DeAngelo For MVP?

Seems crazy, doesn't it? The suggestion that Panthers' 3rd-year back DeAngelo Williams should be considered an MVP candidate would've been ludicrous four games ago. But with 447 rushing yards and eight scores in the last month, Williams has carried Carolina from an under-the-radar 8-2 team that was far from a lock to make the playoffs to a physical, smash-mouth 11-3 team that can clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs with a win over New York Sunday night.

The Memphis product got off to a fairly slow start in 2008. He managed 86 yards rushing against San Diego in a big win to open the season, but didn't top 55 yards again until piling up 123 against the hapless Chiefs in week five. A week later he was held to 27 yards on 11 carries in a humiliating 27-3 Panthers loss to Tampa Bay.

Ever since, he's been on a tear.

Currently, Williams has rushed for a touchdown in five straight games. He's rushed for at least 72 yards in six straight, and in that 72-yard game, he scored four times at Green Bay. And as much of the nation saw on Monday Night Football a couple of weeks ago, he teamed up with rookie backfield partner Jonathan Stewart for perhaps the most dominating two-pronged rushing effort in NFL history as Carolina got its revenge and then some on the rival Buccaneers, 38-23.

Williams's domination has been enough to move him into 4th in the league in rushing, with 1,229 yards, almost exactly half his career total. It has been, to say the least, a breakout year for DeAngelo.

However, his MVP chances are hurt by the top two guys in the league in rushing. Adrian Peterson and Michael Turner are ranked 1st and 2nd respectively, and both play for teams that will either make the playoffs or be in the race right up until the end. Peterson in particular will receive consideration because he plays for a team without a lot of solid quarterback play.

And Williams, barring a couple of more great games, probably will get passed up because the casual observer will assume Steve Smith is the main cog in Carolina's engine. The casual observer might have a point, too. But Smith has dominated in previous years without team success like the 2008 Panthers. It took DeAngelo's emergence to push Carolina past mediocrity to being one of the best teams in the league.

Though he might not win an MVP, DeAngelo Williams doesn't mind. He'll just keep racking up 100-yard games and rushing touchdowns. He might even win a Super Bowl. The sky is the limit, and that's the way he likes it.