Should Peyton Get the MVP

Here is a great article I read on Fox Sports by Ian O'Connor talking about why Peyton should get win the MVP vote. I thought it was a great article and I agree he should win it.

Peyton Manning is the NFL's most widely marketed player, and yet he was destined to spend this season, as they say, under the radar. Even an alarming injury could not elevate his personal drama to a level of pressing coast-to-coast interest.

As it turned out, his knee surgeries were greatly overshadowed by Tom Brady's.

Manning didn't have to be Manning this year; for all practical purposes, he could've taken the season off. He had his built-in excuses.

He was hurt, he had missed the entire preseason and he'd already taken the Indianapolis Colts to six consecutive playoff appearances and the one Super Bowl title he desperately needed to remove that ugly A-Rodian stain from his otherwise epic career.

Peyton had carried the Colts and the Manning name long enough. With his team at 3-4 and booked for games with the Patriots and Steelers, he could've temporarily surrendered the league to little brother Eli in New York, to the Titans of Tennessee, before picking up next year where he and Brady had left off.

That Manning chose to win seven consecutive games instead came as little surprise to those around him in the immediate wake of his liberating Super Bowl triumph over the Bears.

"Some quarterbacks kind of get what I call 'the pass' after they win the Super Bowl," Manning said that dark and rainy night in Miami. "I don't want the pass."

Manning delivers passes but never accepts them. For building what could be a 12-4 season out of what had 7-9 written all over it, he deserves to win his third Most Valuable Player award.

Peyton's would be an ironic MVP victory, as this year marked the first time anyone dared ask a question that once would've inspired the same news conference reaction caused by the guy who threw his shoes at President Bush.

Is Eli the better player?

They're both going to the Pro Bowl, of course, becoming the first quarterbacking brothers selected for the same game. Eli was named for the first time, Peyton for the ninth. The last two Super Bowl MVPs are once again joined at history's hip.

But there was a time this season when Eli was playing a better brand of football and leading a Giants team that appeared on the verge of a dynastic run. Peyton, meanwhile, had nine interceptions to go with his 10 touchdowns across his first seven games.

The family dynamic was first flipped on its ear the previous January, when Billy Volek's Chargers, of all people, eliminated the Colts from the playoffs on the same day Eli knocked out the top-seeded Cowboys in Texas.

"I have a heavy heart for Peyton," the boys' mother, Olivia, said outside the winning Giants locker room, "but I'm proud of Eli."

The kid brother got his ring a lot faster than Peyton did, kept playing at a high level in 2008 and suddenly people were thinking the unthinkable: Was this Serena blowing by Venus all over again?

No, it wasn't.

With two games to play, including Thursday night's date in Jacksonville, Manning has a chance to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season for the ninth time. He's on track to finish with a completion rate of at least 65 percent for the seventh consecutive year. That 10-to-9 touchdown-to-interception ratio from October? It now stands at 23-to-12.

Manning's passer rating (90.3) might be the lowest he's posted since 2002, but that vague statistic — however it's calculated — has never been an honest measure of a quarterback's worth. The Colts' running game ranks 30th in the league. Without Manning, this team could've never achieved the way the Patriots have without Brady.

Without Manning, the Colts would be 4-10.

"Peyton really went through a lot with his initial knee surgery, and then when they all of a sudden quietly opened it up again," his father, Archie, said Wednesday morning by phone. "He was rusty when he got back, they were missing some linemen, they couldn't run the ball or stop the run.

"But they kept fighting and scratching. To get to this point, it has to be one of Tony Dungy's best jobs. You look at 10 wins and you say, 'My gosh, how in the world did that happen?' "

It happened because of Peyton Manning.

Funny how these things work out. Dating back to his days at Tennessee, Manning wasn't known as much for his victories as he was for his defeats. When he approached the AFC title game against the Patriots two years back, Boomer Esiason said if Peyton "doesn't get to the Super Bowl, he might as well buy a house next to A-Rod, because they're going to be living in the same neighborhood."

Manning beat New England and Chicago and left A-Rod to his own title-free devices. When Super Bowl XLI was complete, Adam Vinatieri, a three-time champ in New England, approached Peyton and said, "Welcome to the club."

Now Manning is defined by the games he wins, not the ones he loses. This year's Colts have won seven times by six points or less, if only because of their quarterback's fourth-quarter poise.

Indy was staring at an 0-2 record before Manning drove them back from a 15-0 third-quarter deficit against the Vikings. Indy was staring at a 1-3 record and a loss to the Texans before Manning became the first NFL quarterback to lead his team to victory in regulation after trailing by 17 points in the final five minutes.

Peyton set up Vinatieri's field goal to beat the Patriots and get Indy back to .500, then threw three touchdown passes against the Steelers' top-ranked defense to complete a late comeback and give the Colts their first victory in Pittsburgh in 40 years.

