MVP Race Just Got a Lot Closer...

[denverYooper]

IMO. Brees is on pace to break Marino's yardage record easily and his own completion pct record. Plus, Rodgers has fallen under the Manning rating record and the Packers now have a loss. It's not looking any easier with their line issues, GJ down, and no one clearly stepping up in the receiving corps.

I'm not saying Rodgers won't win, because I think he's still in the "lead" but today changed the vote from near-unanimity to a 2 man competition.

[Pugger]

I doubt Rodgers will win it now. He looked horrid in KC and with our O line in a shambles we'll be hard pressed to win another regular season game, especially if the Steelers beat the 49ers. Then we'll have little incentive to expose Rodgers and his numbers will be eclipsed by Brees. Folks have short memories too.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Rodgers will win it. Green Bay should beat Chicago with Hanie at QB. People will remember the Packers winning 14 or 15 games and having the best record in the league. They'll remember his run last year. His Super Bowl MVP. The numbers will be close (he still has a sizeable passer rating lead), and they'll give it to the guy on the best team. Nobody will hold it against him that the Packers lose a game or two when it really matters little. Let's not forget that Brees had two stinker games--throwing 5 picks in losing two games against bad teams (Tampa Bay and St. Louis).

[Pugger]

Rodgers will win it. Green Bay should beat Chicago with Hanie at QB. People will remember the Packers winning 14 or 15 games and having the best record in the league. They'll remember his run last year. His Super Bowl MVP. The numbers will be close (he still has a sizeable passer rating lead), and they'll give it to the guy on the best team. Nobody will hold it against him that the Packers lose a game or two when it really matters little. Let's not forget that Brees had two stinker games--throwing 5 picks in losing two games against bad teams (Tampa Bay and St. Louis).

But those 2 stinkers by Brees were way back in October. He is playing lights out now. Rodgers Super Bowl MVP has no baring now either. I fear Rodgers peaked too early and I'm praying that won't come back to haunt us going forward.

[Tarlam!]

Talking heads had run out of superlatives to decribe Rodgers all season. The drops were not his fault. The game plan was thin and, obviously, losing two RTs didn't help him a whole lot.

I do not see them robbing Rodgers of MVP unless he really stinks up the joint next two games. And, it would be robbery.

[KalamazooPackerFan]

Talking heads had run out of superlatives to decribe Rodgers all season. The drops were not his fault. The game plan was thin and, obviously, losing two RTs didn't help him a whole lot.

I do not see them robbing Rodgers of MVP unless he really stinks up the joint next two games. And, it would be robbery.

Agreed. With the Packer offense being what it is (the epitome of the pass first philosophy), I don't see how anybody could hold a 1-2 bad games against a QB that has lead a team to, at worst, 13-3 and at best 15-1.

[mmmdk]

Gave myself 10 secs to remember who won the offensive MVP last season..couldn't and this brings me to my point; win the Super Bowl and you'll be remembered.
With that said; Rodgers & Brees are as close to even that one could think of - Rodgers needs to play great 'cos Brees has an O-line!

[mraynrand]

I don't give a flying F*** about the MVP award. Just win playoff games.

[smuggler]

Yeah, I think the gap will be bridged by Brees to the point where Rodgers would have to look pretty good in the last two games to win. He won't because we're at home in the cold. Brees has better pass protection and plays in a dome, but people won't care about that. It's all about the numbers.

It sucks, but there are more important things to worry about.

[Brandon494]

The sky is falling! Lmao Rodgers still has MVP locked IMO.

[Scott Campbell]

I don't give a flying F*** about the MVP award. Just win playoff games.

+1. Fuck the beauty contests.

[denverYooper]

+1. Fuck the beauty contests.

I agree 100% with this.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Rodgers still has him in three important categories, and it likely won't change: 1) best record, 2) TD-int ratio, 3) passer rating.

Best record

Rodgers - 13-1
Brees - 11-3

TD-int ratio

Rodgers: 40-6
Brees: 37-11

Passer rating

Rodgers: 120.1
Brees: 109.1

The rest of the stats are kind of a wash. Brees has completion percentage, but Rodgers has him in yards/attempt. Brees has yardage, but that's because he's thrown 110 more passes. Rodgers has him by a mile in rushing stats.

