Tom Brady: 10 Reasons Why He Should Win the NFL MVP

Tom Brady is doing it again.

He's having another phenomenal year, and the Patriots are once again Super Bowl contenders and the best team in the AFC.

They're not even doing it with defense; it's all Brady and the offense that have carried New England a good deal of the way.

Brady is having one of his finer seasons as a pro and doing it with not a lot of weapons around him. In recent weeks, he's been on fire. 

With that being said, here are 10 reasons why Brady should be the NFL MVP.

10) Lack of a Running Game

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CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 12: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots directs the offense against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on December 12, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Patriots beat the Bears 36-7. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

This shouldn't be surprising, considering Brady never had a great running back to play with (unless you include Corey Dillon at the end of his career and past his prime days in Cincinnati).

His two main running backs this season have been BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead. Green-Ellis has the potential to be a good back, but New England has been a passing offense more often than not—and Brady is still putting up numbers.

9) The No-Name Receiving Corps

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FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 06: (L-R) Tom Brady #12, Wes Welker #83 and Aaron Hernandez #85 of the New England Patriots celebrate after Welker scored a touchdown in the third quarter against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on December 6, 2010 in Foxboro

Again, this is not surprising because with the exception of Randy Moss and Wes Welker, Brady has never had excellent receivers. He's had good receivers, but never stars like he had with Moss.

This year, Moss was gone early in the season, and Welker has been relatively quiet, so Brady has put up a good chunk of passing yards to players like Brandon Tate and Rob Gronkowski. Deion Branch has been a big weapon back in the offense as well.

8) Spreading the Ball Around

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DETROIT - NOVEMBER 25: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots throws a second quarter pass while playing the Detroit Lions on November 25, 2010 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Another trademark of Brady, but it's proving to be his M.O. this year. Six Patriots backs and receivers are in double digits in receptions. All six have 20 or more, and all six receivers have 300 or more receiving yards on the season.

Welker leads the way once again, but Branch, Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have been Brady's favorite targets.

7) Missing Kevin Faulk

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FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 27: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates with Kevin Faulk #33 after Brady threw a second touchdown pass to Randy Moss against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Gillette Stadium on December 27, 2009 in Foxboro, Massachuset

The one constant Brady has had his entire career (other than Bill Belichick) has been Kevin Faulk. Faulk has been a consistent third-down back and occasional runner in his career, but his worth is as a pass catcher out of the backfield and Brady's personal safety valve.

Faulk hasn't played since tearing his ACL in Week 2 and is out for the season, but it hasn't affected Brady a bit.

6) O-Line in Flux

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FOXBORO, MA - SEPTEMBER 26: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots directs the offensive line against the Buffalo Bills in the first half at Gillette Stadium on September 26, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Brady has been behind an offensive line that has struggled and has been moved around. Logan Mankins missed the first seven weeks as part of a holdout, and some other key injuries have forced the Patriots to move the pieces around up front.

As a result, Brady took a good number of hits early on. It hasn't affected his play very much, and his line has been playing better of late.

5) Protecting the Football

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CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 12: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots throws a pass against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on December 12, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Patriots defeated the Bears 36-7. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Brady put up good numbers earlier in his career but was also very interception-prone. Fans don't realize that he's had seven seasons of double-digit interceptions.

However, after last week's game at Chicago, Brady has only four interceptions on the year, which would be a career low (even including the 2007 season), and is posting one of the better completion percentages of his career.

4) Close to a Career Year

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CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 12: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots passes against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on December 12, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Patriots defeated the Bears 36-7. (Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images)

Nothing will ever come close to the 2007 season Brady had, which right now is probably one of the best seasons in history for a quarterback. But take that season out, and this year would be a career year for him.

The 29 touchdowns, 66.8 completion percentage and 109.9 passer rating are all the second-best single-season totals of his career, and he's on pace for fewer interceptions than that magical 2007 season.

3) A League Leader

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FOXBORO, MA - NOVEMBER 21: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots reacts with teammate Dan Koppen #67 of the New England Patriots after a touchdown in the first half at Gillette Stadium on November 21, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Roga

Those stats have also put Brady near the top of the league. He's first in touchdown passes, tied with Michael Vick and Matt Cassel for the fewest interceptions, first in passer rating, third in completion percentage and sixth in passing yards.

He's doing this while also averaging the 14th fewest passing attempts per game. Statistically, Brady is having a great season.

2) Beating the Opposing Defense

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FOXBORO, MA - NOVEMBER 21: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots reacts after teammate BenJarvis Green-Ellis runs the ball in for a touchdown in the second half at Gillette Stadium on November 21, 2010 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/G

I think it's safe to say that Brady has become one of those players that opposing defenses game-plan for, the same way they do for Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Chris Johnson and the same way defenses did for Joe Montana and others.

But with the focus on stopping Brady, very few teams either this season or throughout his entire career have been able to do it. Since Week 2 against the Jets, Brady has easily been one of the best players in the league.

1) The Man Who Makes the Patriots the Patriots

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DETROIT - NOVEMBER 25: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots gets a second quarter pass off in front of Kyle Vanden Bosch #93 of the Detroit Lions on November 25, 2010 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

It may sound extremely clichéd and somewhat obvious, but where would this team be without Brady? The defense is young and inexperienced, there's no running game and the receiving corps isn't phenomenal.

Michael Vick is having a great year, but he doesn't make that team. The fact that the Eagles beat Atlanta with Kevin Kolb proves that Vick makes them a lot better and a Super Bowl contender. But Brady makes that team go. Without Brady, the Patriots wouldn't be where they are.

That's why he should be the MVP.