2008 NFL LVP (Least Valuable Player) Awards, Part One: The Offense

As we approach Week 14 of the 2008 NFL season, discussions of the MVP award are starting to heat up. Drew Brees is on pace to break Dan Marino's single-season record for most passing yards after throwing for 3,870 yards in his first 12 games.

Kurt Warner has rejuvenated the Arizona Cardinals franchise as they are one game away from clinching the NFC West division title. He is right behind Brees with 3,741 yards passing and 21 touchdowns so far this season. Even Tony Romo has returned to his old form after missing a few weeks with a pinkie injury.

The last few weeks of the season will determine who deserves to be the league's most valuable player. We will all know who the most valuable player will be, but who will take the honor of Least Valuable Player?

For the first time ever, I thought it would be fun to start a new tradition: Dan Parzych's LVP awards for each position. Let's start out with the offense:

Quarterback: JaMarcus Russell

With the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders selected JaMarcus Russell out of LSU. After a hold-out for most of training camp, he signed a six-year deal worth about $68 million. Of that $68 million, $31.5 million was guaranteed. What has the two year investment been worth so far?

In 12 games started, Russell mustered just over 2,000 yards passing and nine touchdowns with 10 interceptions.

The Oakland Raiders may have taken the Carson Palmer approach with Russell his rookie season (sit and learn from the starting quarterback), but that is no excuse for the type of money Russel is making.

Russel has been nothing but a disappointment in his second season in the NFL. The Raiders sit near the bottom of the AFC West with a 3-10 record. He has 1,797 yards passing, seven touchdowns, six interceptions, and six fumbles lost. There is no excuse for a player making that much money to have these kind of statistics. Congratulations JaMarcus Russel, you are this years Least Valuable Player at quarterback.

Running Back: Joseph Addai

The 2008 season has been an odd one for the Indianapolis Colts. They are used to being on top of the AFC South. After a slow start, the Colts have won their last five games in a row. They appear to be playing for a wild card spot after the Tennessee Titans appear to have the AFC South locked up.

One of the biggest disappointments this season for the Colts has been their starting running back, Joseph Addai.

The former LSU Tiger got off to a pretty good start in his NFL career. In his rookie season, he shared carries with Dominic Rhodes and helped the Colts win the Super Bowl.

In his first two seasons in the league, Addai has ran for over 1,000 yards each year and got in the end zone a total of 23 times.

This season, Addai has been nothing but a disappointment. In 10 games, Addai has run for 514 yards and 5 touchdowns.

He may have been battling injuries throughout the season, but this is not the Addai we were expecting to see this season. Hopefully, he will improve for the remaining few games that are left this season.

Wide Receiver: Chad Ocho Cinco

No player has been a bigger disappointment this season than Chad Ocho Cinco. This certainly has been a season to forget

Before the season started, all we heard on ESPN was Chad Johnson wanted to part ways with the Cincinnati Bengals. After Marvin Lewis made it clear that Johnson would remain a Bengal, Johnson decided to change his name. Now, he would legally go by Chad Ocho Cinco.

In my opinion, he should have never changed his name considering Chad Johnson is a much better player than Chad Ocho Cinco.

Chad Johnson used to be one of the most dangerous players in the league. In each of his past three seasons, he has posted at least 1,300 yards receiving. He has also caught 24 total touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Chad Ocho Cinco can't put up the same numbers as Chad Johnson.

In ten games this season, Ocho Cinco has 428 yards receiving and four touchdowns. The Bengals are having one of the worst seasons in franchise history with a 1-10-1 record. He can blame his disappointing numbers on Carson Palmer's injury since Ryan Fitzpatrick is clearly not fit to be a starter in the league.

That's still no excuse for this "future Hall of Famer."

Tight End: Jeremy Shockey

Remember the days when Jeremy Shockey was the leader of the New York Giants?

A few years ago, Shockey seemed to be the bad boy that all of the players and opposing fans seemed to hate.

After last years Super Bowl, the New York Giants decided to part ways with Shockey by trading him to the New Orleans Saints. With Kevin Boss emerging as a solid option at tight end, the Giants seemed confident with what they were doing.

It turns out they knew exactly what they were doing.

The Saints made numerous attempts to land Shockey in New Orleans. When the trade finally happened, the organization was ecstatic. What has Shockey given the Saints in return?

Well, let's just say it hasn't bee the Jeremy Shockey they thought they were getting.

In his first six seasons in the league, Shockey has had just over 4,000 yards receiving and 27 touchdowns.

In nine games this season, Shockey has 371 yards receiving and no touchdowns. Even though Drew Brees is putting up MVP-type numbers, the Saints sit in last place in the NFC South with a 6-6 record.

He may have a Super Bowl ring from last season, but Jeremy Shockey has been nothing but a disappointment to the city of New Orleans in his first season as a Saint.

Offensive Line: The Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the best teams in football. With a 9-3 record heading into Week 14, they are up one game on the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.

Even though they have one of the best defenses in football, their offensive line could use a little work.

One of the main weaknesses of the Steeler's offensive line is the way they protect their quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.

Overall, the Steelers offensive line has given up 35 sacks this season. One of the worst outings came in Week Three against the Philadelphia Eagles when they gave up seven sacks.

The offensive line and protection of the quarterback has been an issue for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the last couple of seasons. Luckily, they have one of the best defenses in the league to make up for it.

Place Kicker: Shaun Suisham

The most difficult part of this article was picking a place kicker for this category. Most kickers have similar statistics. However, there is one statistic that sticks out for Suisham. In 29 attempts this season, Suisham has missed eight field goals.

Many can make the argument for the situations he has been in. However, a 72 percent kicking percentage is nothing to be proud of.

If the Redskins want to make the playoffs this season, they will need everything they can get from their players. There may be a few situations where Suisham is required to make a clutch kick. Hopefully, he will come through if the Redskins need him too.

Most Disappointing Fantasy Stud: LaDainian Tomlinson

As much as I love watching him play, I had to put LaDainian Tomlinson on the top of this list for least valuable player at running back. He has failed to live up to his usual dominant expectations this season (especially for all of you fantasy football addicts).

In three seasons from 2005-2007, Tomlinson recorded 69 total touchdowns in 45 games played. That's an average of 1.53 touchdowns per game. Ever since his second season in the NFL, he has scored at least 15 total touchdowns each season.

Don't get me wrong, Tomlinson has had a decent season for an average running back in the NFL. His 1,256 yards from scrimmage and 11 total touchdowns are solid numbers for an average running back.

The San Diego Chargers have been nothing but a disappointment so far this season. After some analysts picked them to advance to the Super Bowl this season, they aren't even going to make the playoffs considering they have a 5-8 record with three games left this season.

I guess the absence of Shawne Merriman has a bigger impact than most people expected.

This concludes the offensive section of the 2008 Least Valuable Players awards. Make sure to come back in a couple of days to catch the Least Valuable Player awards for the defensive players!