Hall of Famer Troy Aikman says any talk of Drew Brees as an MVP candidate is ridiculous considering the Saints are 6-5

Thanks to Troy Aikman for declaring Drew Brees unworthy of MVP consideration unless his team improves greatly.

Aikman expressed his firm disagreement when FOX threw a graphic up on the screen during the Seahawks-Cowboys telecast yesterday declaring Drew Brees, Kurt Warner and Clinton Portis top MVP candidates in the NFL.

This isn’t baseball, where a guy can hit .390 with 68 homers and win the MVP on a crappy club. In the NFL, if your team misses the playoffs, how good are you, really?

Joe, too, was extremely annoyed by all the recent chatter pimping Drew Brees for MVP, especially the ramblings out of New Orleans, where they are still bitter Brees lost out on the MVP award to LaDainian Tomlinson back in 2006.

Sure, Tomlinson was marvelous that season with 1,815 rushing yards and a league-record 31 touchdowns, 28 of them rushing. And the Chargers went 14-2. But if a degree can be placed on the level of marvelous-ness, and at the risk of sounding a tad too provincial, I’d have taken Brees’ year over Tomlinson’s, given where the Saints came from and where the Chargers (who were 9-7 the previous year) came from.

The 2008 Saints are 6-5. That’s 6-5. Joe reminds you they are 6-5.

If the Bucs can force Brees into throwing a couple of picks and beat the Saints on Sunday, that will all but wipe Brees off the MVP radar. That would be a beautiful thing. 

On the subject of MVPs, the NFL hasn’t had its MVP come from the defensive side of the ball since Lawrence Taylor in 1986. It’s about time that changed.

Here’s a nod for Barrett Ruud, if the Bucs are 12-4 or better, finish as the No. 1 ranked defense, and Ruud can finish in the top 5 tackles and add to his interception total.