Media desperate to make sense of unpredictable NFL

• Published January 05, 2009

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from Brendan Funtek

The media can collectively pat itself on the back for another reliable MVP vote for Peyton Manning. Despite an admittedly injury-troubled opening to the season, Manning gave a collective sigh of relief for all the media MVP voters by being a prominent reason why the Colts closed the season with a nine-game winning streak.

For a minute there, voters actually thought they might have to break the over-20 year old tradition of selecting an offensive player. That sure would have been scary, huh? Breaking tradition?

The same narrow-minded group charmed themselves again with the second selection of Chad Pennington as Comeback Player of the Year in a three-season span.

Look, I'm not saying that Manning is undeserving of MVP or Pennington of Comeback Player. Do I specifically have an obviously better alternative? Nah.

But the awards for both do reveal a contradiction when it comes to NFL media. They might provide more in-depth coverage compared to the other lesser three (the NHL, NBA and MLB). But that doesn't mean more progressive thinking. Quantity trumps quality repeatedly in the NFL. (My sole exception I've noticed among the voters and dominant writers of the sport is Dave Goldberg for the Associated Press.)

Read this AP lead of Manning winning the MVP award this season: "Peyton Manning took a different approach to earning a record-tying third Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award. The Indianapolis Colts quarterback got hurt, struggled when he came back, then lost a bunch of games. Hardly vintage Manning."

It's as if the press is apologizing for giving Manning the award again, his third which ties him with Jim Brown, Brett Favre and Johnny Unitas. Favre, there's another reliable pick.

Between Favre and Manning's six MVPs in the last 14 years, you've got a paltry two championship rings among them.

Two.

Let's jump around at other sports in a similar timespan and see the championships real Most Valuable Players grabbed. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux in a 14-year timespan amassed 11 MVPs and six championships.

Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan collected eight MVPs in a 14-year timespan along with eight championships.

Even in the same sport, Unitas and Brown's combined six MVPs in an 11-year span gives them four championships.

MVP Manning's Colts were given the ol' boot to the Pro Bowl Saturday by a team who brought an 8-8 record into the postseason. Favre, as a columnist humorously pointed out, remains probable for the next Wrangler commercial.

And that's another component we must address. Marketing.

Peyton and Brett are two of the most recognizable faces in pro football due to their abundant advertising appearances. It would be interesting to see if Peyton had gotten comparable screen time to his brother Eli during last year's Super Bowl if you factor in his commercial appearances and luxury suite shots during the game of Big Brother looking down approvingly.

My point is we're missing the bigger picture often in the NFL because we're far too obsessed with a handful of individuals as opposed to focusing on the complete team. The Manning-Favre MVPs are a blatant symbol of this problem.