Has there ever been a player that was both MVP and comeback player of the year?

[Boltz619]

Hello. As you might have guessed by my username, I'm a Charger fan. However, after the massacre last night I've become a Broncos fan for the remainder of the season. Not because I suddenly care about your team. Rather, I would like to see you guys win the division and have Peyton Manning be both MVP and comeback player of the year just to add icing to the cake.

I wish these things happen because I want to see Norv Turner and AJ Smith fired and humiliated in the worst possible way. I along with most other Charger fans are sick to our stomachs about the direction this team has gone since Marty was fired back in 2007. Norv Turner has always been a crappy coach and yet our "genius" front office decided to hire him and keep him around for 6 seasons.

Norv and AJ Smith have continuously made my Chargers worse every single year. The one aspect of our team that we could previously depend on was Philip Rivers playing well and now he's turned into Jake Delhomme; complete garbage. I wouldn't even care if he was traded and we drafted a new QB at this point since it's clear that Norv has turned him into a bad QB as he's ruined every other aspect of this team.

Norv can't help being Norv though; everyone in the league knew how terrible he was from his previous coaching jobs at Oakland and Washington. They handed the keys to a 14-2 lamborghini over to Norv Turner and he crashed it several times; now it's less valuable than a Pinto.

AJ Smith is the real one responsible as he's responsible for getting Marty fired and supporting Norv all these years because he knows that his job depends on Norv's success; if Norv is a failure and gets fired then AJ Smith knows that he's going with him since he's the one that kicked out Marty after a dominant 14-2 season just because the two of them couldn't get along.

Anyways, sorry for dragging this on, but I just wanted to come here and say that I hope you guys win the division and I wanted to know if it's ever been achieved; a player being both the MVP and the comeback player of the year because I think Manning might be the first to do it if it hasn't already been done. Go broncos!

[Rice Eater]

No it hasn't happened yet and Manning is in a great position to do it this year. The team is 3-3, but his own individual statistics are fantastic. He's on pace for the 2nd best season of his career. If he can keep up those numbers, all he needs then is wins. If the Broncos run the table and go 13-3, he'll definitely win it IMO. That's kind of a long shot, but a minimum of 10 wins will definitely put him in the discussion.

This year there are no really strong contenders, his fellow "Elite QB" like Brees, Brady, and Rodgers are also off to bad starts in the W-L department. His brother Eli is up there, but Peyton's numbers are superior. Ryan is probably the front runner right now, but he's a very weak one. So it's really up for grabs so far this season.

For Manning to win it IMO, he needs to do all of this. Win the division, have a minimum of 11 wins, and have at least 4000+ yards and 30+ TD passes with the stats being probably the easiest to accomplish. And I think the AP will feel compelled to give it to him just because it's such a feel good story because of the situation he came from to get to that point. Well and guys like Ryan, E. Manning, and so on needs to not blow up the rest of the season. But we'll see if everything goes according to plan at the end of the year.

[Awesomo 2000]

I thought that raiders qb got it, around the turn of the century. Gannon, I think?

[Rice Eater]

Rich Gannon won the MVP in 2002, but Comeback player of the year went to Tommy Maddox that year. I'm looking through the Comeback player of the year list and I don't recognize any MVP's on there, going as far back as the 90s anyways. Don't know about anything beyond that. I really don't think it's been done, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

[MileHighInNY]

Ken Anderson, QB for Cincinnati, won both in 1981.

Tom Brady was close--he won Comeback Player in 2009 and the MVP the next season in 2010 (to go with his 2007 MVP).

Rich Gannon won the MVP in 2002 but never won Comeback Player of the Year.

Peyton Manning could be the second player in NFL history to get both awards in the same season, and also the first 5-time MVP (he already has the most in NFL history with 4).

[Boltz619]

No it hasn't happened yet and Manning is in a great position to do it this year. The team is 3-3, but his own individual statistics are fantastic. He's on pace for the 2nd best season of his career. If he can keep up those numbers, all he needs then is wins. If the Broncos run the table and go 13-3, he'll definitely win it IMO. That's kind of a long shot, but a minimum of 10 wins will definitely put him in the discussion.

This year there are no really strong contenders, his fellow "Elite QB" like Brees, Brady, and Rodgers are also off to bad starts in the W-L department. His brother Eli is up there, but Peyton's numbers are superior. Ryan is probably the front runner right now, but he's a very weak one. So it's really up for grabs so far this season.

