MVP Watch

	Saints quarterback Drew Brees leads the NFL with 3,463 passing yards. US Presswire
	MAILBAG Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

A new feature of the column. For the last six Mondays of the season, I'll give you my MVP ballot if I had to fill it out that day. Could be pretty malleable from week to week. One difference with reality: In the Associated Press ballot I fill out on the day after the regular season, the AP asks for one MVP. I'll give you one through five in my mind.

1. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans. Who'd have thought the Saints, orphans of Katrina a year ago, would be leading the NFC South entering December? Brees is the biggest reason, by far. Here's how to put his year in some perspective. Philip Rivers is having a pretty good year for San Diego, right? Well, Brees has thrown for 1,023 more yards than Rivers. And more than any other quarterback in football by far.

2. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis. Very, very close to Brees. I cannot denigrate Manning in any way. My belief in Brees as being the Saints' savior is the reason why Manning is No. 2, for now.

3. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego. Talk about value. What doesn't Tomlinson do? He runs, he blocks, he catches, he throws. I think he cheerleads in his spare time.

4. Larry Johnson, RB, Kansas City. The Chiefs are 5-1 since they focused on Johnson and started resuscitating their season. Johnson's game-by-game rush totals in those six tilts: 132, 155, 172, 75 (loss to Miami), 154, 157. That is value.

5. Brian Urlacher, LB, Chicago. Among the "rateds,'' he's more under than over.

Stat of the Week

The cause celebre last week in Gotham was Tiki Barber's not-so-veiled criticism of the Giants' coaching staff for giving him the ball only 10 times (for a puny 27 yards) in the Jints' lopsided, Eli Manning-exposing loss to Jacksonville Monday. The city took sides. Either Tom Coughlin and offensive coordinator John Hufnagel were idiots for giving up on their mailcarrier. Or Barber was a mouthy malcontent for again criticizing the playcalling and complaining about not getting the ball enough.

As I said last year, I don't think a player, particularly a respected vet, should tell the press the coaches had a bad night. No good can come of that, except for the back pages of New York tabloids. But facts are facts. It's absolutely wrong for Barber to carry it five times in the first half, even when the Giants were held to 21 plays. For a running back, five carries for 16 yards is the equivalent of a soprano clearing his throat, or David Ortiz swinging and missing the first two pitches he sees on a five-at-bat day.

Entering Sunday's games, nine times in 11 NFL weeks had a back been held to 30 yards or fewer on his first 10 carries ... and then finished with a 100-yard rushing day. Runners like Barber pound and pound, then start to hit the soft spots as the game goes on. Plus, the Giants should be trying to put Manning in less-pressurized situations. Why ask the struggling Manning to go back to pass 42 times out of 56 offensive plays in a game that didn't get out of hand until 12 minutes remained?

Here are the nine backs who recovered from lousy starts to run for 100 yards or more in a game through Week 11: 

Quote of the Week

"I could have thrown those first two. We've got a ways to go here, so put the anointing oil away.''
 -- Dallas coach Bill Parcells, trying to dampen quarterback Tony Romo's five-touchdown performance in a 38-10 win over Tampa Bay.

It's useless, Bill. We know what you're trying to do -- keep the kid humble. Nice try. But we all have eyes, as do you, and we all know Tony Romo is the savior of your season.

Quote of the Week II

"Obviously I made a mistake. And it cost us the game.''
 -- Kiwanuka, who explained after the game that he thought Young threw the ball and thus let him go, fearing that if he sacked Young he would be called for roughing-the-passer, a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down.

Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me

Jacksonville at Buffalo (attendance: 63,608; capacity: 73,967) was the first non-sellout of the season, after 163 straight sellouts to start the year.