Peyton is Super Bowl TMVP

On February 4, 2007, after the biggest game of the biggest sport in America, Peyton Manning took home the Pete Rozelle Super Bowl MVP award and a shiny new Caddy. Can critics finally shut up about the proverbial monkey on his back? Unfortunately, while it may look like it is gone in this picture, the monkey is still there.

Manning completed a very average 25 of 38 for 247 yards 1 TD and 1 INT - a QB rating of 81.8. This translates to a 65.8% completion rate. His yards per attempt average was a very meager 6.5. He was also sacked for a loss of 8 yards. His decision-making was terrible. He started off with two passes almost intercepted and then threw the actual interception for good measure. Sure, he settled down a bit as the game wore on, but that's only because the "real" Super Bowl MVP showed up...Joseph Addai.

Addai caught 10 passes for 66 yards. Not exactly wow numbers, but when combined with his 77 yards on 19 rushing tries, he had a total of 143 all-purpose yards on 29 touches for an average of 4.93 yards per touch.

The truth is, Manning shouldn't even be #2 in the voting for the Pete Rozelle Award. That spot is saved for the other part of Indy's dynamic duo, Dominic Rhodes. Rhodes gained 113 yards on 21 carries, including a 36 yard romp through the once-fearsome Bears' run defense. Although Addai never hit paydirt, Rhodes did with a 1-yd pile pushing dive into the endzone. Rhodes was also good for an 8-yd catch, giving him a total of 121 yards on 22 touches and a 5.5 ypt average.

Supporters of the Manning MVP vote will look to Manning's "play-calling" ability. However, Manning doesn't call that many plays. According to John Madden, Manning has three plays when he gets to the line - a run to each side and a pass play. Is it any wonder that the majority of the plays called were runs? I don't care if you're John Elway or Dan Marino, you don't pass deep when both safeties start 18 yards away from the line of scrimmage (well...Brett Favre might throw some one of his crazy passes into triple coverage, but you get the point). Regardless, Manning isn't dumb, but he isn't a genius either. He's a great football player and legendary quarterback, but he didn't deserve this Super Bowl MVP. The most valuable player was of all people, a rookie.

Part of me believes that the MVP award was given to Manning because the committee doesn't think he'll make it back. No Super Bowl winner has ever finished last in rushing defense until the Colts this year. It will be absolutely mind-boggling if the Colts can do it again.

Another part of me believes that the MVP is picked by default in this order: QB, QB, QB, RB, WR, and all other players. You read that right - I list "QB" three times in a row because a QB is three times more likely to be picked than a RB and about four times more likely to be picked than a WR. In fact, out of 41 Super Bowls, a QB was the MVP 21 times, a RB 7 times, a WR 5 times, a DE twice, a LB twice, a S twice, a CB once, a DT once, and a KR/PR once.

On this particular night, it was the Colts' running backs ability to consistently run the football, find the holes, and power their way through defenders that won the game. The Colts chewed up 38:04 of game clock compared to 21:56 for the Bears. This 2:1 ratio in time of possession equals a very, very, very tired Bears defense. With 41 rushing attempts by the Colts, the Bears were worn down, even if they did have a Tank on special leave of court on their side.

Although Manning may have been the Super Bowl's Third Most Valuable Player, he will always be remembered as a Super Bowl Champion. Can he do it all over again? We shall Chimpan-see.