| The holiday presents are unwrapped, the parties
are over and the new year is here. But for football fans, the long, cold winter won’t
begin for a while. Ahead are the playoffs and the Super Bowl. But before that, we have the
annual dishing out of regular-season honors. Every year, there’s much debate about
who is deserving of which awards.
With some awards, it’s all too clear to see who deserves to win them. Take this
season’s Comeback Player of the Year honors. Without a doubt, anyone who doesn’t
vote for 49ers RB Garrison Hearst needs to have his head examined. He missed two full
seasons, underwent surgery after surgery to fix his foot and then returned this season
with something to prove. Hearst should run away with the honors after proving he’s
back.
But other awards, such as the league’s Most Valuable Player, are rarely clear-cut.
There’s always a debate over who should get the league MVP. It’s a fun thing to
do, to sit around with your buddies and tell them how crazy they are for thinking their
guy is deserving of the MVP.
This year, there is again no clear-cut choice, as several candidates are being bandied
about by the media. Last week in this space, I brought up my thought that Steelers QB
Kordell Stewart should win the MVP. And here’s my thinking, in long form:
The conventional pick for MVP at this point would be Rams RB Marshall Faulk. Faulk has
been dominant in most games this year. He did miss two games because of injury.
Faulk is an amazing back, and probably the top back in the game right now in terms of
ability. But Faulk does not deserve the MVP award more than some of the other candidates.
While Faulk was out with injury, the Rams posted a 1-1 record, but backup RB Trung
Canidate ran well. In other words, Faulk wasn’t as valuable as some other candidates
are. The Rams lost to the Saints, who had beaten them with Faulk in the past.
That’s what the Most Valuable Player award is all about, isn’t it? We’re
not talking about the best player in the league here. We’re not talking about the
most touchdowns or yards or the fewest interceptions. We’re talking about the player
whom a team would have suffered the most without this season. Faulk was not that player
for the Rams this year.
Under that definition, I have whittled my choice down to three candidates: Raiders QB
Rich Gannon, Packers QB Brett Favre and Steelers QB Kordell Stewart.
Niners QB Jeff Garcia doesn’t make the cut because he has not been the catalyst in
San Francisco. He is a fabulous quarterback, but he is not the main reason the Niners are
winning.
I already talked about Faulk, and Kurt Warner doesn’t make the cut because I
believe that the Rams could overcome having Joe Germaine in the game — they’d
simply give the ball to Faulk all day long.
Bears LB Brian Urlacher doesn’t make the cut because he hasn’t been the only
reason the Bears’ defense has been so good. If you gave the MVP to Urlacher, it would
have to be a three-way tie with him and bodyguard DTs Keith Traylor and Ted Washington.
So, let’s look at my top three candidates.
Gannon has been a solid, solid quarterback all season long, and he’s certainly
kept the Raiders in the upper echelon of the AFC since the running game has faltered.
Also, if you factor in the drop-off to Gannon’s backup, Rodney Peete, you have to
give strong, strong consideration to Gannon. You can’t dock him for Oakland’s
losses — the defense hasn’t been able to stop the run.
But with the running game stalling out, Gannon’s production, and MVP standing, has
suffered. He also doesn’t strike the same kind of fear that some other candidates
strike in their opponents. On the bright side, Gannon’s TD-interception ratio is a
very good 24-7.
Favre has been magnificent this season, especially considering the inconsistency his
receivers have experienced.
On the downside to Favre’s candidacy, the Packers have gotten as good as they are
because of the solid running of RB Ahman Green and the elevated play of the defense. Of my
top three, Favre incites the most fear in opponents. But while Favre can take over games,
he hasn’t been as dominant as he was in Green Bay’s Super Bowl seasons.
Favre has been an integral part of the Packers’ success, and they would miss him,
but they’d probably miss Green more.
Stewart, on the other hand, is the key to the Steelers’ success. Since he regained
the starting job in the middle of 2000, Stewart has progressed, albeit very, very slowly
— almost excruciatingly slow for Pittsburgh fans. Forget RB Jerome Bettis — the
three games he missed served to solidify Stewart’s candidacy for the MVP.
Stewart has benefited from the emergence of his receivers and the outstanding play of
the Pittsburgh defense. But is it possible that backup QB Tommy Maddox would have the
Steelers where they are today? Would Maddox have been able to carry the Steelers past the
Ravens in Week 14?
Stewart has more confidence right now than a teenager who just got a date to the prom,
and that confidence has made all the difference. His mechanics are also highly improved,
making him a dangerous pocket passer. Years of boos have desensitized Stewart to the harsh
crowds. At home or on the road, Stewart’s been ready. Because of his confidence,
he’s a team leader, and even the harsh Pittsburgh crowd that once booed him now
cheers him on and even listens to him when he asks for cheers, not jeers.
Even with his poor performance last week, Stewart seems much more valuable than any of
the other players mentioned here.
Had head coach Bill Cowher given up on Stewart years ago as many thought he should, the
Steelers might not be one of the top teams in the league this year. And Stewart might not
be winning my support for Most Valuable Player honors. |