For Manning to win it IMO, he needs to do all of this. Win the division, have a minimum of 11 wins, and have at least 4000+ yards and 30+ TD passes with the stats being probably the easiest to accomplish. And I think the AP will feel compelled to give it to him just because it's such a feel good story because of the situation he came from to get to that point. Well and guys like Ryan, E. Manning, and so on needs to not blow up the rest of the season. But we'll see if everything goes according to plan at the end of the year.

Yes, I think it's heavily dependent on the record that Atlanta finishes with. If the Falcons keep up their winning streak and end up with 14 or more wins, there's no way that they could give it to Peyton Manning without causing a huge controversy. I expect the Falcons to have a 13-3 season though and if Manning gets at least 11 wins, then he can make a good case for MVP. He'll definitely get comeback player of the year.

[Sitting Down]

Matt Ryan and Eli Manning are the frontrunners.

[Boltz619]

Ken Anderson, QB for Cincinnati, won both in 1981.

Tom Brady was close--he won Comeback Player in 2009 and the MVP the next season in 2010 (to go with his 2007 MVP).

Rich Gannon won the MVP in 2002 but never won Comeback Player of the Year.

Oh, so it's been done already. Thanks for the history lesson. It's kind of funny how the only guy who has ever done it is someone whose name no one remembers.

[Boltz619]

Matt Ryan and Eli Manning are the frontrunners.

Eli Manning winning it is dependent on the Giants record at the end of the season being a good one. I don't see that happening. The Giants tend to have terrible regular season records, although they're amazing in the playoffs.

[TheSheriff]

The only two in the running imo right now with Peyton is Rodgers and Ryan. I think Falcons will finish 12-4 or 13-3, but I don't see Ryan putting up the stats to get it. Packers imo could barely miss the playoffs to run the table (if they stay awake on O they'll win every game, but that only happened once this year). I really do see the bronocs running the table now. Saints is our hardest game left because it can be a shootout, but chargers are toast and ravens without webb, lewis, and maybe suggs is not much of a challenge.

[MileHighInNY]

Oh, so it's been done already. Thanks for the history lesson. It's kind of funny how the only guy who has ever done it is someone whose name no one remembers.

Also interesting is that Ken Anderson actually appears to have had a really good NFL career. This guy might be one of the best players that nobody remembers.

But I agree with your assessment--I had never really heard of him until I started researching this question this morning. I'm sure those who followed football in the '70s and '80s know him, but I was only 7 years old when he retired and the only football team I followed at that time was the Broncos. But I've become a big-time NFL fan and it's amazing that I haven't heard Anderson mentioned more in those NFL history films that are always on.

I'm going to summarize some of the interesting highlights I've found; most of the facts cited below come from Wikipedia (take that for what it's worth), but I have summarized and rewritten them.

Anderson played QB for the Bengals for 16 years! He attended Division III Augustana College, somehow caught the eye of Bill Walsh, and was drafted 67th overall in the 1971 draft by Cincinnati. He ran a 4.7 and could throw the ball 70 yards.

Anderson was limited early in the NFL because he had faced vastly inferior competition in Division III and simply wasn't ready for the play style in the pros. Walsh worked with him intensively, and created a new offensive style to suit his rookie QB's strengths and minimize his weaknesses. Anderson was supposed to be the backup that first year but the Bengals' starter, Virgil Carter, was injured in Game 3 and Anderson had to take over. Thus, Ken Anderson became one of the first QBs to run the West Coast Offense in the NFL. He won only one game that year, but put up decent stats.

After a mediocre 1972 season, the team realized it needed a deep threat and drafted Isaac Curtis in 1973. In 1974, Anderson won the NFL passing title and completed 64.9% of his passes, which was the highest mark in the NFL since Sammy Baugh (who retired in 1952). In 1975 he won the passing title again, putting up a line of 3,169 YDS, 21 TD, 11 INT and led the team to an 11-3 record.

Over the next few years, the team's offensive line was dismantled and became one of the worst in football, and Anderson took around 400 quarterback hits, including 128(!) sacks, in the four seasons between 1977 and 1980. This led to a string of injuries--in 1977 he badly strained and damaged ligaments in his knee, in 1978 he broke his throwing hand in preseason, and in 1979 he re-injured his knee ligaments and suffered a bruised back. During those 4 years, with all those injuries, Ken Anderson missed only 9 games.

In 1979, the Bengals drafted "can't-miss," "once-in-a-generation" uber-prospect Jack Thompson in the first round, with the intent that Thompson would eventually replace Anderson. Obviously, Thompson became a bust (despite the fact that all the draft experts had given him a PERFECT draft grade), but coaches were amazed at how Ken Anderson worked really hard to teach Thompson everything he knew, even though Thompson was meant to replace him.

