FanNation - The Republic of Sport

This year has has certainly been an amazing one for Tom Brady. His stats are beyond belief: he's thrown for 3,059 yards, 38 TDs to only four INTs, and has turned in a QB rating of 134.0 already. Ask anyone around the league and they will most likely tell you that Brady is a shoe-in for league MVP. They'd say that he's gonna break the TD record, that he will most likely be on a team that goes 19-0, and that he has been completely dominant. And they would be absolutely right. But what they probably won't mention is that, if Brady were to have torn his ACL in the preseason or get indicted for fighting dogs in the summer, then we would have one of the hottest MVP races in history going on.

Last year the MVP race was nice and simple: LDT was dominating everybody else, broke the rushing TD record and was on the best team in his confrence. Drew Brees was a distant second, but, while he certainly had a great season, no one honestly believed he had a snowball's chance in hell to win the award. This year, with Brady out of the equation, there are two great choices and several other solid ones. Tony Romo and Brett Favre have been putting up gaudy numbers all year, leading their teams to 9-1 records, and putting up stats in the same galaxy as Brady's. Favre has thrown for 2,975 yards, 19 TDs and just 8 picks already, except that he's doing it with good, not great, receivers, and he's doing it at the "ancient" age of 38. Romo has thrown for 2,848 yards, 27 TDs and 12 INTs, thriving while on the run and improvising. With both you also have the token feel good stories: Favre is the aging gunslinger who's putting together one last run, and Romo is the redeemed pariah, considering all the criticism he faced after the botched snap in the playoffs. To make it even better, their team's play each other next week, in a huge game that will decide home field advantage in the NFC and compare the original gambler (Favre) to the new one (Romo). You could make a case for either, if not for a certain man they call the Golden Boy.

 Favre and Romo are the best choices for MVP this year but there are certainly others. Big Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh is putting together a great season, throwing for only 2,215 yards, but ranking second in TDs and QB rating, with 23 and 107.5 respectively, to only you know who. You've got plenty of emotion with him as well: the young sensation who has the terrifying motorcycle accident and emergency appendectomy, and then leads the league in interceptions, leads one of the best teams in the AFC to glory. Or even Randy Moss, who has clearly found his home in New England and, while his stats are certainly better with Tom Brady, you'd have to believe that he could do this well even with Joey Harrington at QB. He's got a great story too: the selfish superstar joins the ultimate selfless team and is reborn. Adrian Peterson, despite his injury, is definitely another remote possibility. Any rookie running back who comes into the league and breaks the single game rushing record in his eighth game deserves consideration. But because of Mr. Brady, it's all for nothing.

Without Tom Brady, the MVP race would be as hot as, and as closely monitored as, the Heisman Race always is, if not more so. Unfortunately for the other players, and almost even for us, the fans, it won't be. The topic would be constantly debated, and the finish would surely be a close one. Instead, however, we can focus on Comback Player of the Year (which will surely be contested hotly by both Moss and Roethlisberger) and Rookie of the Year (which should be a close race between Peterson and Marshawn Lynch, despite their injuries). For, barring any catasthrophic injuries, Brady has MVP all sewn up. The only way to find out would be if Brady were to go down. Where's Kimo von Oelhoffen and his knee shredding abilities when you need him? Oh yeah, he just signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, New England's next opponent. Maybe we will find out what this race could look like after all...