Rethinking The NFL MVP Award

First I would like to congratulate Peyton Manning on winning his record 4th NFL MVP award. Having gotten that out of the way I would also like to say that it's time to rethink the MVP Award altogether. A look at this years voting , and at the historical record of the award, indicate that some changes could be beneficial.

A look at the voting this year shocked me a little I must confess. Why, you ask? Allow me to explain. Quarterback was the only position to get any votes. That in and of itself isn't completely shocking. But running back Chris Johnson being shut out completely by voters tells me we need to redefine this award. In case you missed it Chris Johnson posted the 5th highest rushing total in league history and broke the record for total yards from scrimmage in one season. He became the 1st player to accumulate more than 2,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in one season. This to me represents one of the great seasons in league history. There were 4 quarterbacks that received votes, and yet not one vote for Johnson.

I believe the reason for this is that the Q.B. position has become so critical to a team's success in modern day football that the position has elevated itself to a level of importance above and beyond any other position in the sport. Let's face the facts, it is almost unanimously agreed upon that if a team loses it's starting quarterback it has little chance of winning.

When Wes Welker , the leading receiver in the NFL , went out with a season ending injury in their final regular season game there was no panic from the Patriots. They felt they could over come it by spreading the ball around to some other receivers. If it had been Tom Brady going out ask the Patriots how they would have over come that. And look what happened to the University of Texas when senior Q.B. Colt McCoy left the BCS Championship game with a shoulder injury. Talk about taking the wind out of a team's sail.

Since the position of quarterback has clearly separated itself in importance from the other positions I think it's time quarterbacks have an award of their own. Major League Baseball has the Cy Young Award for pitchers, which is also a unique position and the most important one in it's own game. It's time for the NFL to do something similar. Considering that 21 of the last 30 seasons the MVP has been a Q.B., and that other than an occasional running back no other position ever gets consideration I think it's about time.

The Associated Press started their MVP voting in 1957. In that time only 2 defensive players (Lawrence Taylor 1986 and Alan Page 1971) have won it. We hear coaches and analysts say over and over that it's defense that really wins championships. If defense is so critical to success explain to me the lack of defensive MVP winners. Jerry Rice was the only receiver ever to win. To be fair there have been several running backs to win it , but a large majority of the time it's been the Q.B.s.

Chris Johnson did win the Offensive Player of the Year Award , which I felt he was obviously deserving of. But that just accentuates my point. He was clearly the best individual offensive player this season and still finished behind 4 quarterbacks in the MVP race. The reason is simple, the quarterback position supercedes all others in importance.

This year's vote was proof positive for me. When 4 quarterbacks that have had good but not great seasons can get votes, but Chris Johnson who had a historically significant season can't even get one I believe the writing is on the wall. If the 4th best QB in the NFL is considered more valuable than a running back who had a record breaking season than it's time to set the QBs aside from everyone else. Call it the Unitas Award or the Most Valuable Passer. Call it what you want to, but the time for the NFL to create an award for the best quarterback , similar to baseball's Cy Young Award, has come in my opinion.