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2005 Midseason Scramblie Awards
MVP
Al: Tom Brady. Trying to distinguish between the top four running backs in the league -- Edgerrin James, LaDainian Tomlinson, Shaun Alexander, and the rarely mentioned Tiki Barber -- is a fool's errand. You could easily make the case that each of them is the best at his position, which to me says there's no clear MVP in the group.
Steve Smith is getting a lot of recent publicity, but he's not having that much better of a season than Muhsin Muhammad did last year in the same role in the same offense.
For my money, no one has been as valuable to his team as Tom Brady has been this year. He tops our DPAR rankings as the most productive quarterback in the NFL this year. With a defense that has missed somewhere between 18 and 31 games by defensive starters, depending on whose definition of "starter" you want to go by, New England's offense has needed to carry the team more than it has at any point during the Brady/Belichick era. With injuries plaguing the offensive line and running back corps, the responsibility to move the ball downfield has fallen squarely on Brady's shoulders, and he's delivered.
Vivek: Shaun Alexander. If you are going to pick a quarterback, how does Brady top Carson Palmer? Palmer's QB rating has topped 100 every week this season with the exception of the Pittsburgh game. Palmer has better overall numbers, has led his team to more victories and is right behind Brady in DPAR. I'm not taking anything away from arguably the greatest clutch QB in the history of the game, but I think that there are better candidates this year. The reason that Palmer does not get my vote though is that he has come out on the short end of the stick against the Steelers and Jaguars.
This leads me to my choice: Shaun Alexander. How do you differentiate between that quartet of running backs? I'll give you 17 reasons why -- just look at his touchdown total. Alexander has also done more with less around him. Injuries have left a thin receiving corps around Alexander, but defenses have still not been able to limit his production. With Alexander, the Seahawks are sitting atop the NFC standings.
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