NFL Player Of The Decade

Welcome to part 2 of the "Player of the Decade" series. The NBA player of the decade was selected, and was given to Los Angeles Lakers star, Kobe Bryant. Today, we recap the NFL's most prolific player that has played throughout the course of the past 10 years.
______________________________________________________________________
The Candidates
Other than quarterbacks, it is almost impossible to think of anybody in any other postion that has had so much of an impact, that they can be considered as the player of the decade. No running backs have been in the league for that long, and still be great. That may be the thing. Because, you see, running backs involve a lot of grueling work, and a lot of careers fade off after the player turns around 28. That is pretty much the same deal with defensive positions. The only two positions in the league where players past 35 can still have really good success, is a quarterback and a placekicker, and a placekicker shouldn't really be considered as a player of the decade. Please.

It is almost no doubt that when thinking player of the decade, a quarterback has got to be chosen. It's the sad truth, but nonetheless, it is the truth. For the MVP, you barely don't see a quarterback chosen because of the fact that quarterbacks are given the utmost respect for their hard work and dedication. They are really the heart and sole of a lot of teams, given loads of responsibilites.

Brett Favre could be a candidate, but he hasn't really been that great of a quarterback over the past decade to be chose as the QB of the deacde.

With that being said, if you are given 2 candidates to choose for NFL player of the decade, most likely, at least 8 times out of 10, you will get Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
______________________________________________________________________
The Statistics
Peyton Manning (up until the start of the '09 season) : 102 wins, 43 losses, 37 754 passing yards, 281 touchdowns, 122 interceptions, 98.4 QB rating
Tom Brady (up until the start of the '09 season) : 88 wins, 45 losses, 26 466 passing yards, 197 touchdowns, 86 interceptions, 87.2 QB rating

It is extremely clear the Manning is the better quarterback, except for when it comes to interceptions, where Brady has nearly 40 fewer INT's. However, in every other statistical category, #18 reigns. Now, I'm not making any excuses for Tom Brady, but one must note that in the 2000 season, Brady was just a rookie and didn't play a full season, playing only 1 game, and in the 2008 season, Brady went down with a season-ending injury before the full duration of the first game of the year. That is 30 games missed, which can account for a lot.

Just like the Bryant-Duncan match-up, Brady and Manning have a lot of hardware. Peyton Manning has won 3 MVPs and 1 Super Bowl. Tom Brady has won 1 MVP and 3 Super Bowls. Yet again, just like the Bryant-Duncan discussion, the difference between MVPs and Super Bowls between these two are identical (3 MVPs and 1 MVP is 2 - 3 Super Bowls and 1 Super Bowl is 2.)

How do they do for the team? Well, let's take a look. In 2006, the Colts went 13-0, before losing their first game of the year. In 2007, the Patriots went a perfect 16-0, and even went to the Super Bowl, where the fell to the heavily unfavoured New York Giants, in one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. The Colts also went undefeated this year, where they went 14-0, until they lost to the Jets this past Sunday in a questionable decision by first-year head coach Jim Caldwell to pull the starters in the 3rd quarter.

However, the Colts hold the record for consecutive regular season wins with 23, topping the previous record set by the Patriots last year, winning 21 in a row.
____________________________________________________________________
The Verdict
If you were to tell me to pick a player based on my liking, I would say Tom Brady in a hurry because he is one of my most favourite players in the league. However, that would be a biased opinion. Truthfully, despite my temptations, I pick Peyton Manning as the best player the NFL has seen in the past decade. However, it is the of the slimmest hairline away that he beats out Tom Brady. Really, this one is one of the hardest sports questions to answer. He's just brought more year-to-year success, throwing for over 4000 yards for most of the decade. He is more careless with the ball, averaging over 13 INT's a year, while Brady's only averaged 9, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he is a game changer. Even given Brady's potential to change a game, which he does, Manning brings more to the table when it comes to mentality.

Manning definitely brings a more tough, mental attitude to the game and makes all his players better. A perfect example would be this year, when Marvin Harrison decided to forego a retirement, taking away Peyton Manning's favourite receiver. Also, Anthony Gonzalez, who was a up and coming receiver who came out of his shell last year, went down with a season-ending injury. Even though he had Reggie Wayne, he used receivers that weren't all that known throughout the league at all, like Pierre Garcon, and made them into fabulous receivers.

So congratulations go to Peyton Manning, who is crowned as being the decade's best athlete in the NFL.

NBA Player Of The Decade

The decade is nearing its end, and it has been 10 years of basketball excitement. Years of glorious players, teams, and plays have all come to an end as the 2000's is in the books. However, through all of these years, there have been a few elite players that have come as their own, sitting atop basketball's throne. Who is the player of the decade?
____________________________________________________________________
The Candidates
When you look at today's game, the way it stands, there have been quite a few players that people would label as the game's best players. You have LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, and Dwayne Wade. Those 4 are the game's biggest names. They sell jerseys, win games, and bring huge success to their teams.

As much as that is true, 3 of the 4 players (Dwight Howard, LeBron James, and Dwayne Wade) weren't around for the full decade, as James and Wade were drafted in 2003, and Howard entered the league in 2004.

So, take them out of the equation. That leaves Kobe Bryant. However, not just only Kobe, but quite a few players who aren't the game's biggest names today, but sure have dominated over the course of this decade.

After rounding down candidates, I am left with two players in mind that qualify for the player of the decade: Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan.
____________________________________________________________________
The Numbers
Kobe Bryant - 28.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 5.1 assists
Tim Duncan - 21.2 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 3.3 assists

From those statistics, it's quite clear that Kobe Bryant beats Tim Duncan in the scoring category, which fits Kobe's portfolio, and Tim Duncan leads the two big time when it comes to rebounds, which makes sense as well. The assists are definitely a bit closer, but Kobe edges Tim out by about 2 dimes a game.

Those are their statistics in terms of their contributions on the court. How about the hardware?

Kobe Bryant - 4 NBA titles and 1 MVP
Tim Duncan - 3 NBA titles and 2 MVPs

Kobe is one up on Tim when it comes to the NBA championships, but Duncan has Kobe's number with 1 more MVP.
____________________________________________________________________
The Verdict
This is definitely a tough question. They both brought perennial success for their teams during this decade, and both have had a spectacular decade. However, if I were to choose one, it should be Kobe Bryant. This is only because of the fact that he has had consistency over the past decade. He has always had an amazing season, for 10 straight years, while Duncan has fallen off a bit over the past couple of seasons. If Tim were to continue the consistent play that he had for about 8 years, then this would be so hard that I most likely would've given it to both. Not only that, but Kobe Bryant is somewhat of a fierce warrior. He yells at his guys to play better. He punishes himself if he has an off game. He is loud about his opinions of what's happening on the court. Tim Duncan has always been known as a quiet guy.

So, with that being said NBA's player of the decade for the 2000's is shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant.