default-cbs-image

Cam Newton has dabbed all the way up to No. 2 in this week's MVP Projection. Newton's "Dab" dance has taken the country by storm this week. 

Some people love it. 

Some people hate it. 

Some people want him to dab even more. 

And then some people write letters to their local papers to complain about it. 

Whoever wrote that letter obviously wants Newton to be sad because Newton said on Wednesday he does the dab because it takes him to his "happy" spot. 

"It takes me to a happy place," Newton said. "I remember when I was in high school I used to look up to guys and mimic [them]. Now they're doing the things I do. People are looking at you whether you want them or not. When I see people do the celebration I do, it makes me happy.''

I'm not sure where Newton's happy place is, but if he stays hot and Tom Brady falters down the stretch, Newton might soon be able to decorate his "happy place" with an MVP trophy. 

Without further ado, let's get to this week's MVP Projection, where someone writing a letter to the editor about Newton's dancing might not have been the most ridiculous thing to happen to an MVP candidate this week. 

MVP Projection

1. Patriots QB Tom Brady: Brady is on top of the MVP Projection again this week, and this would usually be the part where I tell you why's he still on top, but that's not going to happen because we have way more important things to talk about like the GQ cover that Brady just did.

Brady posed for this photo, where he fell asleep with the football. 

Then he posed for this photo where he's wearing sweatpants with a sports coat.

I've been trying to make sweatpants and a sports coat happen for the past eight years and have gotten nowhere. If Brady makes it happen, then he wins the MVP by default. 

The only downside to the GQ photoshoot is that Brady did not pose with a goat again, so this is still the only photo of Brady posing with an actual goat. 

As for actual football, Brady threw for 334 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-26 win over his arch-nemesis: Eli Manning. The most impressive part of the Patriots win was what Brady did in the fourth quarter. After only throwing 142 yards through the first three quarters, Brady went 10 of 17 for 192 yards in the fourth quarter. The Patriots also trailed twice in the fourth quarter: 23-17 and 26-24. 

Next up for Brady: vs. Bills (Monday).

Brady's season stats: 251 of 370 for 3,043 yards, 24 TDs, three INTs, 111.1 QB rating; two rushing TDs.

Weeks on the MVP projection for Brady: 10/10.

Cam Newton is getting closer to No. 1 on the MVP Projection. (USATSI)
Cam Newton is getting closer to No. 1 on the MVP Projection. (USATSI)

2. Panthers QB Cam Newton: This week's MVP Projection jumped on to the ridiculous train by starting things off with Brady's GQ photoshoot, so let's just keep the ridiculousness going.

Newton's moves up one spot to No. 2 in the projection because he did something that no one else on this list has done all season: He successfully got someone to write a "letter to the editor" to complain about him. And trust me, that's not an easy thing to do this day in age, mainly because most people don't write letters to the editor anymore. 

The person who wrote the letter to the Charlotte Observer WAS NOT happy with Newton's touchdown dance on Sunday against the Titans. Here's part of what the person wrote:

"Because of where we sat, we had a close up view of your conduct in the fourth quarter. The chest puffs. The pelvic thrusts. The arrogant struts and the 'in your face' taunting of both the Titans' players and fans. We saw it all."

Here's Newton's dance. 

With lots to be offended by, I can see why the woman wrote the letter to the editor and I can see why the Titans were mad. Actually, I can't.

If you go to the 20-second mark in the video above, you'll see No. 54 Avery Williamson going up to Cam Newton to give him a hard time about his dancing, which is ironic because Williamson CELEBRATED A SACK WITH A DANCE OF HIS OWN. 

Besides being a hypocrite, that seems like a lot of celebration for a guy that only recorded HALF OF A SACK. That's right, he didn't even get credit with a full sack on that play. 

As for actual football, Newton ran for a touchdown and threw for 217 yards and another touchdown in Carolina's 27-10 win over Tennessee. 

Next up for Newton: vs. Washington.

Newton's season stats: 153 of 272 for 2,037 yards, 15 TDs, nine INTs, 84.8 QB rating; 82 carries, 366 yards, 6 TDs.

Weeks on the MVP projection for Newton: 5/10.

3. Cardinals QB Carson Palmer: If you're wondering how Carson Palmer went from journeyman quarterback to serious MVP candidate, apparently, the answer is virtual reality. 

Palmer's 35 and doesn't get too excited when coaches try to make him use new technology, but he seems to love his virtual reality headset.

"I don't buy in to all the new technology, I'm archaic, and I thought, 'There is no way this can change the way I play quarterback.' But I am all in on this," Palmer told MMQB.com. 

Although Palmer likes the VR technology, it does create some issues at home.

"The kids like to play with it," Palmer said. "Trying to keep the kids off it at home is a whole other problem."

The kids must've stayed away from the VR helmet last week because Palmer torched the Seahawks' secondary. The Cardinals quarterback threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns in a 39-32 win over Seattle. The 39 points was the most scored against the Seahawks since Dec. 2010. 

Next up for Palmer: vs. Cincinnati.

Palmer's season stats: 197 of 308 for 2,749 yards, 23 TDs, seven INTs, 108.0 QB rating.

Weeks on the MVP projection for Palmer: 6/10

4. Bengals QB Andy Dalton: If the Bengals only played 1 p.m. games, Dalton would be a lock for the MVP because there's no stopping "Daytime Dalton." Unfortunately for Dalton, though, the Bengals don't only play 1 p.m. games.

Take Monday night against the Texans for example. That game definitely didn't start at 1 p.m. and look what happened: Dalton played his worst game of the year.

Then, to make matters worse, J.J. Watt had to go and make fun of Dalton by saying that the Texans made the "Red Rifle look like a Red Ryder BB gun."

I would've appreciated Watt's line more if he had said: "We put Daytime Dalton to bed."

Dalton's going to need to get this primetime thing figured out soon because the Bengals have another night game this week. 

Next up for Dalton: at Cardinals (Sunday Night).

Dalton's season stats: 196 of 296 for 2,423 yards, 18 TDs, five INTs, 104.6 QB rating; two rushing TDs.

Weeks on the MVP projection for Dalton: 8/10.

5. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson: Peterson's 2015 season is starting to look a lot like his 2012 season, which I'm only noting because Peterson won the MVP in 2012. After nine games in 2012, Peterson had 957 yards. Through nine games this year, Peterson's at 961. 

If Peterson's going to make a serious run at the MVP this year, he's going to have to do what he did in 2012, which is average 162.9 yards per game over Minnesota's final seven games.

If Peterson plays anything like he did against the Raiders on Sunday, that might not be a problem. The Vikings running back ran for 203 yards against Oakland and tied O.J. Simpson's NFL record for most career 200-yard rushing games (six).  

Next up for Peterson: vs. Green Bay.

Peterson's season stats: 195 carries for 961 yards, five TDs; 19 catches, 138 yards.

Weeks on the MVP projection for Peterson: 2/10.

6. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers: Two weeks ago, Rodgers was No. 2 on this list, but now he's one week away from potentially falling off it.

Things are do bad in Green Bay that Packers are starting to blame Olivia Munn for Rodgers' "struggles."

This theory isn't ridiculous because it's ridiculous -- and it is ridiculous. It's ridiculous because Rodgers isn't really having a down season.

The Packers quarterback is on pace for 4,035 yards, 37 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. Only 10 quarterbacks have ever thrown at least 37 touchdown passes in one season, and Rodgers is one of them. If he were to end the year with only five interceptions, that would be a career-low as well.

The problem for Rodgers is that this Packers team just isn't as talented as what Green Bay's had recently. The Packers second leading receiver is a 31-year-old (James Jones) who was cut by the Giants and Raiders. Rodgers just doesn't have much to work with, and the running game is practically non-existent because Eddie Lacy has apparently forgotten how to play football. 

On the other hand, maybe the Packers offensive talent has nothing to do with this and Rodgers' struggles are all Obama's fault. After all, the president did compare himself to Rodgers this week. Thanks, Obama.   

Next up for Rodgers: at Minnesota.

Rodgers' season stats: 198 of 313 for 2,270 yards, 21 TDs, three INTs, 103.4 QB rating; 37 carries, 221 yards.

Weeks on the MVP projection for Rodgers: 10/10.

Finally, since we started with a dab, let's end with a dab. Don't be surprised if this is the final dab you ever see because if Cam Newton sees this clip from Fox 29 in Philadelphia, he might stop doing it. I would.