What MVP means
 

MVP means most valuable player. Lots of people like to talk about how many TDs a guy scores, or how many yards he has when talking about MVP. Those are arguments you can use to select a guy to the pro bowl. Those are arguments that are somewhat secondary to the MVP discussion.

For example, one year A-Rod was named MVP while he was on the Texas Rangers. The last place Texas Rangers. In my opinion he was a very good player that year, but should not have been considered for MVP. With him, his team was in last place. Without him, his team would have been in.... you guessed it! Last place.

MVP is for the player who adds the most value to the team. Now, I suppose you could be on a last place team and get MVP because without you your team would be even laster. Or not.

In short MVP is the player who, if injured, would represent the biggest loss to their team. Gaudy stats are secondary because 52 other players contribute to them.

Re: What MVP means
 

I cannot stand this argument. How is it right to punish a player because he isn't fortunate enough to be on a good team?

The Rangers would have been in last without Arod sure, but they would have been a whole helluva lot worse without him. Just because his team wasn't good enough to win more games, shouldn't take away from his value. A player's value should NOT be defined by how good his team is.

This argument turns an INDIVIDUAL award into a team award. The most VALUABLE player will be the player that has the best year. That's how it always should be, not who has the best year for a winning team.

Re: What MVP means
 

Yes, this would be nice if it were the way things worked in the NFL. If it were the case, Brady would have multiple MVPs right now.... Especially last year where he picked up the team and carried the entire offense within a first down of another Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, reality is all about MVP equalling gaudy stats. Which Brady has this year -- quite possibly beyond anything seen before in the NFL. If we're going to be consistent, it shouldn't even matter if, in fact, he is the true most valuable player.

Re: What MVP means
 

What MVP means .........

Well, it doesn't mean throwing six interceptions in one game and blaming injuries for your mistakes.

Re: What MVP means
 

I guess this is what the MVP means.. except in 2003 and 2004?

Re: What MVP means
 

Then Marvin Harrison, WR for the Colts should be a lock. W/ him the Colts are a great team, w/o him the Colts are nothing.

Re: What MVP means
 

This is a hard argument to make without getting skewered from any which way, but gaudy stats and helping your team are not mutually exclusive. Add to that that stats are the only means of measuring a contribution, and you have the argument that gaudy stats represent an MVP candidate.

This is my argument: MVP should be considered with less regards to stats than it is now. It should be the player who makes his team better. Look at Tom Brady. Look at how much better recievers look in NE than they do everywhere else. I guarantee you its not the water.

Re: What MVP means
 

Unfortunately, stats and more importantly records along with the team's overall record are very much tied into the MVP vote for the NFL. Look at the offensive players that have broken major NFL records and went onto winning the NFL MVP (Manning, Tomlinson, Warner, etc.).

Re: What MVP means
 

That is your literal interpretation, and it is faulty to conclude that it is the only one. I interpret the intent of the award to be to recognize the best player, but for that intent to have been murkied over many years.

I figure it all started with a writer or writers campaigning for their own guy and using a literal "valuable" argument because their guy was clearly an inferior player. This practice presumably caught on and has grown to be a viable interpretation.

Notice that this interpretation is widespread in baseball but not in football. We're talking football here, and Tom Brady is the best player on the best team putting up historic stats. He's the clearcut winner 10 weeks into the season.

Re: What MVP means
 

This is not entirely true. What you're definining is how Major League Baseball defines MVP. It's not the same in the NFL, NBA or NHL.