesting this season though.  It could be the fact that the top two candidates also deserve the Comeback Player of the Year Award, or maybe because one of the players is a running back and that's something we're not used to seeing ever year. 

Honorable Mentions:

J.J. Watt, Defensive End, Houston Texans--

The only defensive player in the league that remotely deserves attention for this award, and boy has he been recognized.  We can talk all day about the physical freak that Watt is, but this guy is a presence every play on the field and is revolutionizing the 3-4 end position.  The most striking part of his game this season was pass deflections.  With 16 tipped balls, Watt stood up there with some of the best defensive backs and his 20.5 sacks lead the league.  Add in 4 forced fumbles (2 recovered) and you have what should be our unanimous Defensive Player of the Year.  Alan Page and Lawrence Taylor are the only two defensive players in NFL history to win MVP and while it is likely to stay that way after this season, J.J. Watt is sure to keep his tenacity known in the upcoming seasons.


Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers--

Our reigning MVP instilled yet another high-production year at the QB position despite what many people are calling a "slow start".  Rodgers did face some frightful defenses the first few weeks, but as the season progressed we began to see the true colors of the recent Super Bowl champ.  With a strong finish, Rodgers managed to nudge out Peyton and RGIII for the highest passer rating at 108.0 and ultimately lead his team to another division title with an 11-5 record.  Green Bay's shoddy offensive line proved to be a problem all season long with Rodgers getting sacked a league-high 51 times.  While it's hard to penalize him for that, he also has a knack of holding on to the ball too long.  Anyone can make a convincing argument for this guy as the MVP... especially considering his top two targets struggled to stay on the field for much of the season and there's always the faint concept that is the Packer's rushing attack.



Runner-Up:

 Peyton Manning, Quarterback, Denver Broncos--

After missing an entire season and undergoing neck surgery, not many people thought #18 would be in prime contention for this award.  Well, let's not forget it's Peyton Manning and just about every season he's played has induced MVP-like production.  This season he took an 8-8 Broncos squad that based it's offense around running the football and turned it into a vintage Peyton passing attack with the help of a some young studded receivers.  These types of teams usually succeed, and this year was no different as Manning improved Denver by 5 games from last season.  Numbers don't do him justice, but he did happen to tie Matt Ryan for the highest completion percentage (68.6%).  Peyton might be the only player in the league that could single-handedly coach an entire offense, and that alone speaks volumes about how "valuable" he is to a given team. 


2012 Most Valuable Player


 Adrian Peterson, Running Back, Minnesota Vikings--

I'm going to save everyone some time by not discussing how remarkable it is for a player to return and play even better after a  ACL/MCL tear.  Instead I will elaborate on why the man they call "All Day" is this year's most valuable player.  I hear a lot about how this award has become more of an "outstanding" player award, but either way you put it, Peterson fits the title.  With four games remaining in the regular season and a 6-6 record, the Vikings playoff hopes were fading fast.  Winning out and snagging a wild card spot cannot be credited more to Peterson, as the Viking's halfback ran for at least 150 yards and a touchdown in three of those four wins.  Not only do we have a clutch performer on our hands, but a player who was nine yards short of the all-time rushing record in a passing league.  How much more valuable can you be when a defense's game plan centers around stopping you, and it just doesn't seem to matter?  Even though they haven't been recording the stat of 20+ yard runs for long, Peterson's 27 of them is far more than any other running back in a season throughout the past decade.  One last piece of info I want to point out is his yards per carry average, which is a solid 6.0. Guys like C.J. Spiller managed to tie that mark on 207 carries.  How many rushes did AD have this season? 348.  A complete and utter workhorse, Adrian Peterson is not only the best running back in the league right now, but this year's most valuable player.