Why NFL Magazine Is Simply Insane to Name Peyton Manning NFL's MVP

According to Pro Football Talk, the inaugural issue of NFL Magazine—a new, league-operated publication—has picked Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning as their MVP for the 2011 season.

Combine that asinine argument with Tim Tebow's picture on the cover, and there's a magazine that you just can't wait to buy, right?

You wonder if the magazine would even make it if it didn't have league dollars tied in, but I digress.

Let's go back to the argument of having Manning as your MVP this season. We've all heard certain analysts bring up the idea, but I haven't heard many that were willing to say they'd actually vote for the guy in the AP's process.

Unlike other sports, where writers pick a bunch of guys and the points are then tallied, the NFL MVP voting gives out one vote per voter. There's no saying Peyton Manning No. 1, Aaron Rodgers No. 2—it's all Manning or it's all Rodgers.

However, that isn't the overall point of why this argument is so insane.

What does the MVP stand for? Most Valuable Player. That last word is the most important.

Peyton Manning hasn't played a snap for the Indianapolis Colts this season and he likely won't. To be a player in the NFL, you have to play. In 2011, Manning simply wasn't a player. 

The argument that Manning's absence proves his value is crazy, too. While I'm not saying Manning doesn't have tremendous value to the Colts, using that basis for an award defeats the purpose of the entire process.

For example, the Miami Dolphins have been trying to find a quarterback since Dan Marino retired. Using that same logic, Marino should have won a couple of MVP awards after he retired. Might as well give Jim Kelly a couple, too. 

The Colts' free fall to 0-12 (and likely 0-16) has a lot to do with Manning being out, but it also has a lot to do with a franchise that was completely and totally unprepared for that to even happen.

When it was discovered that Manning was to be out for some time, the Colts scrambled to find a backup quarterback (since, you know, they obviously don't have one on the roster) and wound up signing Kerry Collins out of retirement. 

That's a deathwish right there. If you hypothetically threw the quarterback combination of Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky on each team, there's a good chance that half of those teams would be in the same situation as the Colts are right now.

Finally, Aaron Rodgers has to be mentioned in this argument.

Rodgers is having one of the best statistical seasons at quarterback that we've ever seen. What's more, his team is currently 12-0. Tom Brady threw for 36 touchdowns and four interceptions last season on a 14-2 team and was the unanimous MVP.

This year, Rodgers is arguably having a better season on a better team. He deserves that same kind of respect across the board.

In the end, this is a magazine that is new and looking to sell copies. They already switched their cover from Cam Newton to Tim Tebow after Tebow took sports media by storm. Having Manning as their MVP is just another way for people to pay attention. It's the same shock jock sports media that we've grown accustomed to across all platforms and television networks.

Peyton Manning isn't the 2011 MVP, shouldn't be the 2011 MVP and never will be the 2011 MVP.