NFL MVP Will Be…

It’s been way too long since I’ve ranted and commented on my love of sports on my blog, but here’s to a commitment of providing my opinions, analysis and interpretations of the sports world.

Feeling my way back into Zweifel’s 2 Cents we start with thoughts on the NFL MVP race.

Week 13 is just about in the books with a Monday Night Football game remaining between New York Giants and Washington Redskins, marking an end to the three-quarter mark of the season.

I bring this up because I listen to the top prognosticators, with the usual suspects like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and even Matt Ryan in the discussion for this year’s top individual honor.  All are deserving for the honor at this point of the season, but one player that may be most deserving of the MVP is (drumroll please) Andrew Luck.

Yes, the top-overall pick of NFL Draft this past April.  The man with the biggest shoes to fill coming into the season.  The kid inheriting a team with two or three players the average NFL fan could name before the season.

The Colts are 8-4 and in the playoffs as a Wild Card team.

Andrew Luck is the quarterback of the Colts, who if you remember the worst team in the NFL and at times looked as bad, if not worse than the Detroit Lions team that went 0-16 back in 2008.  Luck has a first time head coach in Chuck Pagano coming into the season and as everyone knows has a much worse task to deal with than designing game-plans for Sundays in battling cancer.

Luck, in his most recent performance, lead the Colts down the field and threw a final play, game-winning touchdown to defeat the Detroit Lions on the road as time expired.

No his numbers  aren’t flashy (13 TD – 13 INT), but it’s more than his numbers.

Let’s start with the 8 wins.

The most wins by a number one pick in NFL history, and he has four more games to play.

In those eight wins, included a 18 point half time deficit to beat Green Bay.  Knock off a playoff contending Minnesota team early in the season.

How about an 8-1 mark in games decided by one possession including overtime.

Finally, who exactly is Andrew Luck playing with?

Reggie Wayne on the outside, age 34, his only veteran target with playoff experience, Pro Bowl experience, and winning experience.

Donnie Avery, T.Y. Hilton are not exactly household names at the receiver position.

Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen the tight ends, both of which are rookies.

Finally, the running game is 17th overall in the NFL at 108 yards per game.  Not exactly getting it done.

Luck does more with less and has his team in playoff contention and they will make it to the AFC Playoffs.  He is also doing it as a rookie with the added pressure of being the league’s top pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and doing so on a team with a new head coach battling cancer.  Luck is doing it when it matters the most in the clutch and has played better than one could have imagined.

Luck for MVP.