Seahawks’ Alexander runs away with MVP
He beat out Manning by a wide margin. Congratulations to Alexander and the Seahawks. he deserves it. 1880 yards and 28 touchdowns. That’s one of the greatest seasons for a running back in NFL history.
And to think, Alexander was being shopped for a 2nd round draft choice in the off-season.
I forsee many, many dollars in his future. Seattle should have locked him up last year.
Blech. It was inevitable with those stats, but I think he’s the wrong choice. The 28 TDs say very little about Alexander’s skill – what they say is that he was a on a very good offense, ran behind an excellent O-line, and always got the ball around the goalline.
Alexander is a very good RB, but the other four contenders (Manning, Brady, Barber, and Palmer) are IMO clearly better players, and inarguably are more important to their respective teams. My ballot:
I don’t understand how you dismiss Alexander’s accomplishments by just saying that it’s simply the product of a great offense then go on to say Manning deservs it more. Indianapolis has far more offensive weapons at its disposal than Seattle. It’s got one of the three best receiving corps in the NFL, one of the best offensive lines and one of the best running backs in James. Same with Palmer.
Alexander also got within spitting distance of 2000 yards. What does that say about his skill?
Roll Tide!
I’m dismissing neither his accomplishments nor his skill; I’m only saying that the TD record mainly indicates that Alexander is good enough to get lots of touches for a very good offense. Replace him with a Willis McGahee or a Clinton Portis, and I don’t see any appreciable drop in Seattle’s quality. This last part is largely IMO, of course.
It’s not like this is some huge slight of Alexander. I just said he was the 7th best player in the league this year. Saying he’s in the top 99.6th percentile instead of the top 99.9th percentile isn’t showing a lot of disrespect.
As for Manning, yes, he does look better because he’s surrounded by lots of talent. But it works the other way, too: we wouldn’t think of the rest of that offense as nearly so talented if it weren’t for Manning’s running the show. The O-line looks great, in part, because Manning is Marino-like in his ability to get the ball off quickly, and avoid the rush, and he’s possibly the best ever at getting the offense into the right blocking scheme before the snap. The receivers look better because of Manning’s accuracy, and the fact that he’s basically calling all the plays and directing them to the soft spots in the coverage. Edge looks better because the opposing defense has to defend against the pass first, then worry about the run. Etc.
Anyway, I guess it’s kind of a silly debate. In all likelihood, the “real” MVP is some dominant offensive lineman, or DT, or LB, or Safety – players who tend not to put up stats indicative of their true contribution to the team.
I think any of the top choices would have been good this year. VarlosZ has a point I’ve heard others make - Seattle would have been good with a different RB. Not as good, but still a quality team. I’m not sure what New England would have done without Brady, who really stepped up, or how the Giants would have managed without Barber (especially during Manning’s second-half struggles).
If it were truly an MVP a quarterback would win it every year.
Offensive player of the year? Alexander, sure. Most Valuable Player? Pfft.
These two are interchangeable, for me. Brady in first is, admittedly, as much of a homer pick as anything else (though there is something to be said for the importance of the QB to the offense and, indeed, to winning in the NFL). Take either of these players away from their teams, and you totally change what these teams look like and how they do over the entire season. Each of the two completely carried the offense for stretches where everything else went wrong. Leadership, efficiency, dominance.
The next tier contains, in no particular order: Manning, S. Smith, L. Johnson, Palmer, Alexander, Edge, S. Moss. Smith and Moss completely carried the passing offenses for their teams, reliably getting open and making huge plays through double coverage; Johnson, Alexander, and Edge took the utmost advantage of the offensive talent around them to dominate games for their teams; Manning and Palmer ran offenses (admittedly ones with strong receiving corps and running games around them) to maximum efficiency. I guess I would say:
I most respectfully disagree. Alexander is absolutely an MVP. The Seahawks lost two key receivers for most of the year, making Alexander one of their primary weapons. Forcing other teams to contain him also allowed Hasselback to step up. One of the key things Alexander does also is his pocket protection when he is not running the ball. He recognizes that being able to run the ball is the primary job for his position, but not the only job.
His attitude is a huge factor as well. He gives 110% every time out. He could have been bitter about losing the rushing title last year - which was his to lose until Holmgren benched him. They worked it out between themselves and grew stronger for it. I would say he could have pulled a ‘T.O.’, but that is simply not in his nature.
So I disagree that the Seahawks could have done as well without him. He is not the only factor in their success (a strong defensive line that took the slack for injuries in the secondary - that would have killed them last year, and most other teams also. Tatupu is the best call they have made in years.)
If the Hawks want to keep their fan base, they had best resign him, though Seattle’s record is not good in that regard - cf. A-Rod, Randy Johnson, Gary Payton, et al.
Seahawks season ticket holder weighing in…
I actually don’t believe that Shaun deserved the award. I’m extremely happy for him, I love the guy, perhaps, as kiros pointed out, offensive PLAYER of the year, but not MVP. I would have to give that award to Peyton Manning, who is simply transcendent in the role of Quarterback. He is basically an offensive coordinator, on top of being one of the most skilled passers in the league. I can’t say enough about Manning. Perhaps the best player of my generation. His stats weren’t as impressive as Alexander’s but you gotta believe he was more crucial to his team. Alexander is fantastic, but our team could soldier on without him. Even our perennial backup Maurice Morris had a 100 yard game this year, based on our stellar O line (and a weak Houston D). We have probably the best QB in the NFC, and when we get into a rhythm on offense we are nearly unstoppable.
