There has been a lot of talk about who should be MVP this year, especially among four QB's in particular. Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Favre and Philip Rivers. Here is a comparison using only THESE FOUR to compare stats and situations.

 Out of the 16 main stats tracked for QB's:

Brett Favre leads the other three in only one (40T) and is tied for second with Manning for least number of fumbles.

Drew Brees leads the other three in four catagories, second place in two and tied for second in another.

Philip Rivers leads the other three in four catagories and places second in none.

Peyton Manning leads the other three in six catagories and is second place in another six. He is number one in:

Completions, Total Yards, 1st Downs, Least Sacked, Fewest Fumbles and Fewest Fumbles Lost.  He is second in:

Completion Percentage (Brees), Yards Per Game (Brees), Touch Downs (Brees), 1st Down % (Rivers), LNG (Rivers) and 20T (Rivers).

Manning has the best overall stats of the four. And while he has more interceptions than the other three he has only two fumbles with zero fumbles lost. Compare this to Brees with 9 fumbles and 6 fumbles lost and Rivers with 6 fumbles and 3 fumbles lost.  Also, Manning has been sacked the least due not only to the O-Line but because he has the fastest release in the game and gets rid of the ball quicker. Coupled with his ability to read defenses better than any other QB and you have the perfect recipe for avoiding sacks.

Now, Peyton has accomplished all this while having less playing time than the other three and the worst rushing attack in the league.  The Colts are ranked dead last at 32nd in rushing offense while the Saints enjoy 5th place, the Vikings 13th and the Chargers at 29th.

Add to this a new head coach, no Marvin Harrison, no Anthony Gonzolas, a rookie in the slot and a second year WR just now getting serious playing time and it becomes evident that Manning IS the MVP.  The fact is the Colts are STILL undefeated with Manning behind center for 60 minutes.  Which brings me to the most important statistic of all vs Favre, Brees and Rivers - THE COLTS HAVE WON MORE GAMES!!!  Peyton has orchestrated another unbelievable winning season with whoever Polian puts on the field with him.

Take Manning out of the line up as they did the last two games and ..well, you see what happens.  The Chargers still won there last game and without Rivers for most of it.  Favre is great but the threat of Adrian keep defenses honest in the box, Brees has been fantastic but still lost WITH their starters playing lights out. Rivers is one of my favorites and to me is the second place contender. But he has fewer wins, dominates fewer stats and is on a team that proved they can still sqeak out a win without him.

Most importantly, no other QB in the league runs his team like Peyton. No other QB commands the field like Peyton and no other QB is as essential to contributing to his teams success like Peyton Manning.