Most Valuable Prettyboy??

I’m all for quarterback worship, and I’m all for just giving the Super Bowl-winning quarterback the MVP award from an aesthetic position. Typically, a team’s quarterback is their most visible and recognizable player, so it makes sense.

But Sunday night, it did not make sense to name Eli Manning the Super Bowl MVP, unless the P suddenly stands for “prettyboy.” And Super Bowl XLII was not, as NFL.com’s Vic Carucci called it, Eli’s “coronation.”

Yes, Eli threw for eight yards more than Peyton Manning did as last year’s Super Bowl MVP (255-to-247); and yes, he crushed Tom Brady’s 145-yard performance as Super Bowl XXXVI MVP; but his 19/34, and two touchdowns matches up well against Brett Favre’s 14/27 for 246 yards and two majors in Super Bowl XXXI-- and Favre lost out to a kick returner!

So why didn’t the voters give some love to the Giants’ defensive line, and defensive front seven?

They got to Brady for five sacks, and another dozen-and-a-half knockdowns and hurries. Brady, not exactly nimble, hadn’t been sacked five times in a game since September of 2003. En route to placing three offensive linemen in the Pro Bowl, the Patriots allowed Brady to be sacked just 24 times in their first 18 games this season.

The Giants held the Patriots to a mere 45 rushing yards, including three Pats rushes that were stopped for a loss. New England averaged 119 rushing yards per game heading into the Super Bowl, including 147 yards per game in their first two playoff games.

And of course, the Patriots were the overall offensive leaders in 2007, setting a single-season points record, as well as Brady and Randy Moss setting new individual touchdown records.

This was one of the most dominant offenses the NFL has ever seen, and the MVP voters couldn’t find one defensive player worthy of the honour? Even after the Giants came up with the game-sealing sack? A sack that seemed almost impossible to consider given the Pats’ play this season.

The Super Bowl MVP voters screwed this up worse than the Academy screwed up giving Sean Penn the best actor award for Mystic River (Johnny Depp’s first effort as Jack Sparrow should have won).

Oh well, one more reason to dislike the NFL.