NFL MVP: Ranking the 12 Most Valuable Players at Midseason in 2012

Last season, Tom Brady ran away with the MVP award. Now we're halfway through the year already, and we're getting a picture of where the MVP stands this year. Will Brady win again? Will there be a new player getting it this year?

I certainly can't put Peyton Manning in there, as he actually hasn't played and it seems that "play" is part of "player," but his value has never been more evident than it is now. So, while you won't see his name in this list, he does get the shout-out here. 

As in every sport, there's controversy surrounding what MVP means and what the "V" means in particular. There is the question of whether it means "best" player or player who does the most for a winning team or something in the middle. 

The truth is that it's usually a combination of things that swirl about until they coalesce into one vague, abstract, indefinable thing called "value." You don't know how to define it, but you know what it is when you see it. 

These are "predictive" rankings. They are my estimation, based on a combination of play and media speculation, on who I believe will win the awards. These are not necessarily who I think "should" win the award, but who "will" win the award. 

12. Cam Newton

Cam Newton is on pace to easily have the best season ever by a rookie quarterback. Only five players in the history of the NFL have had more yards of total offense in the first eight games of a season. All of those players were seasoned veterans. 

Here is the top six through eight games of a season in all of NFL history. 

Player	Age	Yards
Steve Young	37	2,662
Warren Moon	33	2,658
Drew Brees	32	2,648
Joe Montana	34	2,632
Rich Gannon	36	2,625
Cam Newton	22	2,603

I was among the critics that thought that there was no way that Cam Newton was going to succeed out of the box. Boy, were we wrong!

While I know that the Panthers are only 2-6, you can't fault Newton for that. Yes, I also realize that Andy Dalton has the Bengals at 6-2. 

Let's not be overly simplistic, though. The reality is that the Bengals have given up 67 fewer points than the Panthers, and that has nothing to do with either quarterback. Newton has generated nearly a thousand more yards in offense, and five more touchdowns. 

11. Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan is barely on this list, and mostly based on reputation and record. The Falcons are 5-3, and Ryan is the leader of the team. He is lower on the list, though, because he hasn't had that great of a season, and is a long way from MVP right now. 

His quarterback rating is a relatively pedestrian 83.3. For a team that was supposed to be a high-powered offense, that's a bit disappointing. 

However, there are some bright spots for Matty-Ice. He does have two game-winning drives. He also does very well indoors. Under Mike Smith, the Atlanta Falcons are 25-8 indoors. (compared to 13-10 outdoors), and they play six or seven of their last eight games indoors (depending on Houston does with their dome).  

If the Falcons can go on a run, they can move up in the standings, and most assuredly, this would have a lot to do with Ryan and the passing game, which would move him up in the rankings. 

10. Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger is one of only two quarterbacks in NFL history to win multiple Super Bowls, but never win the NFL MVP. He is also the only player to have won multiple Super Bowls and never won either the Super Bowl MVP or the regular season MVP in his career.

For some reason, voters don't like Roethlisberger. Maybe it has to do with all those off-the-field issues.

This year, it seems like he's getting some respect, though. He's been voted back as a captain of the team, and it seems that more than in the past, he is the leader of the Steelers. 

The problem is that they've lost two to the Baltimore Ravens, and it's going to be hard to overcome them. It's not impossible, and the AFC doesn't have any dominant team right now. The Steelers can still win the top seed; they just need a couple of breaks. If they do, Big Ben could be the MVP winner. 

9. Matthew Stafford

My, how things have changed in Mo-Town. Matthew Stafford is the face of the new-look Lions. There's a reason he's smiling. The Lions are 6-2 and looking like they're bound for the playoffs for the first time since Clinton was President (yes, Clinton!).

Stafford lost his running game and deserves some credit for helping the Lions to their new status as contenders. There are problems with his chances, though, the biggest one being that his numbers, while good, still lag behind the other QBs with MVP cases that are ahead of him. 

If he can have a strong finish and carry the team the rest of way with Jahvid Best out, though, he could put himself into contention based on the "where would his team be without him" part of the equation. 

8 Fred Jackson

Fred Jackson plays in Buffalo. That's the only reason some people are going to be surprised to see his name here. If he were a Jet or a Giant, he'd be the greatest thing since "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter." (Hey, I like the stuff, OK, and what good is sliced bread without it!)

Jackson is No. 2 in the NFL with 1,194 scrimmage yards, and his 802 rushing yards have him at third in that category. Jackson is a 30-year-old stud who just gets no love.

I doubt he'll be able to move up in these rankings. He plays in a division with the Jets and the  Patriots, and after those two teams, there just isn't enough press left for anyone else. Still, if they are able to pull out the division or the top seed, it might wake up the media.

7. Tom Brady

He's Tom Brady! I could almost leave the explanation at that and move forward, except that it wouldn't explain why he's not higher in the rankings. 

