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RookieBlitz.com Mid-Season MVP Candidates

Posted on 05. Nov, 2009 by Brandon LaClair in Columns

The MVP of the league is a prestigious award that is only given to the best.  Here are the four most productive players thus far in the 2009 season.

Peyton Manning: Peyton Manning is having arguably the best year of his career (2,227 yards, 15 TDs, 4 Ints, 71.8 comp. %) including throwing for over 300 yards 6-out-of-7 games.  Manning has enabled Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon to have surprisingly productive years and Joseph Addai has seized the opportunity to recapture what was a diminishing career partly due to Manning’s success.  The Colts are 7-0 and Manning is the leading candidate in capturing another MVP award.  While Collie and Garcon are playing well, Manning is looking forward to the return of Anthony Gonzalez.  Once he returns, the Colts offense will be even more dangerous.  Manning is simply the total package with perfect execution and pinpoint accuracy.  The AFC has many good teams, but the teams who make it to the playoffs will have to go through Manning to advance and that will not be an easy task.

Drew Brees: The Saints are 7-0 and Brees is having another spectacular year (2,006 passing yards, 16 TDs, 6 Ints, 107.6 QB rating).  After he came within 15 yards of Dan Marino’s pass record in ’08, are we really surprised with what Brees and the Saints have been able to accomplish through seven games in‘09?  The offense is playing at its normal high level, but the difference is that the Saints have a very talented defense led by the incomparable Darren Sharper who never ceases to amaze with his incredible leadership.    The key has been forcing turnovers for New Orleans as they have 16 interceptions, and six have been returned for a touchdown.  Brees has several weapons at his disposal and uses all of them to perfection.  He has become a master at reading defenses and adjusting accordingly.  Brees is the most feared quarterback in the league and for good reason; he has a knack for embarrassing defensive backs while putting up many points in succession.  The Saints obviously aren’t a smoke-n-mirrors team, but I’m not ready to say that they are Superbowl contenders yet.  It’s a step-by-step process in the playoffs and the first step would be winning a playoff game.

Cedric Benson: While leading the Bengals to a record of 5-2, Benson has established himself as one of the most successful reclamation projects that the league has seen in years.  The last three games of ’08 gave the fans an insight to the kind of year that Benson might have, but we never expected this.  Benson has 720 yards rushing (three games of 120+) and five touchdowns.  The addition of Benson has done so many positive things for Cincinnati including help in the resurgence of Carson Palmer’s and Ochocinco’s career.  What a difference a change of scenery can make; when Benson was in Chicago, his career high was 747 in ’08 (albeit three games in Cincinnati). Benson is 47 yards short of his own personal best and the Bengals have only played seven games.  Cincinnati is staring at their first playoff berth since ’05, and the recent Chicago exile is the reason why.

Brett Favre: Before the season started, the hoopla surrounding Favre was overwhelming.  His face was plastered on every media outlet and for what?  He was coming off a 9-7 in New York that didn’t produce a playoff berth and effectively ended his career in the process right? Wrong.  Favre is having the best year of his career and Minnesota is 7-1.  He has thrown for 1925 yards passing, 16 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a QB rating of 106.0.  When brought to the Vikings, the intention for Favre was to be a game manager and letting Adrian Peterson win football games.  Instead of standing passively in the background, Favre has been a staple of consistency for a team that has struggled at the quarterback position since Daunte Culpepper. Favre has averaged 240 yards per game, which is 4th best in the NFL.  A little help from his friends hasn’t hurt either;  Favre has reliable receivers including Sidney Rice who is having a career year (37 rec, 585 yards, 2 TDs), a great offensive line, and Adrian Peterson (164 att, 790 yards, 9 TDs) who is the best player in football.  Could Brad Childress have drawn it up any better than this?

Related posts:

1. RookieBlitz.com Fantasy Football Playoff Player Rankings
2. Brandon’s Take on the NFL: Week 6
3. RookieBlitz.com Mid-Season Awards
4. FantasyLion.com Updated QB & RB NFL Playoff Rankings
5. Brandon’s Take on the NFL: Week 7

Tags: Brett Favre, Cedric Benson, Drew Brees, Fantasy Football, MVP, NFL, Peyton Manning