NFL MVP 2011: Why Aaron Rodgers Is Not Most Deserving Candidate

So Aaron Rodgers is the prohibitive favorite to be named the NFL MVP for the 2011 season, right?

Not if Drew Brees and Tom Brady have anything to say about it, and not if the voting members of the Associated Press have been paying proper attention.

Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against Rodgers—no personal vendetta, no contempt for the Green Bay Packers, nothing of the sort. In fact, I'll readily admit that I thoroughly enjoyed watching Rodgers play quarterback this past season.

He was so often brilliant for the Pack, in fact, that his efforts often went underappreciated, if not entirely unnoticed by those more easily captivated by the rancor of rookie Cam Newton or the fourth-quarter wizardry of Eli Manning.

Frankly, were this any other year, Rodgers would've run away with the MVP months ago.

But 2011 wasn't just any year, friends. It was the Year of the Quarterback, and Rodgers was hardly the only one to carry the mantle in that regard.

Brees made a late charge at Rodgers' throne, shattering Dan Marino's 27-year-old single-season passing record while guiding a New Orleans Saints offense that ranked among the most productive in NFL history. Marino, mind you, was named the MVP in 1984 when he became the first quarterback to ever break the 5,000-yard barrier.

But Brees wasn't the only signal caller to surpass Marino's benchmark this season, nor is he the one most deserving of the NFL's highest individual honor.

Rather, that distinction belongs to Tom Brady. While Rodgers and Brees were battling in the headlines over in the NFC, Brady was busy assuming the position as the prohibitive No. 1 passer in the AFC amidst Peyton Manning's ongoing neck injury.

More importantly, though, Brady dragged what may well have been the worst New England Patriots team of which he's been a part to yet another AFC East title and a No. 1 seed. With Bill Belichick's defense rendered dreadful by a depleted roster and a cast of no-names and practice-squad regulars—not to mention a ground game that was well below average—the onus was on Brady's 34-year-old shoulders to deliver the Pats back to the Promised Land.

And, as you've probably noticed by now, Brady passed yet another test with flying colors, throwing for 5,235 yards and 39 touchdowns.

Not as many yards as Brees or as many touchdowns as Rodgers, but as far as importance is concerned, the value of Brady's numbers couldn't have been any greater.

That's not to say that Rodgers or Brees would be undeserving recipients of the NFL MVP. Both did more than enough this season to warrant the award and scarce is the argument to be made against either of those two.

But, as far as pure value is concerned, Brady's season-long performance for the Pats was the one that meant the most to his team's ultimate success.

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