The Patriots vaulted out of the season on a different level. Then, the Ryan brothers showed how to slow down the Patriots, and it looks like the secret is out. The weird thing is, both of them lost, but now everyone else is using the pattern to win. 

The problem is that the Patriots don't have any huge playmaker type receivers apart from Wes Welker. 

Over the last few weeks, the Patriots have scored just 57 points, which is, for lack of a better word, average. The other thing is that Brady has been throwing an uncharacteristically high number of interceptions this year. He's thrown nine in the last six games. 

He still has the ability to bounce back, but until he bounces, he's on his way down in the rankings, not up. 

6. Drew Brees

What's the opposite of Drew Brees? 

Breaking Wind! Har! Har! Har!

OK. I had to get one bad pun in today. He's in Louisiana. Jokes like that are funny there. 

Anyway, Drew Brees is on pace to set the record for passing yards in a season. We've been here before, right? Is it possible that in the whole conversation about the greatest quarterback of this generation, the real answer is getting overlooked?

If you look at the top QBs since Brees took over the starting job in San Diego in 2002, you might be surprised to know that he's right there in the thick of things with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. He also has a Super Bowl ring. I'm not saying he's the best, but he sure deserves a seat at the table. 

Another MVP would certainly get him an invite, and breaking the single-season passing record would make it hard to not consider him. 

5. Eli Manning

Eli Manning stated at the beginning of the season that he was an elite quarterback. 

Everyone laughed. 

No one is laughing now. After beating the Patriots with a game-winning drive, Manning backed up his words.

However, is it really all that there is to Eli's status? Since he's come into the league, only Brees, Brady and big brother Peyton have passed for more touchdowns. 

Those three, Roethlisberger and Brett Favre are the only ones who have thrown for more yards. 

The other Manning now has his Giants at 6-2 and the only team with a realistic shot (and that's being generous to the word realistic) at catching the Packers. More big stage moments like that could bump Eli's chances of winning an MVP of his own. 

4. Frank Gore

Frank Gore is almost here by default. Don't get me wrong, I mean that in the best possible way. Gore has five straight 100-yard games for a 7-1 team that has the second-best record in the NFL. He certainly deserves a spot on this list. 

The reason I say "by default" is that Jim Harbaugh is so the runaway winner of Coach of the Year that we might as well just give it to him now. That perception of why the 49ers are so successful is gong to impact Gore's chances of winning the MVP. 

Still, if the Packers falter, he doesn't miss time because of injuries and he can pull out the rushing title, Gore could be the MVP this year. 

3. Ray Rice

I was always in the minority in the Emmitt Smith versus Barry Sanders debate. My argument has always been that Smith never got tackled for a loss. He was always going forward. The difference is huge. I'd actually rather have a guy give me 80 yards in 20 carries than one. 

The reason being that the guy who rams it down your throat again and again wears you down. Smith won games for the Pokes in the 90s by jamming the ball up the middle. Sure, he had a line that opened holes for him, but he was a back that could take advantage of those holes. 

Backs like Smith never get their due because they don't have the pretty plays. They have the ugly plays. Honestly though, ugly wins. Football is, by nature, an ugly sport. It's about people bashing into one another, and the best basher usually wins. 

Ray Rice is that type of runner. Have you seen that man's guns? His biceps are bigger than my thighs, and his thighs are bigger than my waist, which is considerably bigger than it needs to be.

The Ravens have a great defense. They have weapons in the secondary. They have an underrated quarterback. The reason this team can compete with anyone in the league, including the Packers, though, is Ray Rice. When they use him, they win. That's an argument for MVP if there ever was one.  

2. Matt Forte

Matt Forte is on pace to hit about 1.500 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving. He would be only the third player in history to top 1,000 yards in both. He's topping 46 percent of the Bears yards from scrimmage, which would be the highest percentage by any player in the history of the NFL. 

The Bears might not have the record of some of the other teams, and they probably won't win their division. However, Forte's value is arguably the greatest of any runner or receiver in the history of the NFL if he accomplishes that feat.

Add to all of that that he's only eight yards off the pace to break Chris Johnson's scrimmage yards record. 

Chicago already is the home of one underpaid MVP. Could Forte be the next?

Aaron Rodgers

Do I really need to spend my time typing an explanation here? 

8-0 on a team featuring the third worst defense in the NFL? On a team that only has 104 yards rushing per game (with 13 of those coming form Rodgers)?

129.1 Passer rating?

How do you beat out the most valuable season by a running back or wide receiver ever? How about with the best season by a quarterback ever?

Rodgers is on pace to have the most valuable season ever! And I am organically wired to hate the Rogers hype as a Bears fan, so trust me, this hurts to say. Rodgers is stud with a capital muffin!