Please Stop With the "Manning for MVP" BS

There have been some people suggesting that Peyton Manning deserves MVP votes this season despite not having played a single down.

NFL Magazine, a league-owned publication, went a step further and actually named Peyton their MVP.

[Editor's note: this is ridiculous for a few reasons: 1. The season is only 75% over; 2. It's a slap in the face to every player that actually PLAYED this year. I digress.]

Here are three questions / answers that I hope will stop this push.

-Would anyone vote for a retired player in any sport to win MVP? No, because it's nonsensical. In 1997-98, Michael Jordan led the Bulls to a 62-20 record and won his sixth NBA title. He retired immediately thereafter. The following year, Chicago went 13-37 in a lockout shortened season. Did everyone realize how great MJ was? Sure. Did anyone suggest Jordan for MVP? Of course not.

In 1998, John Elway led the Broncos to a 14-2 record and a Super Bowl title. He retired immediately thereafter. The following year, Denver went6-10 and missed the playoffs. Did everyone realize how great Elway was? Sure. Did anyone suggest he win the MVP? Of course not.

Manning should be treated like a retired player. We understand he's great, but that doesn't mean he's the MVP.

No one is arguing Manning is a great player; he's just not the 2011 MVP

-Do you realize how terrible the combination of Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter, and Dan Orlovsky are at this point in their careers? The fact that Orlovsky could become the first player ever to start more than five games at quarterback for two different teams that went 0-16 summarizes it nicely. Collins was a very good quarterback at one time in his career. That time is not now. Curtis Painter has hair that hundreds of men would kill for, but unfortunately he's useless as a quarterback.

-Was this team in decline already before Peyton's injury? This team doesn't go 0-12 to start the year with Manning at the helm. That much is obvious. However, the team was trending downward for the last two seasons (admittedly, they did make the playoffs in both seasons), and the roster was aging. It is impossible to say what Indy's record would have been with Peyton, but with the way Houston is playing, it's not outrageous to think they would have missed the playoffs even with Peyton. Would anyone vote for him as the MVP if the Colts were 6-6 right now? Highly doubtful.

The best way to end this debate would be for the Colts to draft Andrew Luck and keep the rest of the roster largely intact. Then, with Manning starting under center next year, working with the same guys, we would be able to see how much of a difference he actually makes.

What does everyone else think?