Manning set up Vinatieri's field goal to beat the Chargers by completing a 14-yard pass to Marvin Harrison on fourth-and-one at the San Diego 49 in the final seconds.

"I've always been proud of Peyton in the fourth quarter," Archie Manning said. "One time while he was at Tennessee, playing at Kentucky, it was cold and ugly and nasty. Kentucky wasn't a very good team, but they came out and played great and the crowd really got into it.

"Peyton put together a couple of fourth-quarter drives to win it, and I was waiting on him outside the locker room when one of his offensive linemen came up to me and said, 'Mr. Manning, he just wouldn't let us lose.' I've never forgotten that. I still get emotional thinking about it."

Now, Tony Dungy's Colts are on the verge of securing their seventh straight playoff bid, and their 32-year-old quarterback is the reason nobody — not the Titans or the Steelers — wants to see them in the playoffs.

Peyton has outlasted and outperformed Eli as an MVP candidate. He deserves the honor more than an 8-6 Kurt Warner and a 7-7 Drew Brees. Adrian Peterson and Michael Turner have earned their places in the discussion, but the job of quarterback, as Peyton once said, "is the hardest job in sports."

Manning makes it look too easy. It isn't just the genes. After his Friday night games at Isidore Newman High in New Orleans, Peyton used to be there on Saturdays waiting for his coaches when they arrived at 7 a.m.

"I hadn't even washed the uniforms yet," the head coach, Tony Reginelli, would say, "and he'd already figured out the next opponent's cover-one or cover-two defense."

So no audible comes as a surprise, not when pride still matters.

In the wake of his knee surgeries, Peyton refused to play this season as Eli's brother, or as Archie's other son. He refused to concede the season to the Giants or the Titans or anyone else.

More than anything, the record will show that Peyton Manning refused to let his team take a pass.

Sunday NFL Scores Roundup

Patriots 38 Chargers 14

With Camera-Gate behind them, the Patriots crushed the Chargers on Sunday night, carving up the San Diego defense for 423 yards of offense.

Tom Brady continued to look towards new target Randy Moss, who caught eight passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

Adalius Thomas had an interception return for a touchdown.

Broncos 23 Raiders 20 (OT)

Jason Elam kicked the game-winner for the second week in a row as a key Broncos timeout nullified a Sebastian Janikowski field goal that would have won it for the Raiders.

The Raiders rushed the field after Janikowski nailed a 52-yard field goal at 11:13 of overtime but the officials ruled Denver called a timeout just before the snap. On the retry, Janikowski's kick hit the left upright.

The Raiders had come back from a 14-point halftime deficit to take a 20-17 thanks to a pair of Denver QB Jay Cutler miscuses that led to a safety and interception return for a touchdown.

Bears 20 Chiefs 10

The Chiefs had a chance to beat the Bears, but failed to capitalize on several opportunities.

While Chicago's offense struggled for a second straight, Devin Hester proved the punch with a 73-yard punt return for a score and also set up a field goal with another return.

Rex Grossman threw two interceptions and was sacked three times.

Ravens 20 Jets 13

Ray Lewis picked off the potential tying score in the end zone with 1:04 left to foil a Kellen Clemens' led comeback by the Jets and preserve the Ravens 20-13 win.
Clemens, named the starter for injured Jets QB Chad Pennington, was picked off twice and outdone by Kyle Boller who threw for 185 yards and two TDs subbing for banged up Baltimore starter Steve McNair.

The Ravens led 17-3 after three quarters before Clemens passed for 176 yards and marched the Jets down to the Baltimore seven-yard line before Lewis foiled the rally.

Cardinals 23 Seahawks 20

The Cardinals blew another big lead Sunday, but unlike last season's heart-breaking loss to the Bears, they recovered in time to beat the Seahawks.

Matt Leinart threw for nearly 300 yards and Edgerrin James rushed for more than 100 yards, but it was Neil Rackers' third field goal of the night with one second left that completed Arizona's comeback.

The Seahawks, who got a touchdown pass from Matt Hasselbek and a TD run from Shaun Alexander, trailed 17-0 before scoring 20 unanswered points. Rakers would erase that advantage.

Cowboys 37 Dolphins 20

This time, Tony Romo had plenty of help from his friends on the defensive side of the ball, and instead of a shootout the Cowboys rolled to an easy win.

Romo passed for two touchdowns, but it was the defense that shined, intercepting Dolphins quarterback Trent Green four times in a 37-20 win.

The Dolphins (0-2) finished with five turnovers, and managed just 61 yards rushing. Marion Barber rushed for 89 yards and scored twice on the ground for the Cowboys (2-0).

Lions 20 Vikings 17 (OT)

A sloppy game came to a sloppy end Sunday in Detroit.

After the Vikings and Lions struggled through four turnover-filled quarters, Detroit kicker Jason Hanson lined up for a potential game-winning 48-yard field goal in the final minute. The kick, though, hooked wide. On the ensuing drive, Minnesota kicker Ryan Longwell hit the upright on his shot to win the game from 52 yards.

