It’s on now.
The Jay Cutler-for-MVP talk, that is. The bandwagon is rolling, the karma is flowing and the media is fawning.
At least that’s the perception in some circles. To me, it’s a matter of common sense.
In case you haven’t noticed, the usual list of MVP suspects has dwindled a bit in the past few weeks. Tom Brady is gone for the season, Peyton Manning is struggling to get in sync with his receivers, and LaDainian Tomlinson is hobbling around on a sore toe.
None of those three is going to be MVP. Since that’s the case, why not Cutler? Sure, it’s only three games into things, but he has to be on the short list.
What, he’s suddenly going to start throwing interceptions left and right? The Broncos are going to go to the single wing, a la the Dolphins in their win over the Patriots? Mike Shanahan is going to rediscover the wonders of the fullback dive?
No. Cutler is going to keep throwing it to Brandon Marshall and everyone else in sight until the Broncos win or lose in the playoffs. In the process, he’s going to put up huge stats and win a lot of big games.
Isn’t that what MVPs do? Look, I know this all sounds a little crazy, a quarterback who lost 12 of his first 21 career starts winning the MVP award, but everything about the NFL is crazy these days.
Fact is, Brady’s knee injury turned the league upside down. It made contenders out of teams seemingly in transition mode, the Broncos among them. That being the case, Cutler is a candidate for MVP.
Question is, three games into things, is he the leading candidate? If you said yes, you won’t get any arguments here.
Follow Jim Armstrong’s sports updates on The Jimmy Page at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. And read his columns on Sundays at .
He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
