Congrats to Peyton Manning on his 4th MVP title. Apparently it was a landslide vote, presumably with all other votes also going to QBs or RBs. With a select few excellent corners in a league that is unbalanced favouring the passing game - in theory the MVP should go to a corner. Revis has been grabbing headlines and silencing any WR he encounters, and of the elite corners Revis has lasted longest in the playoffs (Woodson out, Asoumagha did not qualify for postseason) - and my pick for league MVP is a Jet. But it is not Revis.
The 2009 NFL MVP goes to - Alan Faneca.
Faneca left the Steelers, who don't believe in paying star players, for the Jets in the 2008 offseason. Plugging Faneca in between two young first rounders (D'Brick and Mangold - what terrific names!) made for a formidable offensive line that cleared the path for the best rushing offense in the league. Offset by a lousy rookie QB (sorry Sanchize) and a WR that tragically lost both hands to a crocodile - Faneca's impact is undeniable.
As a member of the Steelers he led an iconic offense built on the power-run game to a Superbowl and the Steelers floundered - at best - without him. In Faneca's final season as a Steeler they led the league in rushing with 135 yards per game.
The next season? 105, 21st.
Before arriving in New York the Jets were led by Chad Pennington and Thomas Jones and the Jets rushed for 1701 yards. Bypassing the Favre season, the 2009 Jets improved on their 2007 rushing totals by over a thousand yards; 2756.
Per game rushing totals for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009;
108.6, 106.3, 125.2, 172.2
I don't follow the Jets off the field, I don't listen to Jet interviews. I only watch football and observe statistics, both suggest Faneca had a huge impact on an otherwise unremarkable offense.
I haven't, and won't, address Faneca's calibre of on-field play. Not because it doesn't support my argument, but because it isn't relevant. MVP awards are attached to storylines, aggrandizing, and perception. Faneca fits a great story line (leader of the bully Steelers becomes leader of the bully Jets), and is one of very few interior lineman that fits perception (most casual fans know him from his Steeler's Superbowl). Peyton won, and was a deserving winner, but Peyton does not need any more aggrandizing - the only reason to be excited by this nomination is relative denigrating of Tom Brady.
Does Alan Faneca deserve aggrandizing?
Selecting an offensive lineman for league MVP has to be almost transcendent. It can't be about how great his footwork is, or from tallying pancake blocks. It's about acknowledging the effect of adding an impact player. Favre is an obvious 209 MVP candidate because it's commonly accepted that adding an elite QB can elevate an NFL team to elite status. But it's not commonly accepted that removing or adding an elite guard from an elite team has the same impact.
Let's address that by considering another impact guard that changed teams, Steve Hutchinson.
Shaun Alexander won an MVP trophy and broke a record for rushing touchdowns in 2005 - without breaking a tackle for the entire season! He glided behind Hutch, waiting until secondary angles were eliminated behind powerful drive blocks and devastating pull blocks. I'm no Shaun Alexander fan but this isn't about him. Hutch (with wingman Walter Jones at tackle) led the Seahawks to elite status and the team reached their zenith in 2005 with the best statistical rushing season to date. After 2005? Shaun got paid to the tune of $62M which left free agent Hutch out of the budget. Alexander was exposed for running like a 50 year old man and was out of the league shortly thereafter (in 2006 Shaun's rushing total was cut in half and he missed many snaps with a dubious foot injury).
As for Hutch - he would sign with the Vikings in a situation that led to a lot of bad blood between the two teams. The Viking had fired Tice as coach and lost the core of their offense - Moss (trade) Culpepper (injury) and Burleson (lost to Seattle in the feud over Hutch). The 1st round draft pick acquired for Moss added nothing to the team (Troy Williamson).
Seattle had lost an interior lineman but otherwise kept intact the best offense (including RB, QB, and LT) in the league - and went in the tank.
Minnesota had lost the devastating duo of Culpepper and Moss and added an interior lineman - and emerged as a powerhouse.
That doesn't sound like the script ESPN uses.
Obviously it is folly to view these events so simplistically, and further analysis would suggest alternate explanations that are far more palatable to common consensus. However, Hutchinson has been an integral cog in one of the best offenses in the league for most of his career.
The same can be said of Faneca. And it's about damn time they be recognized.
Wikipedia's list of career awards for Faneca:
This list now includes PullingGuard's 2009 NFL MVP.
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