Super Bowl XLVI: 10 MVP Candidates Not Named Brady or Manning

One thing we're accustomed to seeing in the Super Bowl is a quarterback hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy and the MVP honors in the other. 

Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, John Elway, Brett Favre, Drew Brees as well as Tom Brady and Eli Manning have all enjoyed that moment. 

Overall, 24 of the 45 Super Bowl MVPs have been quarterbacks, with running backs coming in second with seven. 

The odds are certainly in favor of Brady and Manning winning yet another award.  But while both quarterbacks are the focal point of this Sunday's Super Bowl, both teams feature a number of talented players with the potential to be the game's MVP.

Let's take a look at 10 players who could surprise us and walk away with MVP honors. 

Justin Tuck

Battling injuries for much of the year, Tuck didn't put up the kind of All-Pro numbers you usually see from him.

But with he and the team getting healthy at the right time, Tuck could prove to be a big reason the Giants win as a big key will be making Tom Brady's life uncomfortable. 

Tuck is a guy who you'll see get two tackles in some games.  But there are times when he can take a game over by himself, forcing sacks and turnovers. 

A game like that here, and Tuck could walk away with the MVP honors.  

Rob Ninkovich

This pick may seem like it's out of left field.

Well you're right...it is.

But Ninkovich is the type of player who seems to play his best when the team needs him most.  In one of the bigger games of the year, the Patriots traveled to New York to play the Jets at the 10th week of the season.

Both teams were 5-3, and the Patriots were coming off two consecutive losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants.  What did Ninkovich do you ask? 

He had five tackles, defended two passes, intercepted two others and returned one for a touchdown. 

If he could put a performance like that together against the Giants and carry his defense and team to a Super Bowl victory, Ninkovich could become the most surprising MVP since Tampa Bay safety Dexter Jackson won it in 2002. 

Ahmad Bradshaw

Like many of his teammates, Bradshaw had to deal with several injuries during the season.

Between that and the overall subpar running game by the entire team, Bradshaw only had 659 rushing yards, just a little more than half of what he got in 2010.  He did have nine touchdowns though, and he's come up big in the postseason.

In a game where most people are talking about quarterbacks, it could end up being the running games that prove the key for both teams. 

While Jacobs is also capable of winning this honor, Bradshaw's breakaway running ability makes it more likely to see him win an MVP. 

BenJarvus Green-Ellis

The "Law Firm's" statistics actually are quite similar to Bradshaw's.  He had just 667 yards but did get 11 touchdowns.

His yards per game took a nose dive after a Week 12 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, and in fact, he gained 20 percent of his rushing yards in one game against the Jets in October.

While he may not have gotten the yards though, he was still a big scoring threat and saved many a fantasy football owners days where he'd get 20 yards rushing but multiple scores.

In a game where the score could very well be tight, a game from Green-Ellis in which he scores two touchdowns could be absolutely crucial. He did very well against a stingy Ravens defense, going for 68 yards and a score.

If he can follow that up with an even better game against the Giants, he could surprise people and win the MVP award. 

Jason Pierre-Paul

When Pierre-Paul was drafted, many people questioned why the Giants needed a defensive lineman when the position was already a strength on the team. 

Eighty-six tackles and 16-and-a-half sacks later in 2011, and the second year player has become one of the more dominant pass-rushers in the NFL. 

Defensive ends have won this award before, and Pierre-Paul has an opportunity to be the next.  If the Giants are to win, the defensive line needs to get to Tom Brady.  No one on the Giants does it better now than Pierre-Paul. 

Getting between seven and eight tackles and a few sacks is not out of the question.  If the Giants shut down the vaunted patriots offense and surrender less than 20 points, many people will be looking towards the defense as to why New York won. 

There likely will be no player bigger on the defensive end than Pierre-Paul. 

Rob Gronkowski

It's a testament to just how dominant Rob Gronkowski has been this year that despite a high ankle sprain, many people list him as a favorite to win the Super Bowl MVP honors. 

Personally, I think the odds are greater that "Gronk" will be used more as a decoy so that his teammates will get open.  A high ankle sprain is a debilitating injury that keeps many people out for up to six weeks. 

