Super Bowl 2012: Top 5 Candidates for Super Bowl MVP

There's no way to measure things, but you get the sense that winning a Super Bowl MVP award is just as important as winning a regular season MVP award.

This is probably because we, the football fans of America, value Super Bowl winners over all other players. By extension, we value Super Bowl MVPs over all other Super Bowl winners.

There goes the mystery. Consider this copyrighted material.

At any rate, let's talk about this year's Super Bowl MVP candidates. The New York Giants and New England Patriots have a lot of guys who make the grade, but none more so than the five players listed below.

5. BenJarvus Green-Ellis

This may seem like an odd pick, as the Patriots are a passing team and you just never know how much work "the Law Firm" is going to get in a given game.

But I'm trusting in the notion that the Patriots understand that dropping back to pass 50 times against this Giants team is not a good idea. Not as long as they have their beastly defensive line.

Keeping the Giants honest is going to be of paramount importance, and the best way for the Patriots to do that is by running the football.

So I see Green-Ellis as a sleeper hero. If he can gain yards consistently, the Patriots will have a much better time sustaining drives. If and when they get in the red zone, Green-Ellis is a weapon they can use.

If they use him enough, he could be your Super Bowl XLVI MVP. 

4. Rob Gronkowski

Rob Gronkowski has rid himself of his walking boot, and he still has a few more days to let his wounded ankle heal.

That's bad news for the Giants. At full strength, Gronk is the best tight end in football. Even if he is at slightly less than full strength, he's still dangerous.

The Giants know this, as Gronk caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown in the regular season meeting between these two teams. Presumably, they also saw him destroy the Denver Broncos in the divisional round. It was absolute domination.

As long as his ankle doesn't act up, Brady will be throwing the ball in Gronk's direction. His production could very well be the difference between a win and a loss. If the Pats win, Gronk will get MVP consideration.

3. Victor Cruz/Hakeem Nicks

For the record, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks are not the same person.

I'm lumping them together because it's either one or the other leading the Giants in receiving in a given game. They take turns.

This has been the case during the postseason. In the Giants' first two playoff games, Nicks was Eli Manning's primary target. In the NFC Championship game, Cruz was Manning's go-to guy.

So there's no predicting which one of them will be the more productive player in the Super Bowl. I only know that it will be one of them. Even a defense as soft as New England's is not going to let both of them go to town.

Whoever does the most would get the prize.

2. Eli Manning

Invariably, it all comes down to the quarterbacks. Let's start by discussing Eli Manning first.

Manning already has a Super Bowl MVP on his mantle. He got that back in 2008 when he spearheaded the Giants' monumental upset of the Patriots. He wasn't perfect, but he was great when it counted.

Manning is a much better quarterback now than he was back then, and he's facing a much weaker defense than he was back then.

If the Giants win, it will be because of Manning. One of his receivers would get serious MVP consideration, but none of it would have been possible without Peyton's little brother.

Actually, we really shouldn't be calling him that anymore.

1. Tom Brady

Why rank Tom Brady ahead of Manning?

I admit, it was close. I gave Brady the nod because he already has two of these things.

We learned in the AFC Championship game that the Pats can win without a studly performance from Brady, but that was a fluke.

The Pats aren't going to beat the Giants unless Brady is at his best. He's the reason they're so good, and he's the reason they have a legit shot of getting their revenge on the Giants.

If they get it, Brady will reap the spoils.