Why It Would Be Utterly Insane NOT To Select Adrian Peterson As MVP This Year

It shatters my soul to know that Peyton Manning is almost certainly going to get this award over Adrian Peterson this year based on early surveys of MVP voters.  I get it, Peyton Manning is still the god we always thought he was, the Broncos rose to the top of the shaky AFC this year by winning 11 straight, blah blah blah.  But here is why Adrian Peterson is absolutely hands down the rightful owner of this 2012 hardware:

1) Overall Team Impact - I don't deny Peyton Manning had a great year, but this is a Broncos team that was able to win 8 games to Peyton's 13 with Tim Tebow under center last year as well as a playoff game.  You cannot underestimate the impact that Denver's defense and running game have had since John Fox came to town.  In fact they have 4 other players (1 O-Line, 3 Defense) going to the Pro Bowl this season, so in terms of being the most valuable player on a team, while technically true for Manning, he has a very solid supporting cast.  Conversely, Adrian Peterson returned to a team that went 3 - 13 last season and virtually nobody including myself thought they'd even approach the 0.500 mark this year.  Instead, the Vikings stunned everyone by winning 7 more games than they did last season and a playoff spot almost entirely on the legs of AP.  Minnesota's only other two Pro Bowl selections are fullback Jerome Felton, who was key to Peterson's success, and kicker Blair Walsh.  This is a truly remarkable feat for Minnesota in this pass-happy age considering AP was 90% of the Vikings' offense.  In fact, Christian Ponder is ranked 31st out of 32 starting quarterbacks in yards per game, so soak that up for a minute.

2) Strength of Schedule - Let's also talk about strength of schedule while we're at it.  The Broncos have won their last 11 games handily, but they've had the easiest schedule in the NFL over this time frame including playing in the NFL's worst division that otherwise went 13 - 35 this year.  Of the five teams the Broncos played with a winning record this season, they beat two with 9 - 7 records (Ravens, Bengals) and lost to all three teams with 10+ wins (Patriots, Texans, Falcons).  The Vikings on the other hand played nine games against teams with winning records and in a division where nearly 3 out of 4 teams went to the playoffs.  They beat four teams with 10+ wins (49ers, Packers, Bears, Texans) this year and finished just three wins shy of the Broncos in spite of a not-even-comparable uphill battle. 

3) Historical Context - Finally, let's talk about historical context for a minute.  I said earlier this season that the primary reason that no QB should get MVP this year was because absolutely nobody stacks up to Aaron Rodgers' unbelievable performance last year during which he put up 45 TDs to 6 INTs to the tune of a record-setting passer rating of 122.5.  In comparison this year, Manning put up 37 TDs to 11 INTs with a passer rating of 105.8.  None of those are as good as Rodgers last year, nor are they even the best stats this year - Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers have Manning beat with TDs (43 and 39), a slew of QBs have fewer INTs (Flacco, Wilson, Brady, Roethlisberger, Rodgers, RGIII... you get the idea), and even Aaron Rodgers himself outdid Manning on the passer rating this year with a 108 rating.  Finally, while it's a dubious stat (none of the top three QBs here made the playoffs this year), Manning isn't even in the top five QBs in yards per game this year. So I don't even have to get into historical records of all-time highs in TDs, yards or passer efficiency when talking about Manning's performance.  Now let's look at Adrian Peterson.  Not only did the man lead the league in rushing yards this year by a 400-yard (or 30-yards per game) margin, he finished the year just 9 yards shy of the all-time single-season record that has stood for nearly 30 years by Eric Dickerson.  Peterson had 27 rushes of 20 or more yards compared to a distant second place 12 by C. J. Spiller this year, and there were five games in which AP gained more yards than his own quarterback.  I cannot emphasize enough just how insane all of this is given not only the pass-heavy league we now live in but also the fact that Adrian Peterson suffered an ACL tear just a year ago.  Peyton Manning's recovery from his neck injury has been incredible too to be sure, but that injury was in no way as directly impactful on his passing performance with the protection of a stout offensive line as AP's leg injury when you think of the sheer yardage and pounding after contact he has taken this year.  Plus, Manning had the benefit of a year and a half off to recover whereas Peterson was back on the field just eight months after his injury.

In conclusion, jumping up and down pulling my hair out from my tiny blogger perch in Memphis, Tennessee, it would be total madness not to select Adrian Peterson as the league's MVP this year hands down.  It ain't gonna happen, but at least now you know.