See our other Cold, Hard Football Facts year-end awards:
Really, the MVP has got to be LaDainian Tomlinson. This is one award the "pundits" will likely get correct. He set the NFL's all-time scoring record with a record 31 TDs. He's also the best player for the best team, generating 2,323 yards from scrimmage for a 14-2 club.
Best player + best team = MVP in almost every football equation.
Tomlinson also got screwed out of the award after his immortal 2003 season. They should put his numbers that year next to the term "jaw-dropping" in the dictionary: He rushed for 1,645 yards and averaged an awesome 5.3 YPA – slightly better than his 5.2 YPA here in 2006.
But that's only half of the story. He also caught 100 passes for 725 yards. It's one of the great individual seasons in the history of football. Alas, the 2003 Chargers went 4-12 and the MVP award was shared by Peyton Manning and Steve McNair, whose numbers that year looked downright tame compared with LT's, but whose teams each went 12-4.
Call this LT's makeup award – one that he's also earned.
Cold, Hard Football Facts Top 5 MVP candidates:
1. Tomlinson.
2. Drew Brees, New Orleans. A huge difference-maker in New Orleans, his 26-11 TD-INT ratio and 96.2 passer rating were spectacular – despite a rotating cast of mostly green wideouts.
3. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis. It's not sexy to recognize Manning for his greatness, but he was the best QB in the league (101.0 rating) for a 12-4 team.
4. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia. While the "pundits" were falling all over themselves crediting Andy Reid with the Eagles' success, Westbrook was doing the real work. He finished the season with 1,916 yards from scrimmage that Philly couldn't have lived without.
5. Larry Johnson, Kansas City. When you set the NFL record for carries (416) for a playoff team, you're pretty valuable. Scoring 17 TDs isn't so bad either.
