A wide-open, see-saw, season-long argument over the NFL’s most valuable player is about to end.
After debating the merits of Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon, Rams running back Marshall Faulk and quarterback Kurt Warner, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, Vikings receivers Randy Moss and Cris Carter, quarterback Daunte Culpepper and running back Robert Smith, and Colts total offense leader Edgerrin James, the answer is appearing clearer by the week.
It’s Titans running back Eddie George.
The Titans have the league’s best record and no running back means more to his team than George.
His 176-yard, three-touchdown effort in the snow Sunday in Cleveland in a 24-0 win was only the latest evidence.
Among the elite backs, George accounts for the largest percentage of his team’s yards and the greatest percentage of his team’s offensive touchdowns.
George accounts for 37.4 percent of the Titans’ yards and 50 percent of their touchdowns. James is second with 36.6 percent of the Colts’ yards and 39.5 percent of their touchdowns. Third is Curtis Martin of the Jets with 33.1 percent of their yards and 34.4 percent of their touchdowns.
Furthermore, George is getting stronger down the stretch, setting a pace others are struggling to keep.
Gannon threw three interceptions in a loss to the 31st-ranked defense of the Seahawks on Saturday.
Faulk and Warner have missed significant playing time because of injury.
The four Vikings tend to split the vote on that team. Unfortunately, none of them play defense and none of them plays offense well enough to overcome their disintegrating defensive teammates.
James also shares the Colts’ offensive load with quarterback Peyton Manning and receiver Marvin Harrison.
McNabb is a unique exception and could emerge as George’s primary competition. Although the Eagles finished second to the Giants in the NFC East and recently lost to George and the Titans, McNabb leads his team in rushing as well as passing. His rushing and passing account for 75 percent of Philadelphia’s offense compared with the 67 percent by last year’s MVP, Warner.
Defensive players usually are ignored in MVP balloting, which is done by the media. This year, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis would be a legitimate candidate on the league’s No. 1 defense, but this year isn’t the best year for Lewis to garner favor from voters after spending his off-season embroiled in a murder trial in which he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.
New Orleans defensive tackle La’Roi Glover is the Saints’ MVP for his 16 sacks and willingness to sacrifice sacks while filling in at nose tackle. But MVP voters would rather gravitate toward the players who handle the ball–quarterbacks and running backs.
Despite battling through a number of injuries this season (MCL sprain, toe, ribs and ankle), George has led his team to the best record in the NFL over the last two seasons and has not missed a game in his five-year career. George joined Eric Dickerson as the second player in NFL history to rush for at least 1,200 yards in each of his first five years.
In defense of defense: Defense isn’t everything and it isn’t the only thing. It’s just the most important thing this time of year.
The exceptions are so rare they need asterisks. The Rams overwhelmed almost everybody on offense last year. This year, they discovered they couldn’t always count on protecting their leaky defense by outscoring whatever defense they encountered.
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The Vikings are discovering it again as they fade down the stretch. Specifically, they cannot stop the run. Against the Packers, neither could they get their own running game untracked. Packers backup Ahman Green outgained the NFC’s leading rusher, Robert Smith, 161-26.
“We weren’t able to run or stop their run and that’s always been the foundation of how we do things,” Minnesota coach Dennis Green admitted.
The pattern followed throughout the NFL entering the final week with only one of six division champions crowned.
In a tight 10-7 Detroit win over the Jets on Sunday, Lions quarterback Charlie Batch completed only eight of 18 passes. But the Lions outrushed the Jets 210-51.
In Kansas City’s 20-7 upset of the Denver Broncos–the No. 1 rushing team in the league–the Chiefs outran them 264-66.
In Baltimore’s 13-7 win over Arizona, the Ravens outrushed the Cardinals 177-51.
It’s not foolproof. Oakland outran Seattle and Miami outran Indianapolis only to succumb to quarterback turnovers.
But with no clear Super Bowl favorites waltzing into the playoffs, the teams with the best defenses–the No. 1 Ravens and No. 2 Tennessee Titans–are the ones building momentum.
Entering last weekend, the Giants had the No. 6 defense, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers No. 7, the New Orleans Saints No. 8, the Eagles No. 10.
Meanwhile, the Vikings were staggering at No. 23. The Broncos are No. 26, the Raiders No. 17, the Rams No. 21, the Colts No. 22. The Jets were No. 12, but ranked 20th against the run. Again, statistics can mislead if not lie. The Dolphins have the No. 5 defense, but their 27th-ranked offense is the lowest of all contenders and might be too weak to overcome. Quarterback Jay Fiedler is playing despite a torn rotator cuff in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. Handing off to running back Lamar Smith is the first choice, but when Fiedler has had to pass the last two weeks, he’s thrown costly interceptions.
McGinnis signs: Dave McGinnis, who turned down the Bears’ head coaching job two years ago and is 1-7 as Arizona’s interim coach, signed a four-year deal to stay in Arizona. Owner Bill Bidwill said McGinnis will have the authority to give the personnel department “marching orders.” Said McGinnis: “I’ve already proven that I’m not going to just jump into something and be happy and roll over and say `tickle my belly and I’m happy I’m here,”‘ he said. “I walked away two years ago from something I’d thought about and worked for a long time, but it wasn’t correct.”
McGinnis said he would have a direct line to Bidwill, with no layers of management in between.
Show me the paper: Atlanta cornerback Ray Buchanan lobbied the Falcons last off-season to sign free agent cornerback Ashley Ambrose from the Saints. They have been friends since both played for the Colts.
Now Buchanan will be a free agent.
“We’re best friends, we love to play together, but at the same time, Ashley knows I have a family, too, and I have to take care of myself,” Buchanan said. “This is business, and that’s the way everybody looks at it a lot of the time. So the first thing Ashley tells me is, `Man, go out there and get your paper.’ That’s what he tells me. His situation last year, I was telling him to get his paper (money) and the paper, actually, fortunately, was here with the Atlanta Falcons.”
Culpepper limping: Culpepper’s right foot is in a cast because of the sprained ankle he suffered Sunday. The Vikings will have a better idea Wednesday, when the cast comes off, if he will be able to play Sunday at Indianapolis. “It’s a regular-season game, not the playoffs,” Dennis Green said. “We have to do everything we can do to get Daunte healthy. If that’s 1-2 weeks, that’s what it’s got to be. The verdict is out as far as his healing process, because he’s never been injured before. We don’t know what his healing process is like.”