However, with his freakish size, this guy on one good leg will still be a threat in the red zone.

With the stories about his injury, any offensive success is going to lead to comparisons to people like Willis Reed of New York Knicks fame.  He may not need the big numbers like others on this list to win the award.

Hakeem Nicks

One of the big heroes of the New York Giants win in Green Bay. 

Should the Giants win this weekend, his Hail Mary snag to end the first half against the Packers will live in Giants history. 

Since coming to the league in 2009, Nicks has only gotten better.  He had 76 grabs for 1,192 yards this year and seven touchdowns. 

He's continued his great play in the playoffs with 335 yards and another four touchdown grabs.  The question is, can New England do anything to stop this guy? 

His huge size is going to be a nightmare for a team that's one of the NFL's worst at stopping the pass.

There's every reason to believe Nicks is capable of having a similar game to what we saw against Green Bay.  If he can replicate those stats, the MVP is his. 

Wes Welker

Four years ago, Wes Welker and Randy Moss were setting NFL records with Tom Brady.

Despite a crushing knee injury, Welker is still a valuable member of the Patriots, though he's been overshadowed by the best 1-2 tight end tandem in NFL history.

You also don't hear talk about Welker being the best wide receiver with players like Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and even Victor Cruz stealing the headlines

Did you know that Welker was first in the NFL with 122 receptions this year and second with 1,569 receiving yards?  The guy can flat-out play.

With Rob Gronkowski nicked up, it will fall to guys like Welker to help shoulder the offensive load.  If he can have a game in which he has over 100 yards receiving and a few touchdowns, he could very well win the MVP award. 

Victor Cruz

Is there a cooler underdog story in the NFL than Cruz? 

New York fans got a chance to see Cruz in 2010 when he had 145 receiving yards and three touchdowns against the Jets in a preseason game.

However, he had no catches in the regular season, and he lasted just three games after a hamstring injury sidelined him.  Most of the football world had never heard of Victory Cruz prior to the 2011 season.

Now, he's one of the NFL's biggest up-and-coming receivers.  Cruz was third in the NFL with 1,536 receiving yards and had nine touchdowns to go along with it.

Cruz is the kind of guy you want to root for.  While his counterpart Hakeem Nicks was a first-round draft pick, Cruz was never drafted.  He's a guy who grew up minutes from where the Giants play, and now, he's living the dream taking his hometown team to the Super Bowl.

If Cruz can put up the kind of numbers we saw from the San Francisco games and score a touchdown, he may cap off his Cinderella season by meeting the woman herself at Disney World. 

Aaron Hernandez

Yes, this may seem like an odd pick to you to be so far up on the list, but I think Super Bowl XLVI will be the official coming out party for Hernandez. 

The second tight end of the Patriots gets little attention with his teammate Rob Gronkowski setting all sorts of NFL records.  But Hernandez is very popular in his own right, and the time is right to shine with "Gronk" nursing his sore ankle.

Almost any NFL team would love to have a tight end who can catch 79 passes for 910 yards and seven touchdowns.  But on his own team, he's a distant second.

That may not be the case here when Gronkowski will still be getting covered despite his injury.

Beyond the fact, Hernandez is a great receiving tight end in his own right, and the Patriots are also using him out of the backfield as well.

I think Hernandez could be dominant in this game, and if the Patriots are to win on Sunday, this guy could very well be the reason why. 

Want to Bet on a Sleeper?

Then go for New York Giants tight end Jake Ballard. 

He's getting little to no mention from anyone as an offensive threat despite the fact he put up respectable numbers throughout the season. 

With the Patriots sure to focus much of their attention on New York's strong receiving core of Nicks, Cruz and Mario Manningham, Ballard may fall through the cracks for the defensive game plan.

Ballard has come up big against the Patriots already this year when he and Eli Manning hooked up for the game-winning score with just 15 seconds remaining.

In a series that sees a lot of tight games, Ballard could be the kind of unsung hero that gets a surprising two touchdowns.

While I don't rank him as one the 10 best options, consider this.

The sports betting site Bovada is listing him as a 100/1 shot to win the MVP.  If you're a man or woman that loves to put out some bets for the Super Bowl, to me, this is a very very good investment.