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2012 NFL Top 5 MVP Candidates

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There are no clear candidates for this year’s NFL MVP award which should make for an intense and close race toward the end of the season. Listed below are the top five candidates to win the award and the reason why they should win the award.

ADRIAN PETERSON
Everyone who knows the NFL knows that Adrian Peterson had serious knee surgery less than a year before the season started, rehabbed his way back from his torn MCL and ACL injury, started Week 1 and is having one of his best seasons as a professional. He currently leads the league in rushing with 1,128 rushing yards and he is doing it virtually by himself without much help on offense being on the Minnesota Vikings. We don’t know what lies ahead for the Vikings but they are currently sitting on a record of 6-4 with the Bears and Green Bay Packers to deal with in their division, which may decrease Peterson’s chances of winning the award. Also, the award gives higher priority to the elite quarterbacks of the league but Peterson should be in a two man race for the Comeback Player of the Year award with Peyton Manning.

MATT RYAN
Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons came out of the gate full force making cases for all the awards and the Super Bowl. Recently however, they have looked mortal with Ryan throwing for 5 interceptions in Week 11 against the Cardinals and barely squeezing out victories. Ryan put up MVP like numbers early on in the season with above 70% accuracy and a high yards per game average however those numbers have fallen but the Falcons continue to win and stay on top of the football league which has a bunch of weight when it comes to MVP voting.

AARON RODGERS
He is the reigning MVP and has statistics to back up his argument for winning the award again this year however Rodgers had such an unbelievable 2011 season that many voters will see a decrease in numbers. Not only has Rodgers been “un-Rodgers-like”, but Rodgers’ Packers started the season with a sub .500 record early on in the season. He has been able to steer the ship in the right direction despite numerous injuries to his wide receivers and offensive line. If the Packers can continue its winning streak and notch the top spot in their division, Rodgers could make a strong case for a repeat award.

TOM BRADY
It seems like Brady could win this award every year with different rosters and players surrounding him. This season has been no exception as Brady has been playing at an elite level yet again. He is currently third in total passing yards with 3,299 yards and leads the highest scoring offense in the league. Let’s not forget that Brady also threw for over 5,000 yards last season, a feat that would have been commended if it weren’t for Drew Brees. He is also leading his team toward yet another AFC playoff appearance and possibly another first round bye week in the playoffs. The fact that he keeps leading his team year after year and puts up elite numbers year after year, voters may become “numb” to Brady’s consistency and neglect what he has actually been able to accomplish year after year. He should still get a lot of attention come award time.

PEYTON MANNING
When teams are essentially being interviewed by a “player” during the offseason means the player is a sure fire Hall of Fame player which was most definitely the case when Manning “chose” the Denver Broncos as his new home and team. Manning has not disappointed either despite not playing in a regular season in almost two calendar years prior to the start of this season. Manning has everything going for him this season to claim his fifth MVP trophy. He has led his team to a 7-3 record among the AFC, thrown for 2,975 yards, 24 touchdowns, and only 7 interceptions with a 68.5% completion percentage. He has been able to turn around a franchise that cringed every time a pass was thrown to elite playoff contenders. Manning could be collecting his record fifth MVP award along with a Comeback Player of the Year award if he continues on this same path by the end of the season.

NFL 2012 Regular Season will kick off on Wednesday night Sept 5

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Are you ready for some football? On a Wednesday?

We’ve just started the long, dark time of year called the “offseason.”

Some good news arrived Tuesday, delivered straight from the NFL Mountaintops: The offseason will be one day shorter than expected.

The New York Giants will host the season opener on Wednesday, September 5. The game was moved a day earlier than usual in deference to President Barack Obama’s Thursday speech at the Democratic National Convention.

So on Tuesday, the NFL decided to simply move the game to the previous night, Wednesday, September 5. It will be the first time since the fall of 1948 that a regular season NFL game would be played on a Wednesday. On that day, September 22, 1948, to be precise, the Detroit Lions lost to the Los Angeles Rams, en route to a 2-10 season; the Rams finished 6-5-1. (In case you’re wondering, the Philadelphia Eagles won the championship that year.)

This will be the second time in three years that a regular season NFL game will be played on an unorthodox day of the week. In late December 2010, a Sunday afternoon game involving the aforementioned Eagles was moved to Tuesday night due to extreme blizzard conditions in Philadelphia. The visiting Vikings – playing out the string a la the Asheville Tourists after a blizzard back home impounded the Metrodome – won the game behind the unlikely arm of Joe Webb.

The Giants’ first opponents of the 2012-13 season is still to be determined. In 2008, the Giants beat the Washington Redskins in the season opener. With politics once again coming into play in the Giants’ defense of their Lombardi trophy, don’t be surprised if the Giants once again square off against Washington on September 5; the start time will remain 8:30 PM ET. (The two teams have actually faced each other on the season opener for the last two years.)

And in case you’re wondering: no, the Giants don’t play the Chicago Bears this season, so that was not a factor in moving up the season opener to Wednesday to accommodate big-time Bears fan President Obama the following night. The Packers, Saints, and Steelers are strong candidates.

The Super Bowl champion New York Giants will host the season-opener at MetLife Stadium against a team to be announced at a later date. Starting time is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.

Lions reach 3-0 for the first time since 1980

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The Detroit Lions continued to show what their made of on Sunday, by erasing a 20-point deficit and beating the Minnesota Vikings 26-23 in overtime.

 Down 20-0 at the half, it seemed the Lions would fall back to earth a bit and suffer their first loss of the season. But these are not the same old Lions, they roared back and tied the game in the second half behind Matthew Stafford’s 378 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Calvin Johnson was outstanding as well, catching 7 passes for 108 yards scoring 2 touchdowns. The duo connected on a brilliant 40-yard play in overtime, setting up the game-winning field goal by Jason Hanson.

 The Lions are now 3-0, the first time they’ve reached the plateau since 1980. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is finally healthy and is coming into his own, and his top target Calvin Johnson remains the cornerstone for what a top wide receiver in the NFL looks like. The young defense, led by the presence of Ndamukong Suh, is flourishing and quickly becoming one of the best in the league. The Lions are off to a terrific start and have a promising future ahead of them.

 The Lions will try to make it 4-0 when they visit the Dallas Cowboys next week.