It's All About The Quarterback

When it comes to voting for NFL Most Valuable Player, the ole' boys of the Associated Press end up looking more like a group of giggling goo-goo eyed high school cheerleaders than the most informed and intelligent sports minds in the world. When they selected Peyton Manning as MVP this week, they might as well have said, "Ohhh Peyton, he's sooo dreamy."

Given, Manning had an amazing second half of the season. But, his first eight games looked similar to Brett Favre's last five. In those first eight, the Colts lost four and Manning had four multi-interception games and managed a quarterback rating over 100 only twice.

From week 9 on, Manning threw 17 touchdowns with just three interceptions and the Colts won each game. Unbelievable, right? But can you really give someone the Most Valuable Player award when they were only valuable after week 9?

Statistically, Manning isn't even the best quarterback. Four quarterbacks had higher QB ratings, five threw for more yards and four had more touchdowns.

If anyone was MVP, it was the Colts offensive line, who allowed only 14 sacks of Manning all season.

It has truly become insulting that the award is still called Most Valuable Player. Most Valuable Quarterback is more like it. Why even bother allowing other positions to win the award when eight quarterbacks have won MVP in the last 10 years.

The last non-quarterback or running back to win the award was in 1986. Twenty-two straight years without the other positions on the field even being mentioned. If you think the most valuable player in the league was a quarterback in every one of those seasons, you'd be more confused than ESPN executives at an Ethics in Broadcasting seminar.

There are two non-quarterback candidates that should have placed ahead of Manning. Falcons running back Michael Turner and Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

Turner finished second in the NFL in yards with 1699, only 61 behind Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. Turner scored 17 touchdowns (seven more than Peterson) and only fumbled three times (six less than Peterson).

But what makes Turner the MVP isn't just his statistics, it's the role he played in turning a broken Falcons team into a playoff contender. Averaging 4.5 yards per carry controlled the clock and kept the Falcons defense off the field. Turner kept the Falcons in second-and-short, opening up the downfield passing game, which Roddy White and Matt Ryan fully took advantage of.

Being the most important player on a team who goes from 4-12 to 11-5 automatically makes you valuable, but putting up those fantasy stats like Turner did should have put him at the top of the heap. No dice, apparently the AP didn't see any Michael Turner Wonder Bread, Subway, Addidas, etc. etc. etc. commercials that they've seen Manning on.

DeMarcus Ware had the best season for a linebacker since Derrick Thomas in 1990. Ware had 20 sacks, 86 tackles and six forced fumbles. Ware had three of those sacks against the defending Super Bowl champ New York Giants.

When Lawrence Taylor won MVP in 1986, he had 20.5 sacks. Maybe it was the .5. Otherwise, considering there wasn't an obvious offensive MVP, Ware should have been at least somewhere near the top of the voting.

Since Ware isn't a quarterback and was no where near as publicized as his premodanna teammates Romo and Owens, he didn't make the radar. Ware will likely win the defensive MVP, but why is it always the offensive guy who is more valuable? Was Trent Dilfer more valuable than Ray Lewis on the 2001 Super Bowl champion Ravens?

It's all about bells and whistles with these guys. It's the reason Joe Namath is a Hall of Famer. It's the reason eight of the last nine Heisman Trophy winners were quarterbacks. Not because it's deserved, but because they are in the lime light and our friends with the AP are blinded.

Chad Pennington: 2 Brett Favre: 0

Like everyone else, I too was excited for the announcement of this years NFL Comeback player of the year award. For those who do not understand the headline, Chad Pennington has won the award. Favre, on the other hand, did not win. He didn't even have a vote.

Let's rewind to last summer. The Jets won this Favre lottery, which came from the wierdest retirement of a legendary player. The Jets essential said to their quarterbacks currently on the roster that they had no skill and should probably quit at life. No, no, Vinny Testaverde was not there. He was finally selling his house in Cleveland that day... or something like that.

One of those poor QB's who were told the George Bailey story that they were worth more dead than alive was Chad Pennington. Yeah, both of us at Sal's 401K have numerous mocked people with his jersey. Though this time, I'm giving him kudos.

I believed in Chad, thought it was great that he could leave New York, cesspool of the north and go to Miami, cesspool of the south. With a new coaching staff and a management looking to actually do something (take note Miami based franchises), Pennington could succeed. A few factors allowed him a chance:

1.) This isn't New York, so if you lose one game, the fans won't kill you out in the street like South American football matches.

2.) No one was expecting you to succeed, especially in that division. Brady and company were supposed to have it wrapped up in July.

3.) Brett Favre is like a million years old and doesn't have a great wide receiving corps like you do. Not everyone has O.J. McDuffie... wait is he even on the team?

Either way, Brett failed to even make the playoffs, Chad did. Mark that one. Now, apart from playing in January, you won an award saying that people think he had the best turn around. That's two. So way to go Chad, you just gave the Jets management a good ol' shit burger to wolf down. Especially when they will go out and sign Dave Klinger for a back up role for Brett. Maybe they can get Rae Carruth for a song. If he's out by next year.

Best Year Ever!

(Cue Audio: "When you wish upon a star")
GFX: Roll tape of embarrassing Lions plays (fumbles, picks, miss tackles, Matt Millen)

The Detroit Lions, you have just lost your 16th game of the season. What are you going to do next?


All the Lions in unison: "We're getting the first overall pick!"

VO: Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you too can have the first overall pick in the NFL Draft if you; blow every game of the season, fire coaches, trade away players with great potential and have Matt Millen as your GM for a few years before considering to do something about it. Then when you do get that first overall pick, might as well make it the traditional Lions pick, draft a wide receiver. Those wide outs have been great for them lately.

For the first time ever in NFL history, one team has managed to go win less in a season. All those early Tampa Bay teams can have their champagne and boast about how they were the best and how no one can touch them. They must have some Mercury Morris in that bunch who was a mediocre RB on a crappy team but mouths off like he won the Super Bowl single-handily. Then have a commercial with Reebok after the Lions lost, welcoming to the losers neighborhood.

This futility of the Lions, especially within the past few years have given Motown this appearance of the early Mets teams. When all else is wrong in the world, at least the Lions will lose.

The NFL talks about the parity of the league but since Matt Millen was at the helm of the Detroit office, the team has tanked. For goodness sake, since then the Saints went to the playoffs and even the Cardinals won the division, first time since they left the Midwest.

Of course the Lions have been suffering for years. How do you have a running back more explosive than LDT and put up better numbers than Emmitt Smith but fail to win more than one playoff game with him. That summed up the Barry Sanders years. No wonder he left football (well, that wasn't why, but you could reason with that)!

Detroit. I love to stand by Midwest teams, that the kind of guy I am. But you guys are f*cking it all up! Hell, even the Tigers went to a World Series. I thought the only way they could come back was if zombies sprouted from the earth in the year 9595 and Jack Morris pitched 21 consecutive scoreless innings and Hank Greenburg hit a 500 ft home run!

Detroit, here is the ultimatum. Do something or your fired! I heard L.A. needs a new team.

Sal Sez: "The strip joints in Motown are out of sight!"