[King Friday]

Rodgers is a lock for MVP...anything said otherwise is merely a way for talking heads to fill 20 minutes of airtime to earn a paycheck.

[denverYooper]

Interesting take from CHFF (http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_5007_10_Things_We_Learned%3A_Upsetting_Week_15_ edition.html):


1. Aaron Rodgers showed why he is the MVP on Sunday.
It’ll be open season on the Packers this week, as all the pundits fall all over themselves to anoint new teams as Super Bowl favorites, tell us that the Packers defense isn’t good enough and how a team with no running game is a little vulnerable to the upset.

It all reinforces why Aaron Rodgers is having one of the great seasons of all time, and is the MVP of MVPs.

One so-so game by their quarterback (80.1 rating), and the Packers folded like a house of cards Sunday in Kansas City. Their defense allowed Kansas City to go on five separate scoring drives of at least 3:21 and at least seven plays, and forced no turnovers.

Is Drew Brees having an MVP season? Yes. Is Tom Brady? Absolutely. But Rodgers has been better than both, and is doing it in similar single-handed fashion.
Brees has been incredible this year, and his passer rating is still 11.0 points behind Rodgers (120.1-109.1). That’s the difference between Matthew Stafford and
Mark Sanchez this year (11.6), or Eli Manning to Kevin Kolb (10.6). In other words, it’s significant.

As for the Packers, the great ones always lose one or two they should’ve won, and if they finish 15-1 they will be in rare company. But they seem to be more likely to follow in the footsteps of the 1998 Vikings (15-1), who didn’t have the defense to win it all, than the 1984 49ers who did.

[MJZiggy]

Rodgers is a lock for MVP...anything said otherwise is merely a way for talking heads to fill 20 minutes of airtime to earn a paycheck.

I take issue with the use of the word "earn" in this sentence.

[Upnorth]

HOwever any other year and Brees deserves the MVP. Dude is having one hell of a year (again) and will get one at some point.

Going out many years, right now of active players you have Brady and Manning who are locks for the hall. THen you have Bree's and Arod who are the closest for the hall (as of now). QB is gonna be crowded in the future.

[MadtownPacker]

If one game changes everyones vote then fuck em!

[gbgary]

i think brees has this one in the bag. putting the whammy on it.

[Smeefers]

I don't see how Brees doesn't get it. It's either him or Tebow.

[Pugger]

Well, it appears we really need to win now that the 9ers won. This ain't gonna be easy with our make-shift O line trying to keep Peppers and his friends out of our backfield X-mas night.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Well, that should about do it.

[King Friday]

LOL...ya think.

[Lurker64]

I'm pretty sure Rodgers wins MVP, but Brees takes "offensive player of the year." That way everybody is happy.

[Tarlam!]

I ran his numbers through the calculater: 158. 33333. Isn't that a perfect game?


EDIT: I entered the numbers incorrectly: The PR is 142. Sorry!

[RashanGary]

Well, that should about do it.

That run pretty much cements it. That's going to be all over TV and the internet. They'll have all sorts of analogies, comparisons and colorful descriptions of bravery, heart and determination when they show the skinny white guy running haphazardly through the battlefield of the biggest, baddest men in the ring. . . .

Well, the numbers, and those perception boosters pretty much cement it.


AR niggas.

[RashanGary]

I'm pretty sure Rodgers wins MVP, but Brees takes "offensive player of the year." That way everybody is happy.

Yeah, Brees with his friggin dome numbers. BS. AR is doing this with wind, rain some days and cold others. BS. AR is the superior player (period)


Brady and AR should get a 10% handicap for doing it in conditions brees and Manning have hardly ever seen. I'd go AR, Brady and then Brees.

[Tarlam!]

Yeah, Brees with his friggin dome numbers. BS. AR is doing this with wind, rain some days and cold others. BS. AR is the superior player (period)

I share your opinion, but Brees has seriously entered the discussion. The hoohah around breaking the record is growing anf NO actually have something to play for, whereas, we're likely to see a quarter from AR, since there is no real reason, except pride of winning, for the Packers to play for.

