When it comes to finding the one who fits the bill, sometimes it comes from the unlikeliest of characters.
That may be the route taken for one honor in a major sport. With just two weeks left before the regular season wraps up, the public is chiming in on who the favorites are for the NFL MVP.
There are two obvious names that everyone believes are top billing to capture the award. Tom Brady has his team firing on all cylinders mainly due to his ability to fire the ball all over the field. Michael Vick is having a miraculous comeback with jaw-dropping numbers and head spinning plays both with his legs and arm.
Yet, in a season that is formulating into one of the oddest in recent pro football history, crowning the most valuable player might mean more than just crowning the obvious. Not to take anything away from Brady or Vick, but other options deserve equal billing as the two of them.
Matt Ryan – QB – Atlanta Falcons
When looking up at the standings, there is only one team that matches the New England Patriots for the best record in the league: the Atlanta Falcons.
The reason why: third year QB Matt Ryan.
It’s easy to understand why the former Boston College standout gets no love in the discussion of MVP; the guy doesn’t even rank in the top five of the big statistical categories. His numbers are above average in comparison to the other superstar QBs (3,321 passing yards, 25 TDs, 90.5 QB rating). He’s also very mild-mannered and shies away from the limelight.
But how can he not be in the discussion for what he has done so far in this season?
His team plays in, arguably, one of the best divisions in football. They lead last year’s Super Bowl champions for their division. They have one of the most prolific offenses in football.
All because of the former third pick in 2008 NFL Draft.
He is the reason the Falcons are where they are and his value is immeasurable to his team. All valid reasons why Ryan deserves credit as an MVP candidate.
Aaron Rodgers – QB – Green Bay Packers
While Ryan is the reason the Falcons engine is running towards a first round playoff bye, the Packers are slowly seeing their motor towards the playoffs dying with only a few spurts left to keep it running.
Why is there no gas left in the tank? Mostly because of their leader Aaron Rodgers getting knocked out with a concussion in Week 14.
Prior to that week, the Packers were just 8-4, and only trailed the Bears by one game for their division. Rodgers was rolling behind center with spectacular numbers (3,289 passing yards, 23 TDs, and a QB rating of 98.5) and they would face the Lions with Chicago having a big match up with New England.
Then, the former University of California, Berkeley QB went down early with a concussion, which would lead the team to a 7-3 loss to Detroit (all while the Bears got blasted by the Patriots). They would also go on to lose a close game to the Patriots, while the Bears beat the Vikings to clinch the division. Now the Packers have two important upcoming games they must win in order to make the playoffs.
The award is given to the player who is the most valuable to his own team. Rodgers is the epitome of importance to the Green Bay Packers organization.
Matt Cassel – QB – Kansas City Chiefs
If anyone in the world picked Kansas City as the AFC West leaders at this point in the season should play the lotto with that type of luck. The Chiefs have got to be the biggest surprise of the 2010 NFL season with their team controlling their own destiny to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
The person who deserves a great deal of credit: former Tom Brady back-up Matt Cassel.
In his second year with the Chiefs, Cassel is living up to the expectations Kansas City had in him when they traded for him in 2009. The 28-year-old is having the best season of his career, with a QB rating of 96.2 (fifth in the NFL), 24 TDs (seventh in the NFL) and only five interceptions (tied for second lowest among all NFL starting QBs).
Cassel’s value to the Chiefs is also similar to what Rodgers is to the Packers.
When Cassel had an emergency appendectomy prior to week 14, his status was unclear for the biggest game of their season against San Diego. After being held out of the game, the Chiefs went down in a horrible 31-0 loss to the Chargers. He would bounce back to lead his team to victory against the Rams the following week, adding to the value of his importance to his team.
Cassel is just as deserving of recognition for MVP with what he has done this season and for the impressive turnaround of a franchise that has already more than doubled their win total from last season.
It’s pretty much a given that the MVP title for the 2010 season will most likely go through the exciting Vick or the extremely consistent Brady. Denying either or of the award would be discrediting to the league, especially with their statistics and value to their franchises.
But hey, even the dark horses knock off the favorites every once in a while.
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