Ok so Matthew Stafford won't be playing in the Pro Bowl, so what. It in no way takes away from the season he's had, or the post season that he may have in the coming weeks.

    Yes it would have been a great honor for him to have been named to the Pro Bowl, but in the end that game isn't important to anything other than the pocketbooks of the players who earn a bonus for making the team.

    Sure Stafford has 10 more touchdowns, two less interceptions, several less fumbles and a higher quarterback rating than a certain New York quarterback that did make the team, but ultimately it doesn't matter.

Eli made the team, mostly because his brother didn't. The NFL couldn't allow neither Manning to suit up in Hawaii. OK so I don't really believe that it's some NFL conspiracy that kept Stafford from becoming the first Detroit Lions quarterback to be named to the Pro Bowl since Greg Landry in 1971.

    That has much more to do with Eli playing in New York, which is a huge market, and Stafford playing in Detroit which has been where quarterbacks go to die for the last 40 plus years.

    The NFL uses a simple formula to select the Pro Bowl rosters, the players, coaches and fans each get an even one-third of the vote, so the fan base matters significantly, and the Giants have a much larger fanbase than the Lions.

    Stafford needs just over 270 yards — a total he has eclipsed 10 times already this season — to become only the fifth player in league history to pass for more than 4,800 yards in a season, though he is a distant third in the passing yardage competition this season behind the Saints Drew Bree's and the Patriot's Tom Brady. Both of whom may end up with more yards than Dan Marino's previous single season record.

    Stafford has plenty of time to rack up the Pro Bowl appearances in the future, remember he is just 23, and the scary thing is that this is really his first full season in the league, playing just 13 games his first two seasons, including just three last year.

    Besides, Stafford might not be available for the Pro Bowl anyway if he keeps playing like he has the past few weeks. He may just be preparing for the game that really matters, and if not the odds are that he will be the quarterback that is picked to replace whichever of Brees or Aaron Rodgers that isn't available for the same reason we can hope that Stafford himself isn't.

The Big 10 and the Pac-12 have been working together in one way or another since 1949, though the Pac-12 has undergone several name changes along the way.

The primary way in which they have worked together is by having a tie-in contract with the Rose Bowl for the champions of each conference to play in the traditional New Year's Day game. Teams from the two conference's have played in the Rose Bowl 62 times.

On Dec. 28 the two conferences announced that they will be working together in all new ways starting with the 2012 season. The conferences will cross promote each other on their own television networks, and work together to cross schedule non-conference games. The new agreement extends beyond the athletic realm, setting up cultural and academic exchanges between the 24 institutions that encompass the two conferences.

The Big 10 has had the BTN network on the air for four years, the Pac-12 will launch its own network in Aug.

"It's sort of in lieu of what some other people are doing (with expansion)," Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement.

"Our idea is you can't stand still. You have to build in an environment where people are competing for attention, where they're competing to have the best competitive assets and to present themselves in the best way. I think both of us believe … this is the most constructive way for us to do that."

By 2017 each football team in both conferences will have at least one non-conference game against the other conference. The schedules have to wait until then due to contracts already in place for games with other schools.

Basketball and football are the primary sports involved. It is being considered that some of the games will be nationally hyped up, and potentially played in surrounding NFL and NBA arenas to allow for extra ticket sales and promotional deals to be struck.

Don't do this to me, Dave.

I am one of the biggest Matthew Stafford slappies/apologists that you will find, but I cannot go with you on this.

Stafford has been good this year and very good at times. His ability to stay on the field despite taking some monster hits this season is a welcome site as he has shown that he can take a major NFL hit without succumbing to his regularly-scheduled injury.

I would go so far as to say that he is the best of the current crop of young NFL quarterbacks.

Matt Ryan - Personal preference here. Ryan has been more than solid since coming into the league, but with the amount of weapons he has around him, I can't say that he is a better player than Stafford. The nods he would have (and rightfully so) over Stafford are his durability and wins. That being said, for argument's sake, I will take Stafford.

Joe Flacco - Again, he has Stafford in the win department, but I don't think anyone will confuse him with anything but a painfully average quarterback. Too ineffective too often to be put in the same sentence as Stafford.

Josh Freeman - Very disappointing season for Freeman. While I didn't necessarily buy the Bucs' 10-6 record last season, I don't think anyone could have predicted them being 4-10 through 14 games. 13 touchdowns and 18 interceptions aren't going to get it done. I believe he will bounce back and be an effective NFL quarterback, but I don't see him eclipsing 30 touchdowns and 4,000 yards anytime soon.

Sam Bradford - Big step back this season. He has either been banged up or sporting a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face for most of the season. I personally think the kid will bounce back with some time to heal and an off-season to become more acclimated with mid-season acquisition Brandon Lloyd, but until then, the jury is out.

Mark Sanchez - No. I don't care if he's having his best season (which still pales in comparison to Stafford's). The answer is no.

Tim Tebow - Stop it.

