Detroit Lions: Don't Count out Calvin Johnson's MVP Chances Just Yet

Through 10 weeks of the 2011 NFL season, the league MVP race is all but over.

Aaron Rodgers. Easy. Just give him the trophy and the Super Bowl rings and those 2007 Patriots championship shirts with the Packers’ logo taped on.

Or, maybe it’s not so easy. Certainly, if the Packers continue to play the way they have, the voters will coronate Rodgers as MVP and rightfully so. He’s had a hell of a season.

Still, while there’s plenty of people who consider the MVP the best player on the best team—right now, most certainly Rodgers—or simply the overall best player regardless of team—again, Rodgers—the debate, as always, comes down to the subjective definition of value.

For the Detroit Lions, still one of 2011’s most compelling stories, value comes down to one key player. Yes, quarterback Matthew Stafford is incredibly important to the Lions’ success, but while losing him would be a significant blow, with seasoned backup Shaun Hill, it wouldn’t be an entirely insurmountable loss.

No, the Lions’ most valuable player—their most irreplaceable player—is Calvin Johnson. Detroit has spent time, money and lots of draft picks over the years to field a true team around Megatron, but he is still at the core of the offense. His presence on the field demands a near-constant double- or triple-team effort to defend.

Even the latter hasn’t typically been enough to stop him. His league-leading 11 TD receptions and 974 receiving yards are proof of that. He’s been a nearly unstoppable force; a big safety valve that Stafford can trust and the rock of an offense that thrives off his presence.

But even when he isn’t being targeted in the end zone—as we saw on Sunday—the coverage he demands free up space for other receivers. If you take him away, a more uniform coverage makes it that much more difficult for Stafford to operate.

Stafford’s five TD tosses against Carolina, despite being to five receivers not named Calvin Johnson, don’t happen without Megatron taking defenders’ attention.

Which brings us back to Aaron Rodgers. It is very, very easy to place too much blame upon or give too much credit to a quarterback. The NFL is a very QB-centric league and it’s hard for players who don’t touch the ball on almost every play to break through.

But while the Lions offense—and their 2011 season—likely falls apart if Johnson isn’t there, the same is not necessarily true of the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers, for all his natural gifts and talents, is part of an incredibly balanced team with multiple playmakers in almost every position.

If Rodgers has a bad game, his team is not automatically going to lose, simply because the Packers are that solid of a team. Is this punishing success? Not necessarily. I’m certain Rodgers would rather have another Lombardi Trophy than an MVP trophy.

Of course, if the Packers go 19-0 and bring home another Super Bowl championship, he’ll get both. But while Rodgers is an amazing player on a terrific team, the conversation is still far from over at this point.

And on Thursday night, Johnson gets a shot at showing why he’s been that much more vital to the Lions’ success this season.