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Making the Case for RGIII as MVP

Major media has brainwashed everyone into crowing Tom Brady and Peyton Manning the 2012 MVP....I ask the AP voters to dive deeper.

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

This week our sponsor Gillette asked: Who has been this year's MVP?

It's very clear the NFL has changed over the past few years. Passing records continually fall each year and the NFL MVP winner the last five years have all been QBs. I'm sure many people reading this post will be flexing their internet and Twitter muscles to berate such an argument, but here goes anyway. Keep in the Christmas spirit haters...or not. Let me be clear, this case is dependent on the Redskins beating the Cowboys Week 17.

My definition of MVP is quite simple: If one were to take a single player off his team, how many wins would come off the board?

Robert Griffin III

Griffining_medium

  • The Redskins have a bottom 5 ranked defense. No other MVP candidate has had to overcome that problem to get their team in playoff contention.
  • With a much better defense the last two years, the Redskins failed to win more than 6 games with McNabb and Grossman. Clearly, the QB change has made a major difference as the Redskins will finish with 9 or 10 wins and a playoff berth.
  • He has the best QB rating of all the MVP candidates listed below at 104.1.
  • His speed, accuracy, and QB knowledge has revolutionized the NFL offense.
  • He made everyone around him a better player. Trent Williams and Alfred Morris (alternate) made the Pro Bowl for first time.
  • RGIII only has 7 turnovers all season (5 INTs, 2 Fumbles). Manning has 13, Brady 10.
  • RGIII has won 7 NFL rookie of the week awards this year

OK, I've put on my burgundy and gold colored glasses....now it's time to debunking the favorites:

Peyton Manning The Broncos have the #3 ranked defense in the NFL and they went to the playoffs last year with Tim Tebow as their Quarterback. As amazing as Peyton Manning has been, can the Broncos still be a playoff team without him? Yes.
Adrian Peterson

OK, this is a tough one. Peterson is close to breaking Eric Dickerson's rushing record after destroing his knee last year. He's averaging 6+ yards a carry and averages the same number of yards per carry after first contact as Arian Foster does normally (4.0). Christian Ponder is not much help.

However, the Vikings defense is keeping them in games with an 11th best points against.

Tom Brady Do we really want an Uggs model winning this award? Brady is extremely efficient but the Pats won 10+ games with Matt Cassell.
Russell Wilson Top 5 defense and his stats are not good as RGIII's.
Andrew Luck His stats are not good as RGIII's.

All of these guys are deserving, but we've come so brain-washed by every major media outlet, including former players, saying "it's no contest!! Manning or Brady should be that guy." I would love to sit them down and take a look at what the Redskins were last year and where they are now. With Rex Grossman, the Redskins are a 4-win team this year. I know RGIII will never win it this year, so congratulations Peyton Manning, the ESPN First Take crew will be so proud.

The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is an award given by various entities to the American football player who is considered most valuable in the National Football League. Today, when the award is referred to without mentioning the awarding entity, that of the Associated Press is generally meant.