The game went to overtime, where the Vikings won the toss. Quarterback Brooks Bollinger, who replaced an injured Tarvaris Jackson earlier in the drive, fumbled a third-down snap (the 10th total turnover of the game). The Lions capitalized on the good field position, and Hanson made good on his second attempt, a game winner from 37 yards out.

Texans 34 Panthers 21

Visiting Houston fell behind early, but rallied to stun Carolina 34-21 and start the season 2-0 for the first time in franchise history.

Trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, the Texans exploded for 31 unanswered points to put the game out of reach.

Houston's Matt Schaub continued to impress at quarterback, throwing a pair of first-half touchdown passes to Andre Johnson and completing16-of-21 passes for 179 yards before intermission.

Steve Smith caught three touchdown passes for the Panthers (1-1).


Browns 51 Bengals 45

Cleveland found a cure for its struggling offense Sunday -- a dose of the Bengals' porous defense.

Cincinnati could not contain new starting quarterback Derek Anderson, who threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns as the Browns escaped with a wild 51-45 win to snap a five-game losing streak.

Jamal Lewis tacked on 216 rushing yards, and the Browns held off a furious last-minute march by the Bengals, who got six TD passes from Carson Palmer. Palmer threw two TDs each to T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson, who surpassed Issac Curtis to become the team' s all-time leader in receiving yardage.

The two teams combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense and 12 touchdowns in a game that featured five lead changes in the second quarter alone.

Colts 22 Titans 20

Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans have run out of magic, at least against the Indianapolis Colts.

Peyton Manning threw for 312 yards and a touchdown, and the Colts held off Tennessee for a 22-20 victory Sunday when the Titans couldn't pull off a final-drive comeback.

Young managed 184 yards and a touchdown. The Titans had the ball back with in the final minute, but couldn't get into field goal range.

Bucs 31 Saints 14

At 35, Joey Galloway isn't showing any signs of slowing down. Just ask the bewildered New Orleans Saints, who never seem to be able to catch up with Tampa Bay's speedy receiver.

Galloway caught four passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns, tormenting the Saints for the sixth straight game between the NFC South rivals and leading the Buccaneers to a 31-14 victory Sunday.

The Saints (0-2) were embarrassed for the second consecutive week and have been outscored 72-24 after having one of the NFL's most explosive offenses and reaching the NFC championship game last season.

49ers 17 Rams 16

It was the kind of simple catch Dante Hall has made many times, camped under a punt, his arm waving for a fair catch.

This time, late in the fourth quarter Sunday, he dropped it. Marcus Hudson recovered for San Francisco, setting up the winning field goal in the 49ers' 17-16 win over St. Louis.

The Rams' Jeff Wilkins missed a 56-yard field goal try with 59 seconds to play, the ball falling about a yard short of the goal post.

49ers running back Frank Gore, playing just days after the death of his mother, finished with 81 yards and two touchdowns.


Steelers 26 Bills 3

Emotion, heart and enthusiasm took the Buffalo Bills a long way. Unfortunately for them, their offense couldn't help.

Willie Parker ran for a touchdown and 126 yards and Ben Roethlisberger threw for a score as the Pittsburgh Steelers controlled the clock and the tempo while pulling away from Buffalo for a lopsided victory.

It was the Bills' first game since tight end Kevin Everett badly injured his spinal cord.

The Bills, wearing T-shirts under their jerseys in honor of Everett that will be sold for charity, stood up physically to the favored Steelers for much of a game.


Packers 35 Giants 13

While the status of Eli Manning's right shoulder was the story heading into the game, Brett Favre quickly claimed the spotlight.

Favre hit his first 14 passes of the second half and threw three touchdown passes to rally the Packers to a 35-13 victory over the Giants. With the win, Favre became the winningest quarterback in NFL history.

The victory was the 149th of Favre's 17-year career and gave him one more than Hall of Famer John Elway.

Jaguars 13 Falcons 7

While it wasn't pretty, the Jaguars did what it took to get a much-needed 13-7 win against the Falcons.

The defense sacked Joey Harrington seven times and held Atlanta under 100 yards rushing.

David Garrard finished 17-of-25 for 272 yards and scrambled five times for 20 yards.

Colts Roll Saints

In the first game of the season, the Colts destroyed the Saints 41-10. Picking up where they left off last season, Peyton Manning hooked up in the in zone with Marvin Harrison once, and Reggie Wayne twice. Joseph Addia looked good with 118 yds and one TD.

All in all, the Colts look more dangerous than they did last season. They will probably roll off six or seven wins at the beginning of the season until they get to the Patriots.

What impresses me is that the Colts are the second youngest team in the league. That shows you how flawless they run their team from top to bottom. Once you have a great system like the Colts and the Patriots do, they can find anyone with the skill set they need and turn them into a star. Which would also explain why when star players leave the Colts, you never hear of them again.