Super Bowl 2012: Aaron Rodgers and Potential Super Bowl MVPs

The Super Bowl is where stars become superstars.

The MVP goes from known well among football fans, to the hottest, most marketable person in America.

Coming through in this game means you have ice in your veins. Nothing rattles you. Lose the game and you are a choke job. You can’t handle the big stage.

But I’m not here to predict chokers. Here are five candidates to win the Super Bowl MVP as we enter the divisional round:

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

Brady is 4-4 in his last eight postseason games and has a ton of pressure on his shoulders to snap a three-game postseason losing streak.

If the Pats get to the big game, it will be because of Brady and the second-ranked passing game. Brady will be throwing for over 300 yards as he straps the team on his back as he watches the 31st-ranked pass defense get eaten alive.

If the Pats win the Super Bowl, there is no doubt who gets MVP.

Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore Ravens

The 5'8" back doesn’t scare anybody with his height, but nobody in the playoffs has the speed of Rice.

The 212-pound burly back has the ability to hide beneath his tackles and find the hole while defenders are still trying to find him.

If the Ravens plan on making noise in the playoffs then they need at least 100 yards from Rice in the Super Bowl. With the way Joe Flacco is a week-to-week roll of the dice, Rice is the key to a Super Bowl for the Ravens.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

He won the award last year and has already proven to have the clutch gene. Last year he threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns against the vaunted Steelers defense.

What can he do for an encore?

Victor Cruz, WR, New York Giants

In one of the best fantasy pickups of the year, Cruz came out of seemingly nowhere to collect 1,536 yards and nine TDs. His big games down the stretch in the end of the regular season are a hint that Cruz isn’t fazed by the pressure.

The Giants offense is predicated on converting big plays in the passing game, and Eli Manning has no qualms taking risks going deep. You can’t say that about every quarterback. With a running game that ranked dead last in the NFL during the regular season, if the G-Men win the Super Bowl it will be because of the big plays of Manning and his deadly receivers.

Last week it was Hakeem Nicks who blew up, but Cruz is just as likely to be that guy on Sunday, and in the Super Bowl. After all, he was the one that finished in the top five in receiving yards in the entire NFL.

Patrick Willis, LB, San Francisco 49ers

If a defensive player were ever going to win the award, it’d be Willis.

The 240-pound linebacker is one of the strongest and toughest players in the entire league. I’d argue he’s currently the best linebacker in the game.

Whether it is sacks, forced fumbles or interceptions, Willis does it all. If the 49ers are in the Super Bowl it will be because of a defense that surrendered just over two touchdowns per game, second best in the NFL.

A pick-six or strip-sack fumble around the goal line could make the difference in a lowing scoring Super Bowl.