As the 2012
NFL regular season comes to a close, I thought I would hand out my year end
awards and also mention a few other tidbits.
So sit back and enjoy as we hand out my first ever awards!
League MVP: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
Vikings
This is
probably the most difficult award this season as there was some major
competition. Peyton Manning was
brilliant and did not seem like he lost a step at all. Tom Brady was his usual
excellent self. However, when you look
at their teams, is there a team that relied more heavily on one guy than the
Vikings did? Minnesota pounding AP down
people’s throats and because of this, they overachieved and made the
playoffs. The quarterback play of
Christian Ponder was inconsistent, at best, so the fact that Peterson put up a
2,000 yard season with defenses focused solely on him is amazing. We also can’t forget that he was just
returning from an ACL injury that would keep normal players out for this entire
season. It is truly mind blowing what he’s
done, and made me legitimately reconsider my stance that Barry Sanders is the
best running back I’ve ever seen.
Coach of the Year: Bruce Arians, Indianapolis
Colts
There were
some awful coaching jobs, and some excellent ones, but no one deserves this
award other than Arians. As an interim
coach, while head coach Chuck Pagano battled Leukemia, Arians led a 2 win team
with a rookie quarterback to 11 wins and a playoff berth. I am blown away by the leadership he’s shown
over the season. Holding a team together
as an interim coach is tough enough (looking at you New Orleans), but incorporating
a rookie quarterback and leading the worst team in the league to 11 wins is a
true reflection of great coaching.
Rookie of the Year: Andrew Luck,
Indianapolis Colts
The race for
this award had to be the most intense I’ve witnessed. We’re looking at four legitimate candidates;
Luck, Russell Wilson, Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris. I went with Luck for a few reasons:
- He led a 2
win team to 11 wins and a playoff berth.
- He broke
rookie passing records.
- He didn’t
miss any games.
- His
supporting cast, outside of Reggie Wayne, is young and inexperienced.
Griffin and
Morris essentially cancel each other out of the race, splitting the vote. Wilson pushed for a close second, but he took
over a team that won 7 games the year before.
While he did improve them, he also had a much better cast around
him. A rookie quarterback’s best friend
is a running game. Wilson had Marshawn
Lynch. Luck had a roulette wheel of
players behind him, eventually settling on Vick Ballard. The offense was all Luck, and he showed why
he was so highly touted.
Defensive Player of the Year: Von
Miller, Denver Broncos
The race
between Miller, Aldon Smith and JJ Watt was tight, but I don’t think anyone
meant more to their defense than Miller did.
He has transformed a mediocre Denver defense into a dominant group. They are following his lead and have become
one of the elite groups in the league.
Watt and Smith are important cogs in their defenses, but aren’t the
focal point the way Miller is.
Comeback Player of the Year: Peyton
Manning, Denver Broncos
We all know
my distaste for Peyton Manning. I’ve
been cheering against him for 15 years and it’s been a weird feeling seeing him
in Denver. That said, I’ve been amazed
to watch him come back from 4 neck surgeries and missing an entire season, to
playing at the level he has this year.
The first few games were a bit choppy, but he clearly righted the ship
after their early season bye week and has been spectacular ever since. I don’t think even John Elway thought he’d
get such an immediate return on the investment.
The Broncos went from a playoff team that people weren’t sure about, to
a team that everyone in the league fears.
That’s clearly on Manning’s presence and the continued emergence of
their young talent. His leadership and
skills can never be questioned and from a fan standpoint, there’s just
something great about having him back in the league. Not having Manning vs Brady last year made us
feel lost. We’ve had that match up once
already, and could be heading to a collision in the AFC Championship game.
The reason I
did not consider Adrian Peterson for this award is the fact that he didn’t miss
any time due to his injury last season, which by the way, is a medical miracle.
Just a few musings
to end the season…
- I realized
why I love sports yesterday. I was watching
Chuck Pagano run on to the sidelines in Indianapolis yesterday and, while it
was an awesome football story, it was also a reminder why sports is so
great. We witnessed a man who embodied
inspiration, perseverance and the joy of the human spirit. Sure he inspired his team and fans, but we
may never know how impactful his story could be to someone struggling through
something similar. When we’re at our
lowest points, sometime you just need someone or something to push you in a
positive direction. Watching Pagano
return to the job he loved, cancer free and full of energy, was a glorious
moment. Sports provides us so many of
these moments and inspirations. Sometimes
it is something obvious like this story, and sometimes it’s something you have
to look deeper into. Regardless, it’s
one of the joys of sports.
- I feel bad
for Tony Romo. No matter what, he will
never get the respect he deserves. The
analysts will tear him apart and never mention that his top receiver had one
hand and limped off the field early. They
won’t mention that his second receiving option was gimpy and hardly
moving. They won’t mention the lack of a
consistent running game. They also won’t
mention how awful the defense has played.
It all goes back to him because quarterbacks get too much praise and too
much blame. If I were Romo, I would
seriously consider a move out West to Arizona.
Larry Fitzgerald would love a real quarterback again.
- There’s a
good buzz around Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy for head
coaching gigs that will be opening up.
With the reports that Tim Tebow will end up in Jacksonville, I would
call McCoy first thing to come in as coach.
He had success with him at quarterback and could be the shot in the arm
Jacksonville needs.
- I was
annoyed by a poll on ESPN regarding Adrian Peterson’s season. They asked if the bigger story is Minnesota
in the playoffs or AP coming up 9 yards shy of the all-time record. This is the complete antithesis of what I
love in sports. The fantasy football
stats mindset is obnoxiously prevalent.
I hate to be the only one who keeps saying it, but team accomplishments
trump individual ones every time. For
example, Drew Brees threw for 5,177 yards and 43 touchdowns this season, so the
current mindset is that he had a great season.
Well guess what he threw 19 interceptions, fumbled 5 times and lead his
team to a 7-9 record. You can take all
the stats in the world. The only one
that matters is wins, and that is a team stat.
- There are
quite a few firings right now and how Rex Ryan still has a job is unreal. The thing that is surprising me, though, is
how upset people are that Lovie Smith was fired in Chicago. If you start 7-1 and miss the playoffs,
something is wrong. I don’t want to hear
the injuries excuse. Everyone in the
league has injuries. Deal with it. He didn’t coach his team up. He didn’t make adjustments when they needed
to. Jay Cutler (who everyone knows I am
not a fan of) has been running for his life since coming to Chicago and they
have yet to address the offensive line.
There comes a time when it’s time to move on. Since making the Super Bowl, the Bears have
only been to the playoffs once. That is
one appearance in six years.
- The “player
safety” thing is getting out of hand.
They are handing out fines and suspensions for hits that aren’t illegal. Ed Reed was fined $55,000 for a clean hit on Victor Cruz. He hit him with his shoulder to the
shoulder/chest area. Where else is he
supposed to hit him? You want him to go
low and destroy the knees of Cruz? It’s
getting ridiculous. I hate to break it
to you, but football is violent in nature.
It is impossible to remove the violence from the sport. It’s crazy to see the NFL fine guys…but then
use the hits on a highlight package.
Gotta love hypocrisy!
- While
speaking of the league office, I have to say that I am tired of the Saints fans
whining about Goodell “screwing them over”.
Your team ran a program that is not league approved and could have
injured players. Stop playing the victim
card. Sit and enjoy your *Super Bowl*
win. Those asterisks look good on you.
- The Eagles
quickly became the joke of the league.
They removed Donovan McNabb, Brian Dawkins and Brian Westbrook only to
remove any chance of winning. I’ve been
saying it since he was at Virginia Tech and I’ll say it again, if Michael Vick
is your quarterback, you will never win a Super Bowl. I’ve said it since he was in Oakland, Nnamdi
Asomugha is more hype than skill. He’s
Dre Bly 2.0.
- The
Detroit Lions proved to be the fluke team I expected them to be. Last season they were the “Fortunate Bounce”
team, which is that one team each season that wins games in spite of
themselves. This season they came back
to reality. Calvin Johnson had a great
season, but really how great was it. I
want to throw something at you. Would
you rather have Calvin Johnson’s record season or Jerry Rice’s previous record
season?
Calvin
Johnson: 122 receptions, 1,964 yards, 5 TD’s, 4-12 team record
Jerry Rice:
122 receptions, 1,848 yards, 15 TD’s, 11-5 team record
Yet again,
you have to look at this as a team game and not get so hung up on individual
stats. I’d rather be in the playoffs on
an 11-5 team than have a record breaking season on a 4-12 team. Congrats.
You broke a record, but did you really help your team win?
Enjoy the
playoffs!!!
