Aaron Rodgers: 10 Reasons He Will Win the Most Valuable Player Award in 2011
Aaron Rodgers is less than 24 hours removed from leading the Green Bay Packers to a win in Super Bowl XLV and taking home the game's MVP honors in the process.
After doing two things Brett Favre never did in Green Bay—win a road playoff game and a Super Bowl MVP—Rodgers undoubtedly cemented his status as one of the game's elite quarterbacks.
But just how good is this guy?
Well, if you ask me, he's good enough to win the regular season MVP award in 2011.
Don't believe me? Here are 10 reasons why.
10. The Returns Of Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley
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As good as Green Bay's offensive was this season, it'll be even better in 2011.
Scary, huh?
The Packers will get another electrifying offensive weapon back next season in the form of 6'5", 247-pound tight end Jermichael Finley.
They'll also benefit from the return of Ryan Grant, who missed most of the 2010 season with an ankle injury but will provide a huge lift to the Packers' running game in 2011.
Green Bay didn't have much of a rushing attack in 2010, yet they were still able to win a Super Bowl.
Just imagine what kind of numbers Rodgers will put up when defenses have to game plan for an offense that isn't one-dimensional.
9. Playing With a Chip On His Shoulder?
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Tom Brady definitely deserved to win the MVP award in 2010 and Michael Vick should have been the No. two choice, but Aaron Rodgers not getting any love?
What's up with that?
Rodgers was hardly mentioned in the MVP conversation, and he wasn't even selected to the NFC Pro Bowl team.
Granted, it's hard to argue against Vick, Drew Brees and Matt Ryan making the team, but it's even harder to argue against putting Rodgers in the Pro Bowl over Brees, who threw a boatload of picks this year.
And as much as Rodgers would say that failing to make the Pro Bowl team and getting left out of the MVP chatter didn't bother him, on some level you know it did.
He'll be looking to continue to prove his doubters—or all the Brett Favre lovers out there—wrong all season long.
8. It's a Quarterback's Award
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Since 2001, the AP NFL MVP Award has gone to a quarterback in all but two seasons—Shaun Alexander (2005) and LaDainian Tomlinson (2006).
In fact, in the 54-year history of the award, a QB has taken/split the honors a whopping 35 times, while the majority of the other winners were running backs.
But given the award's recent history and the trend toward two-back systems, it's a safe bet that a quarterback will win the MVP award again next season.
Right off the bat, you can eliminate 10 (or more) quarterbacks from the conversation, and there's probably 10 or less who have a realistic shot at putting up phenomenal numbers while winning 10-plus games.
Rodgers will be in that category, and he'll have a great shot at being the best one of that group.
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7. He's a Winner
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In his three seasons as the full-time starter, Rodgers has gone 27-20, which isn't phenomenal but is still pretty impressive.
Since the start of the 2009 season, however, he's been one of the league's winningest quarterbacks.
Rodgers is 21-10 as the starter during the regular season over the last two years.
Not to mention he's got a career playoff record of four to one.
The Packers could very well win 12-13 games next year, which puts Rodgers right at the top of the list of MVP contenders.
6. The Schedule
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As the cliche goes, to be the best you have to beat the best.
Well, check out some of Green Bay's tough non-divisional opponents for 2011.
Home: Falcons, Chiefs, Chargers, Rams
Away: Buccaneers, Saints, Raiders, Giants
That's four games against 2010 playoff teams and three games against teams that were on the playoff fringe.
Rodgers will likely have a tough road to the MVP award, which always looks good in the eyes of the voters.
If/when he leads his team to big wins in big games, it'll only improve his chances of taking home the NFL's most coveted individual award.
5. Consistency
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Check out Aaron Rodgers' stats in his first three seasons as Green Bay's starting quarterback.
2008 (16 starts): 93.8 QB Rating, 63.6 completion percentage, 4,038 yards and 32 total touchdowns
2009 (16 starts): 103.2 QB rating, 64.7 completion percentage, 4,434 yards and 35 total touchdowns
2010 (15 starts): 101.2 QB Rating, 65.7 completion percentage, 3,922 yards and 32 total touchdowns
He's been consistently great for three years, so why should we expect anything else in 2011?
4. He Lifts His Team Up
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We hear all the time about a player's "breakout performance" or "star-making moment."
Well, if you weren't convinced that Rodgers had his against Atlanta in the Divisional Round, then just look at his Super Bowl performance.
He was already without Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley,like he had been all season, and then the Packers lost Sam Shields, Charles Woodson and Donald Driver to injury.
It would have been easy for Rodgers to fold like a bad pair when the Steelers cut Green Bay's lead to four points.
But he didn't.
He led the Packers on two fourth quarter scoring drives to put his team in a position to win the game.
And that's exactly what they did.
3. His Lack of Interceptions
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Though Rodgers finished the 2010 regular season with 11 interceptions--which obviously isn't bad but isn't great; he threw just four interceptions in his final 12 games (postseason included).
He also went turnover-less in seven games during 2010 (postseason included).
Remember who won the MVP award this past season? Yeah, some guy named Tom Brady, who threw nine times as many touchdowns (36) as interceptions (four).
Rodgers didn't protect the ball quite like Brady did this season, but in the second half of the season he was pretty damn close.
If he can play relatively mistake-free football in 2011, then look out.
2. He Wins When The Most Is On The Line
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To get into the playoffs, the Packers had to beat two playoff contenders—the New York Giants and Chicago Bears--in the final two games.
And Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay to victory in both of those games.
To win a Super Bowl ring, Rodgers had to lead the Packers to three straight road wins and another win at a neutral site.
And he did.
Rodgers faced the daunting "lose and you're done" game for six consecutive games, but he won every single one of them.
If that doesn't scream "MVP 2011," then I don't know what does.
1. "Big Game" Rodgers
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NFC Championship Game aside, Rodgers played stellar in each of the "do or die" games this season.
Against NY Giants (Dec. 12): 25/37, 404 passing yards, four touchdowns, zero interceptions and 139.9 QB rating
Against Chicago (Jan. 2): 19/28, 229 passing yards, one touchdown and 89.7 QB rating
At Philadelphia (Jan. 9): 18/27, 180 passing yards, three touchdowns and 122.5 QB rating
At Atlanta (Jan. 15): 31/36, 366 passing yards, four touchdowns and 136.8 QB rating
Against Pittsburgh (Feb. 6): 24/39, 304 passing yards, three touchdowns, 111.5 QB rating and named Super Bowl MVP
Just call him "Big Game" Rodgers.
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