Time to Ram-ble About the MVP

Finally, after 16 long weeks of waiting for cream to rise to the top, and then watching it freeze in Cincinnati and Minnesota, the field for the 2001 NFL most-valuable-player award has been narrowed to eight. How the tournament plays out from here:

QUARTERFINALS

* Kurt Warner (St. Louis) vs. Kordell Stewart (Pittsburgh).

On the marquee: Starting quarterbacks for the winningest teams in each conference.

On the field: Stewart is here because someone from the Steelers has to--and he did manage to keep things together while Jerome Bettis was sidelined for a month. No need to bore you with the statistical mismatch, except for this: Warner has thrown for more than twice as many touchdowns, 33-14.

Turning point: Stewart drafted ahead of Warner in zero fantasy leagues.

Winner: Warner.

* Brett Favre (Green Bay) vs. Rich Gannon (Oakland).

On the marquee: Best 30-something quarterbacks in the game.

On the field: Total passing yards a virtual dead heat--3,606 for Favre, 3,604 for Gannon. Favre has thrown for four more touchdowns (30-26) and won one more game (11-10).

Turning point: Down the stretch, when it matters most, Gannon’s Raiders have lost two in a row and three of their last five.

Winner: Favre.

* Michael Strahan (New York Giants) vs. Brian Urlacher (Chicago).

On the marquee: Defensive players of the year.

On the field: Strahan needs half a sack to tie Mark Gastineau’s single-season record of 22. Urlacher did everything, including catching game-winning touchdown passes, for a Bear team that still could finish as the NFC’s No. 1 seeded team.

Turning point: The name of the award is “most valuable” and Urlacher is the best player on the most unlikely 12-game winner in memory. The Giants would have missed the playoffs with or without Strahan.

Winner: Urlacher.

* Marshall Faulk (St. Louis) vs. Curtis Martin (New York Jets).

On the marquee: All-purpose all-stars.

On the field: Faulk is the reigning champion, last season’s MVP, with winning-type numbers again: 1,214 rushing yards, 78 receptions and 20 touchdowns. Martin, with 1,455 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, has dragged the Jets kicking and screaming to 9-6.

Turning point: If the Jets lose to the Raiders today, which is probable, and the Seahawks defeat the Chiefs, which is probable, Martin will miss the playoffs.

Winner: Faulk.

SEMIFINALS

* Warner vs. Favre

On the marquee: Top guns.

On the field: Neither of their teams would be anywhere near the playoffs without them. Favre is the first quarterback to pass for more than 3,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons; Warner is at 4,550 and counting, with a 67.8 completion percentage and the highest quarterback rating (101.3) in the league.

Turning point: Favre followed up two victories over the Bears with losses to Atlanta and Tennessee, probably costing the Packers the NFC Central title.

Winner: Warner.

* Urlacher vs. Faulk

On the marquee: NFC championship game preview.

On the field: In his second season, Urlacher is already drawing comparisons to Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary. With 79 yards today against Atlanta, Faulk will become the first player to amass 2,000 rushing/receiving yards in four consecutive seasons.

Turning point: Moot. Defensive players never win this award.

Winner: Faulk.

FINAL

* Warner vs. Faulk

On the marquee: Intrasquad scrimmage.

On the field: Whom would the Rams most miss? Without Faulk, who sat out two games because of a knee injury, the Rams went 1-1, losing at home to New Orleans, then routing the Jets as Faulk’s replacement, Trung Canidate, rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns.

Without Warner, the Rams would start Jamie Martin.

Turning point: Faulk won this award last year even though Donovan McNabb was more deserving. He has his. And, I repeat: Jamie Martin?

Winner: Warner. And this would be good for the game. An MVP award usually means a salary bump, which means Warner won’t need to film any more Chunky Soup ads. He wins, we win.

Top 10 Names the Pro Bowl Forgot

Just like computers, humans are fallible too ...

1. Mike Brown, Chicago: Two mind-blowing, season-saving, league-altering overtime interception returns in back-to-back games ought to be worth something.

2. Troy Brown, New England: Tom Brady made the AFC roster, much to the consternation of Tennessee Titan fans grousing about Steve McNair’s career season going ignored. I have no problem with Brady on the squad, but somebody had to be catching all those passes. In 15 games, Brown had 95 of them.

3. Hines Ward, Pittsburgh: The single-season pass-reception leader in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Think about that for a moment.

4. Phillip Daniels, Chicago: Lost out to Robert Porcher, who plays defensive end for the Detroit Lions. Think about that for a moment.

5. Torry Holt, St. Louis: More receptions, yards and touchdowns than teammate Isaac Bruce, who made the cut.

6. Takeo Spikes, Cincinnati: He blames his snub on his being a Bengal. What can you say? He’s absolutely right.

7. Leonard Davis, Arizona: Massive interior lineman might be the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year. But, he plays for the Cardinals, and they already had David Boston on the NFC squad.

8. Tony Richardson, Kansas City: Lost out to Buffalo’s Larry Centers, who broke the record for all-time receptions by a running back, and voters figured that deserved a lifetime achievement award.

9. Fred Beasley, San Francisco: Should have been the NFC fullback, but that spot went to Tampa Bay’s Mike Alstott, who actually plays tailback for the Buccaneers and wound up the fourth-leading vote-getter among fans. Yeah, top four players in football: Favre, Warner, Faulk and Alstott. Sounds about right.

10. Mike Barrow, New York Giants: The Giants deserved a linebacker on the NFC roster, just not Jessie Armstead and his 11/2 sacks.