There is a group of fans, talking heads, though, around the league that are furious that Payton called the 4 passing plays to pad the stats. They argue he would have certainly done it next week, and also in front of the home team's fans, since NO is in NO again.

[Gunakor]

There is a group of fans, talking heads, though, around the league that are furious that Payton called the 4 passing plays to pad the stats. They argue he would have certainly done it next week, and also in front of the home team's fans, since NO is in NO again.

Anyone furious about the way that game ended, anyone implying a lack of sportsmanship, they need to go out and find a different hobby. Seriously. What, did the talking heads expect Payton to take a knee with over 2 minutes to go in the game, with Brees just 30 yards from the record? I think they need to start covering something other than professional sports if they think that, especially in the situation the Saints found themselves in at the end of the game, that New Orleans should have simply killed the clock and waited until next week. Biggest load of BS I have ever heard in my life.

Put yourself in the shoes of a Saints fan at the Superdome Monday night. You've been a Saints fan since Archie. You don't necessarily have tickets to next weeks game. Sure, other Saints fans do, but you don't. But you're there on Monday. It's the second biggest moment in franchise history. 3 minutes to go, 30 some passing yards from NFL history. History you're going to be a part of, and you have a ticket stub to prove it. Then Brees hands the ball off. Then again. And again. Clock winds down to zero. Saints win. What's the drive home gonna be like?

I guess what I'm getting at here is that, even though the next game is at home as well, they aren't all the same individual fans. And the Saints owe just as much to the fans that show up to one game as they do to the fans that show up at another. They don't owe ANYTHING to their opponents. Sportsmanship be damned. This one is for the books, the fans, and the Saints. Not the Falcons, and not for the talking heads whose opinions nobody really gives a damn about anyway. Anyone who doesn't understand that should find something better to do on their Monday nights.

As far as the MVP discussion goes, Brees definitely has a case. In any other year outside of 2007 Brees wins it hands down. But you can't compare 2011 Drew Brees to 2010 Aaron Rodgers. As good as Brees has been in 2011, Rodgers has been better. And honestly, I think that Brees - being the humble guy that he is - would likely be one of the first to tell you that.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Rodgers will win MVP, and I don't think it's close. Brees might steal a few votes, but that happens almost every year even when there is an obvious MVP. Rodgers has him in the stats, W/L record, and head-to-head. Plus, people remember his playoff run from last year and then realize what he went through with the Favre saga. The only reason Brees has the yardage record is because he's thrown 120 more passes than Rodgers. Rodgers has him by a mile in YPA.

[Pugger]

I'm wondering if the bloom will be off the rose of Brees breaking that record after Brady also does it this weekend? ;-)

[Harlan Huckleby]

I think Brady, Manning, Brees and now Rodgers are the eiites. (duh) Each year one plays a little better than the others. Brees has played as well as AR, but AR's been the belle of the ball, this is his coming out party, so he wins.

[hoosier]

I think Brady, Manning, Brees and now Rodgers are the eiites. (duh) Each year one plays a little better than the others. Brees has played as well as AR, but AR's been the belle of the ball, this is his coming out party, so he wins.

The Eiites!?! Why do you always have to go around showing off your knowledge of Aramaic history?

MVP = Rodgers
OPY = Brees
DPY = ???

The first two seem pretty clear cut to me. But who is the defensive player of the year? Allen could hit 20 sacks this year but his team performance might hurt him.

[Cheesehead Craig]

The Eiites!?! Why do you always have to go around showing off your knowledge of Aramaic history?

MVP = Rodgers
OPY = Brees
DPY = ???

The first two seem pretty clear cut to me. But who is the defensive player of the year? Allen could hit 20 sacks this year but his team performance might hurt him.
JPP from the Giants might have a shot. If the Giants make the playoffs and he has another big game against the Cowboys, he could very well get the nod.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I think Brady, Manning, Brees and now Rodgers are the eiites. (duh) Each year one plays a little better than the others. Brees has played as well as AR, but AR's been the belle of the ball, this is his coming out party, so he wins.

Brees has been awesome, but Rodgers has been better. Brees has him in completion % by a small margin. (Thank you, Darren Sproles.) Rodgers has him by a good margin in TD %, int %, YPA, rushing. The Packers are 14-1 and the defenses have been comparable. Brees has a better running game and much better OL. I'll give the Packers the edge in receivers, but Colston, Meachem, Henderson, Moore, Graham, and Sproles are pretty damn good.

[hoosier]

JPP from the Giants might have a shot. If the Giants make the playoffs and he has another big game against the Cowboys, he could very well get the nod.

I thought about him. He is definitely having a ROY type year. When I posted it was seeming to me that JPP would suffer with voters in two ways: it's his first year and he didn't really show up on anyone's radar screen (as an impact player) until the second half of the year, and I'm not sure whether at this point in his career he has established a reputation as an all around player rather than just a pass rusher. I could be wrong though. And maybe his breakthrough in the second half will help him after all.

[Tarlam!]

JPP is having good year, but the unanimous voting will go to Cam Netwon for ROY.

[Joemailman]

Brees has been awesome, but Rodgers has been better. Brees has him in completion % by a small margin. (Thank you, Darren Sproles.) Rodgers has him by a good margin in TD %, int %, YPA, rushing. The Packers are 14-1 and the defenses have been comparable. Brees has a better running game and much better OL. I'll give the Packers the edge in receivers, but Colston, Meachem, Henderson, Moore, Graham, and Sproles are pretty damn good.

The only reason Brees is ahead of Rodgers in yardage is because he has thrown 120 more passes. If you take Rodgers' current stats and project what they would be if Rodgers had thrown as many passes as Brees they would be: 425-622, 5752 yards, 56 TD passes, 7 INT's.

[hoosier]

JPP is having good year, but the unanimous voting will go to Cam Netwon for ROY.

Unless things have changed there are two ROY awards, one offense and the other defense.

[RashanGary]

I think Brady, Manning, Brees and now Rodgers are the eiites. (duh) Each year one plays a little better than the others. Brees has played as well as AR, but AR's been the belle of the ball, this is his coming out party, so he wins.

Brees isn't as safe with the ball. But yeah, you're splitting hairs. Tough to put context to what each guy does. Too many variables. I like AR's ball security. I think Brady plays with the best pace. Brees. . . . . His pace is better than AR's, he's more athletic than Brady.

All great. All worthy. AR wins on his SB win, his playoff heroics, his reputation as a saint, his discount double take and his newness. He deserves it though. HE had a better year.

[Cheesehead Craig]

The only reason Brees is ahead of Rodgers in yardage is because he has thrown 120 more passes. If you take Rodgers' current stats and project what they would be if Rodgers had thrown as many passes as Brees they would be: 425-622, 5752 yards, 56 TD passes, 7 INT's.

That's awesome!

[pbmax]

Normally, I would argue against wins making the difference in an MVP candidate. I feel no such compulsion to make that argument this year.

[Brandon494]

Unless things have changed there are two ROY awards, one offense and the other defense.

You do realize JPP is not a rookie right?

Also Cam is having arbuably the best year ever by a rookie, he's a lock to win OROY.

[Zool]

You do realize JPP is not a rookie right?

Also Cam is having arbuably the best year ever by a rookie, he's a lock to win OROY.

I was wondering what they were talking about with JPP too. He's not going to win the DPOY and he's in his 2nd year in the league.

Cam breaking records should seal his ROY status.

[hoosier]

Yeah, oops, I forgot JPP was drafted in 2010.

[Tarlam!]

Yeah, oops, I forgot JPP was drafted in 2010.

Tell with them, housier! His rookie season can't have been that great if neither of can even remember it!

[hoosier]

By that logic we could probably make the case that Aaron Maybin should get consideration for ROY!

[pbmax]

By that logic we could probably make the case that Aaron Maybin should get consideration for ROY!

If I had a vote, it would be for Peyton Manning again.

[Smidgeon]

The only reason Brees is ahead of Rodgers in yardage is because he has thrown 120 more passes. If you take Rodgers' current stats and project what they would be if Rodgers had thrown as many passes as Brees they would be: 425-622, 5752 yards, 56 TD passes, 7 INT's.

Good stats.