Excluding rookie quarterbacks (Cam Newton...scary good), Stafford has a foothold near the top of this young group.

But NFL MVP? Meh...

Stats are important in this discussion, but not as important as asking one simple question: What would this team do without him?

The problem is that we have already seen what this team can do without him. Last season, the Lions finished 6-10 with Shaun Hill at the helm for most of the season. That is not a record to hang your hat on, but ask fans in Indy how six wins would feel right about now.

Actually...scratch that. Don't ask them. You're not getting Andrew Luck with six wins...

Yes, the Lions seem like a strong bet to reach 10 wins this season, which is an incredible feat for the perennial cellar-dwellers. This four-game swing is impressive, but his absence would not be as significant as the absence of one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks (which he is not...yet).

Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady are in the same class as the ultimate point-prover for this argument: Peyton Manning.

These guys are more than quarterbacks. They change plays in the huddle more times than Willie Beamen in Any Given Sunday. They are the offensive coordinators of their team and good ones at that.

It is because of these players that teams can win with porous defenses and below-average running games. They defy all previous football logic and the game has changed because of it.

Statistically, it's hard to give him the nod when he is not leading his conference in any category and his team is 9-5 without a playoff spot locked up. His stats are solid and Pro Bowl-worthy, but not MVP-worthy.

Besides...when you have two guys chasing Marino's yardage record and another chasing Manning's QB rating record, it's not your year to win this award.

Five players I feel are more deserving of the MVP:

Aaron Rodgers - He was not spectacular one time this season...and they lost to the Chiefs.
Drew Brees - He would also get my vote as "Coolest guy in NFL."
Tom Brady - He wins DESPITE that block of Swiss cheese the Pats call a defense.
Marshawn Lynch - Try to argue with me if they somehow win out and sneak into the playoffs. Skittles are not good for your teeth...unless you have a grill. Then you're OK. BEAST MODE!
Ray Rice - The only guy resembling an offensive player on the entire Baltimore roster. 1,700+ yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns is hard to argue with.

There is no question that Stafford's health and play this season have been important components of Detroit's success this season, but until he enters the realm of Brees-Rodgers-Brady-Manning, he is simply fighting for a spot in the next tier.

Simply put, he's not there yet. As valuable as he is to the Lions, the players mentioned are more valuable to theirs.

Overall, while I don't feel he is worthy of MVP consideration, a season ending with a Pro Bowl bid (he should get in as the 3rd NFC QB over Eli), a playoff appearance and the best stats of any Lions' quarterback in history should be reason enough for Detroit fans to be happy.

Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford
delivers a pass during their preseason
 game against the Cincinnati Bengals at
 Ford Field, Friday August 12, 2011.
(Photo By: Vaughn Gurganian)

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is not yet an elite quarterback.

He may never reach that status.

That however doesn't take away from him being the most valuable player in the league. Remember folks the vote is for most valuable, not best player. No team relies on any one guy more than the Lions rely on Stafford.

Case in point, the Lions suffered through a terrible stretch while Stafford was injured, proving his worth. Ironically since he chose to try to play through the injury he have have cost himself any real consideration for the award due to the abysmal numbers put up during that stretch.

The case for Stafford includes his numbers, which are actually pretty good. He is fifth in the league in passer rating (93.8) among QB's that have started every game so far this season. He's seventh in completion percentage, fifth in total yards (4,145), fourth in touchdowns (33) thrown--though admittedly he has the most interceptions thrown among the top five in TD's thrown as well, but most of his 14 came during that streak of games when he was injured, he had thrown just three in the first half of the season, and three more since the injury.

So he's put up these numbers, but he has a great offensive line, and a few pro-bowl running backs to help the cause right?

Umm..... No.

Stafford has been sacked 32 times this season, which is among the most in the league, so while the line is improved over years gone by, it is by no means good.

Then there is the running game, it's terrible. Jahvid Best is our for the season, Jerome Harrison has a tumor and is done for at least the season, maybe longer. Mikel Leyshore tore his achilles heal before the season even started, and present starting running back, Kevin Smith, is not only injured, but wasn't even in the league a month ago.

But the defense is what's helping them win games right? It can't be Stafford.

Wrong again, the vaunted defense that the Lions were supposed to have is giving up nearly 24 points per game, which is 10th worst in the league. Several time this year Stafford has had to lead the team to 15-20 point second half comebacks, not because the offense had played bad, but because the defense had put them in a large hole.

So how else have the Lions gotten to 10 wins?

Behind the arm of Matthew Stafford, sure he has the best wide receiver in football to throw it to, but he still has to make the throws.

I'm sure that either Aaron Rogers or Drew Brees will win the league's MVP award, but let's be honest, neither of their teams rely on them as much as the Lions do on Stafford. Sure the Packers and Saints would be worse teams without their QB's but not terrible. Without Stafford the Lions are a 3-4 win team. With him they have a chance to hit 11 wins and make the play-offs.

That's why Stafford is the MVP, without him the Lions are still five years or more away from being a good team, with him they are good now.