Brady or Vick for MVP?

The race for the Most Valuable Player in the NFL has come down between Tom Brady and Michael Vick. Cases can be made for either why they should deserve the honor of being the MVP, Brady has led a team of (with all due respect) nobodies to the best record in the NFL and the highest scoring offense in the NFL. Vick has had an unbelievable comeback season after being in prison for dogfighting for two years and being after coming back #2 on the depth chart behind Kevin Kolb coming back and joining the Eagles this season. 

Brady, started the season off slow (by Brady standards), losing 14-28 to the big mouth J-E-T-S. He then lost one of his biggest weapons, Randy Moss in a trade to the Vikings (who was later cut) then losing 14-34 to the lowly 5-10 Cleveland Browns. But after that, Tom Brady has been on fire since then, with his team being undefeated  after the loss and and he's done it in style, scoring over 30 points in every game after losing to the Browns.

Brady has also been breaking all kinds of records this season. He broke Brett Favre's 25 straight home wins  against the Colts. The last time Brady's lost at home was in 2006 against the Jets. Although he's been lucky with some dropped picks, he set a record for seven straight games with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Another, more impressive record though is 308 pass attempts without an interception. 308, are you kidding me?

Brady also at the end of the Pro-Bowl fan voting was the leading vote getter and will be the starter for the AFC in the Pro Bowl.

The man second to Brady and who was leading the fan vote at one point was no other than Michael Vick. 

The fans know just how impressive Vick's season has been. As we all know, Michael Vick had two years prior to this season been in jail for illegal dogfighting. After McNabb had been traded to the Redskins, Kevin Kolb was named as the starter and Vick as number two. After Kolb suffered a concussion in the opener, Vick had his chance to play and had a quarterback rating of over 100 for the first time since 2006. He had arguably the best game of his career on Monday Night with everyone watching, throwing for 333 yards and 4 touchdowns. Vick also rushed for 80 yards and two more touchdowns, accounting for 6 touchdowns total. After the game, the Hall-of-Fame asked for Vick's jersey to be put up on display as Vick became the only player to throw for three touchdowns and run for two more in the first half of a game. The Eagles blew out the Redskins 59-28 in that game against former quarterback Donovan McNabb. 

Vick had an impressive stretch as he didn't throw a pick until week 12. His playing style has also changed and has become more of a pocket passer and has stepped up, reading defenses and has gone away from a run first mentality after feeling pressure and has been keeping his eyes down the field for a big play. Vick on week 15 led the Eagles to what some are calling "The Miracle at the Meadowlands 2" and one of the most impressive comeback victories in recent memory as Vick led the Eagles down from a 21 point deficit in the fourth quarter to win the game on a DeSean Jackson punt return for a TD as the game ended. 

Vick has had a very impressive run this season and is very deserving of an MVP title, but he also had his worst game of the season in week 16 and lost to rookie backup quarterback Joe Webb of the Vikings. As that game is fresh in people's mind, Brady will, pending a huge game for Vick or an awful game for Brady, Brady will end up winning the MVP title. That's no knock on Brady though, he had a great season, definitely one of the best of his career, but Vick playing the way he has and being one of the best stories this season is also deserving of the award.

The 'Rome Zone'

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson (89) catches a 10-yard touchdown pass against San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver (27) in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 26, 2010, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Al Behrman) Buy Photo

The Bengals won only their 4th game of the season and it was against a legitimate playoff contender--that was until the Bengals knocked them out of playoff contention. A week after the Bengals put an end to their 10 game losing streak that began with the team that started it, the Browns, the Bengals rallied and came out on top against a San Diego team fighting for a playoff berth.

For the Bengals, the win means nothing for the season, but everything for the players. The biggest story of the day may not have been the huge upset the Bengals achieved (Chargers having the #2 offense and #1 defense), it was that they did it with out Batman and Robin, or by their secret identities, Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. T.O's season ended with a torn meniscus in the knee, just 17 yards short of his 10th career season of 1,000 yards or more and with 9 touchdowns. Ochocinco had a foot injury and didn't play. No, instead the Bengals and Carson Palmer did it with 'Rome and Bubba. AKA Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell.

Jerome Simpson had his breakout game of his career on Sunday. He was drafted in the second round of the 2008 draft and is everything you want in an NFL receiver. He ran track in college, so you know he's fast, tall at 6'2 and he's got big hands, huge actually at 10.38" hands. But for some reason prior to this season, he had only made one catch for two yards and been inactive for most of his three year career in the NFL, not even in pads. He was called a bust by many a Bengal fan and many didn't think he could ever earn a starting job in the NFL.

This all changed on Sunday when Jerome Simpson had his breakout game with 6 receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Jerome Simpson proved to everyone on Sunday exactly why he was drafted in the second round. He looked like a veteran out there making play after play. He scored his first touchdown of his career at the corner of the end zone of what Simpson calls, "The 'Rome Zone". You throw it up there, and the ball is his. The Bengals tried a similar play last week against the Browns to Ochocinco, Carson made a perfect throw and it went right through Chad's hands and hit his facemask.

Jerome Simpson may just be the future for the Bengals, but we need to see consistency from 'Rome. A week before he had 2 catches for 30 yards, but he was only thrown to three times and was held in the end zone on a comeback route. The Bengals have a decision to make this offseason if they want to keep Ochocinco on a $6 million option or go with the young guys in Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell. They both proved they can be starters in back to back weeks. They both have been buried in the depth chart behind the veterans, T.O and Ochocinco. Sunday in Baltimore may be Chad's last game as a Cincinnati Bengal if they don't decide to pick up his option. It's easier to predict a perfect NCAA March Madness bracket than what Mike Brown and the Bengals do in the offseason.

Welcome to 'The Breakdown'

Welcome to 'The Breakdown'. This is a little sports blog that I've started to give my opinions on news going on in the sports world.
The blog will be primarily focused on football and in particular, the Cincinnati Bengals. But I will definitely be covering "big" stories that go around the sports world.
I figure the best way to get started is to just jump right into it, so let's do it.