In 1981, the Bengals drafted Cris Collinsworth at WR, and the offensive line improved drastically (led by Anthony Munoz). Anderson played poorly in the first game and was benched at halftime after throwing 3 INTs and giving teh Seahawks a 21-0 lead; the backup launched a comeback and the Bengals won the game 27-21. Anderson had to talk the coach into giving him the starting job back for Week 2, and rewarded the coach's decision by leading the team to a 12-4 regular-season record and a trip to the SuperBowl, where they lost to Bill Walsh's 49ers (led by young Joe Montana) 26-21. Anderson's 25 completions and 73.5% completion percentage were SuperBowl records at the time. This was the year that Anderson won both Comeback Player of the Year and NFL MVP (over other candidates including Montana and Dan Fouts).

In 1982, Anderson set an NFL record by completing 70.6% of his passes. The Bengals lost to the Jets in the first round of the playoffs.

In 1983, Anderson began a Week 6 game against Pittsburgh a perfect 5 for 5 with 60 yards passing, when in the first quarter, Steelers DE Keith Gary delivered one of the more vicious hits in NFL history, grabbing Anderson by the neck and facemask and slamming the quarterback's head into the ground, ripping the facemask off in the process. Anderson was rushed off the field in fear that his neck was broken. Gary was later fined for the hit, but was allowed to remain in the game (think this would happen today?). Anderson appears to have missed the rest of the season recovering from the injuries sustained in this hit.

The Bengals drafted Boomer Esiason in 1984. Anderson came back from his injury, but was ineffective, and he was benched in favor of Esiason in Week 3. Anderson served as Boomer's backup until 1986, when the team's doctor told him that his condition (from the 1983 injury) continued to deteriorate would risk permanent, disabling injury if he played another year.

Ken Anderson retired after the 1986 season, holding (at the time) NFL records for consecutive pass completions (20), completion percentage for a single game (20 of 22, 90.9%) and completion percentage for a season (70.6% in 1982), as well as the Super Bowl records for completion percentage (73.5%) and completions. Anderson was ranked 6th all-time for passing yards in a career when he retired. He led the NFL in passing yards and completions twice and led the league in fewest interceptions per pass attempt in three separate seasons. He ranks #4 in NFL history for postseason quarterback rating (93.5). He also holds the record for highest career completion percentage in the postseason at 66.3%.


Anderson then went on to coaching positions with the Bengals and Steelers, where (as QB Coach) he coached Roethlisberger to the Pro Bowl and finally earned his own SuperBowl ring with the Steelers in 2009. He retired in 2010.

SOMEHOW, THIS GUY IS NOT IN THE HALL OF FAME! I can't believe this, and think it's basically a travesty. This guy had 16 solid NFL seasons, earned a bunch of records, was by all accounts a nice, team-focused guy... and he's not in Canton.

His final career stats: 4475 attempts, 2654 completions, 59.3 completion percentage, 32,838 passing yards, 7.34 yards/attempt, 197 TDs, 160 INTs, and an 81.9 career passer rating. HOF numbers right there--and he played during the dead ball era! This is crazy.

[Me&theOldMan]

As an "old timer", I remember Anderson quite well... Tough son-of-a-gun... Would never be described as a typical Q-back... Had a lot of times he was just off, but when he was on, man, he was fun to watch... Except when he played the Broncs, then no fun at all...

Great post, MileHigh...

[MarkB]

Peyton Manning AFC Offensive Player of the Week

http://blog.denverbroncos.com/denver...r-of-the-week/

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after completing 24-of-30 passes for 309 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in Denver’s 35-24 comeback win at San Diego.

His 129.0 rating and 80-percent completion rate led all AFC quarterbacks in Week 6 and his three touchdown passes tied for the conference lead.

The weekly honor is the 22nd of Manning’s career, which is the most of any player since the awards originated in 1984.

He has become the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 300 yards with three touchdowns and a 70 percent completion percentage in three consecutive games.


With Monday night’s performance, Manning tied a franchise record with his fourth consecutive game with 300 passing yards.

Leading the Broncos back from a 24-0 deficit at halftime in San Diego, Manning executed his 47th career game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime to tie Dan Marino for the most by a player since the 1970 NFL merger.

Manning is also nominated for this week’s FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week and the team’s historic comeback is up for the GMC’s Never Say Never Moment of the Week.

[VenomousDB]

Woo Go Broncos!! Go Peyton. Lets do this!!!!

[Peerless]

Congrats to P 'MF' M!!