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Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks couldn't have picked a better time to have an outstanding season.  Not only did he help the Seahawks make it to the postseason, but he was also named the NFL's Most Valuable Player.  The six-year veteran out of Alabama will be a free agent at the end of the season and stands to be rewarded with a lucrative multi-million dollar contract for the huge numbers he posted this year.  The only thing that remains to be seen is whether he will get the money from the Seahawks, or if another franchise will outbid the Seattle organization for Alexander's services.

Alexander rushed for a total of 1,880 yards on 370 attempts this season.  That averages out to a very impressive 5.08 yards per carry.  He broke the 100-yard barrier in 11 of the team's 16 games, and had a season-high of 173 yards back in Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals.  His lowest total came in Week 13 against the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Seahawks were well out in front in that game and the outcome was never in doubt, so Alexander didn't play very much.  He rushed for only 49 yards on 19 carries, but still managed to score two touchdowns in that time.  

In addition, Alexander rushed for more than 150 yards on three different occasions, and averaged a whopping 117.5 yards per game.  This was enough to edge out Tiki Barber of the New York Giants for the NFL rushing title.  Barber put forth a monster effort in his last game of the season, gaining 203 yards on 28 carries, but he finished just shy of Alexander with a total of 1,860 yards.

Even more impressive than Alexander's total yards was the number of touchdowns he scored this season.  Alexander put up 27 rushing touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown to set an NFL record for most in a season.  The previous record was held by Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs, who set the old mark in 2003 with 27 rushing touchdowns alone.  Alexander was held out of the end zone only twice all season:  once in Week One by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then again in Week 7 by the Dallas Cowboys.  He finished the season by scoring touchdowns in nine straight games.  In addition, Alexander had an incredible total of eight multi-touchdown games, and scored 4 touchdowns in a game two different times this year.  

Alexander's main competition in the MVP race was Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.  Manning, who had won the MVP award in the two previous years, led the Colts to a 13-0 start before finishing the season with a 14-2 record.  His passer rating of 104.1 was tops in the league, and his 305 completions for 3,747 yards and 28 touchdowns put him near the top in the other important quarterback stat categories as well.  

Many analysts and fans were both surprised and disappointed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady didn't get much recognition from voters.  Brady, who twice has been named the Super Bowl MVP but has failed to garner the regular season award, had one of the best years of his career.  He threw for 4,110 yards, which far surpassed his previous best of 3,764 yards, and had 26 touchdowns versus just 14 interceptions.  Brady's passer rating on the year was 92.3, which was just .3 shy of tying his career-best.  More importantly, Brady was the glue that held the New England team together when the squad was ravaged by injuries during the regular season.  Brady consistently stepped up as the leader of the team, and is largely responsible for the Patriots making it back to the postseason with a 10-6 record despite starting out at a mediocre 4-4.  Even after all that, Brady received just one first-place vote in MVP balloting.

Nevertheless, there can be no question that Alexander deserves the MVP award as much as anyone for his stellar season.  Now the only thing left for him to do is continue putting up the same big numbers in the playoffs in the hopes of leading the Seahawks to the ultimate goal, which of course is a Super Bowl appearance and the Vince Lombardi trophy.  Seattle will play its first postseason game on either January 14 or 15, depending on the outcome of other games.