Here's a Brady Bunch for NFL fans: Tom Brady received all 50 votes for league MVP.
The New England Patriots quarterback on Sunday became the first unanimous choice for The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award since the news organization began using a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league.
[AP award winners
NFL Network partnered with The Associated Press to exclusively reveal this season's NFL player and coach awards. Below are the winners and when they were announced:
Monday: Defensive Player of the Year
Tuesday: Offensive Player of the Year
( Tom Brady)
Wednesday: Coach of the Year
Friday: Offensive Rookie of the Year
( Sam Bradford), Defensive Rookie of the Year ( Ndamukong Suh)
Saturday: Comeback Player of the Year ( Michael Vick)
Sunday: Most Valuable Player ( Tom Brady)
He surpassed himself, too: In 2007, when Brady won his first MVP award, he received 49 votes; one voter went for Brett Favre.
"It is always flattering to be chosen for such a prestigious award," Brady said. "But I also look at it as a team award, as nothing in football gets accomplished without the mental toughness and determination of every player and coach associated with that team.
"I am very humbled to be a part of an organization where winning comes first, and our goals are based around the success of the team."
Those successes, including three Super Bowl titles in the last 10 years, are in great part due to Brady's excellence.
Although he didn't set nearly as many passing marks as in '07, Brady by far was the league's top performer in leading New England to a 14-2 record, best in the NFL. He had a record streak of 335 throws without being intercepted, and he passed for 36 touchdowns with just four picks. On Tuesday, Brady was selected the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, repeating the award double he first achieved in 2007.
Not that Brady, 33, would compare this season's Patriots to any others.
"Every team every year is different," he said, "and over the course of 100 practices and many games a team establishes its identity. Players change, schemes change, opponents change, which is why the game is so exciting year in and year out.
"The fact that 32 teams start out each year with the same goal is why the popularity of the sport is at an all-time high. The great part about our sport is that nothing comes easy, and wherever you stand at the end of the year is the exact place that you deserve to be."
Individually, Brady stands above all others. The only Patriot to win the award, he and Peyton Manning, his rival for the NFL's best quarterback, have split the past four MVP awards.
Brady joins Manning as a multiple MVP award winner, becoming the eighth player to accomplish the feat and joining Jim Brown, Brett Favre, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Kurt Warner and Steve Young. Manning (2003-04, '08-09) has won it four times, and Brown (1957-58, '65), Favre (1995-97) and Unitas (1959, '64, '67) have won it three times.
Brady followed his previous MVP trophy with a lost season, tearing left knee ligaments in the first half of the 2008 opener. His return in 2009 was solid, although hand and rib injuries slowed him.
This year, even with a sore right foot that required postseason surgery, Brady was simply dynamic. He twice threw for four touchdowns in a game and four times had three. Twelve times, he had a passer rating of at least 100.
Brady, who failed to reach 4,000 passing yards after surpassing the mark three times in the previous five seasons, this season climbed to 19th on the NFL's career passing-yardage list (34,744) and into a tie for 10th, with Dave Kreig, for career touchdown throws (261).
And he guided a young team in transition to 14 victories.
"Brady is so special because he's such a great leader and all the players can relate to him," Patriots owner Robert Kraft said. "These kids (rookies) who come in live in awe of him, but the nice thing is he treats them well.
"He works very hard, he studies very hard," Kraft added. "Being a great quarterback isn't just being very skilled. It's being able to process information quickly, to make the adjustments, and I think he's fabulous at that."
Brady, not surprisingly, has some regrets about 2010.
"When the season is over, 31 teams are disappointed about the outcome," he said. "There is only one champion, and nobody plays this game for second place. The desire and hunger is about winning, which to me never gets old. The motivation to get up and work every day for that goal is something that challenges us all.
"Our team has very high expectations, and our team will come back this year with the same purpose," he said. "Whether or not that leads to a championship season will be determined by the commitment each player makes to do their job as best as they possibly can."
The way Brady does.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