Whoah that got off track quick. Haha… The point is that Alexander is… replaceable?
I have no problem with Shaun Alexander winning the award. I’m just surprised that it was such a runaway.
In general, there are 7-10 players in the league each year for whom I could make a pretty good case. This year, Alexander is definitely one of those 7-10 guys.
He’s a perfectly solid choice, just as Tom Brady, Tiki Barber, Carson Palmer, Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson or Steve Smith would have been.
Well, I said
So we’re in… disagreement?
If Denver featured only one back, instead of a duo, whomever they featured would have been as good a choice as Alexander.
I focus on the “Valuable” part of the MVP award. Take Alexander away and simply plug in the current backup, as opposed to thought experiments involving feature backs from other teams. Now, would the Seahawks still have won the NFC West? Yes, of course. Easily, and by a wide margin.
Take away Tom Brady. Would the Pats have still won the AFC East? Yes, of course. Easily, and by a wide margin. Remember, Tom Brady wasn’t looking so hot during the early part of the season when they faced a tough schedule. He was pressing because they kept falling behind early and by a wide margin. Then two things happened to right the Brady ship: their schedule got much much softer, and Teddy Bruschi came back and solidified the defense. All of a sudden they get better, and people attribute this to Brady carrying the team. Me, I consider it the team and schedule conspired to…not “carry” Brady, exactly, but rather…allow him to play to his strengths. Flutie would have lost just as badly to the Chargers early on, and beat the Bucs just as badly later on. (Hell, Vinny Testaverde beat the friggin’ Bucs with the hapless Jets, fer chrissakes.)
Take away Peyton Manning. Would the Colts have still won the AFC South? Not a chance in hell. With teams like the Chargers and Chiefs sitting out, I’d go so far as to say the Colts wouldn’t even have made the playoffs. No way would they have beaten out the Jags for the division. Their defense is a paper tiger; until I see them shut down an actually good team, I remain unconvinced that their defense is any god at all.
Take away Tiki Barber. Would the Giants have still won the NFC East? Not in a million years. Then again, take away Eli and you could say the same. (Tim Hasselback? Jared Lorenzen?! Get thee a backup, stat!) Hell, take away Toomer, or Shockey, or Plaxico for that matter. Take away any one of the “big 5” in the Giants offense, and they’re working on their golf handicaps right now. The offensive line is 8 guys of almost exactly equal talent, so none of them are crucial. Clearly the linebackers aren’t crucial, as they’ve been out. Take away someone in the secondary and they’d probably improve. (rimshot) The defensive line is the same as the offensive line, in that they’re all a wash at their position. (Joseph, Clancy, Allen and Robbins inside are all a wash; Strahan, Osi, and Tuck are all on the same level outside. Tuck may be a half step below, but he really is a monster for after Strahan retires.)
Take away Carson Palmer. Would the Bengals still have won the AFC North? No way, but Kitna keeps them in the playoffs.
I went into this post with the intention of making the case for Tiki, but now I must grudgingly rank them:
Nobody else comes close.
Just to clarify why I put Tiki in there when it seems like I made a case for all the Giants being equally valuable: Shockey, Toomer and Plax are all equally valuable when they’re all on the field. They make each other better targets by giving Eli multiple threats. Take away one of them and the passing game crumbles like a house of cards.
Tiki has nobody drawing defensive attention away from him. And whenever any of the big 3 receivers were out or being neutralized, it was Tiki who carried the team.
I wish I could say Byron Leftwich without being laughed off the boards. 
I think Shaun (along with many others) is a fine pick for MVP. The “product of the system” argument oversimplifies the challenge of the game. After all, we all know how incredibly difficult and intellectually stimulating football is - just ask any retired NFL jackass who likes to say “You haven’t played the game so you don’t understand it.”
To the homer defense! I don’t think this is correct. It should be noted that, as was, the Patriots won the AFC East by one (1) game over the Dolphins; even if you toss out the last game where few of the starters played, it was a fairly close race. Now, given that. “Brady wasn’t looking so hot during the early part of the season when they faced a tough schedule.” This is flat out incorrect. Brady’s QB rating was a full ten points higher in games 1-8 than games 9-16 (link ). Without Brady, they lose the Pitt and Atlanta games for sure, and are likely in trouble in at least 3-4 other games as well. Brady didn’t carry the team through the second half of the season where they got healthy and beat everyone down; Brady was the ONLY reason they were even CLOSE to in contention after the first half of the season. When everyone was injured AND they had the difficult schedule Brady won multiple games completely on his own.
Come on, Ellis. They didn’t win the east easily by a wide margin WITH Tom Brady.
Alexander is a fine choice. 28 TD’s means something about a guy. It means he has a nose for the endzone. Guys who get a ton of TD’s (like Emmet Smith) also get a ton of first downs.
To diminish a guy because he had a great O-line or a good QB diminishes everyone who has ever won an MVP. How did Favre look this year with his receivers and backs out? Not quite like he did last year.
What would Emmet have done without that O-line in Dallas.
No matter what your O-line is, grabbing a TD and a half per game is astounding, consistent, VALUABLE, and takes an ass load of talent.
Great facts. I stand corrected.
As a homer, (like me, just for a different team), how would you rank Peyton, Brady, and Tiki in your own personal MVP race?
I still put Peyton over Tiki, but I can’t figure out where to put Brady in there. Maybe in between? Tied with Tiki? Certainly not above Peyton, right?