NFL Awards (part 1)

NFL Awards

2012 Regular Season

NOTE: Greg and Andrew provide their take on who deserves awards in the NFL this season. For each category, each blogger will provide their top three choices. Enjoy!

Andrew Miller’s Ballot:

NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year

Also Considered: Doug Martin, Blair Walsh, Matt Kalil

3. Alfred Morris (Washington) – This unknown rookie rushed for over 1,600 yards and scored 13 TD’s. That’s one of the big reasons RGIII was able to be successful passing, and why the Redskins led the NFL in rushing.

2. Russell Wilson (Seattle) – Wilson had a great defense and running game around him, but he turned it on in the second half and that’s when the Seahawks took off. He also accounted for over 3,500 yards and 30 TD’s.

1. Robert Griffin III (Washington) – 3,200 yards passing, 815 yards rushing, and 27 TD’s. He led his team to the playoffs in his first season, which included winning their last six games. I think that speaks for itself.

AFC Offensive Rookie of the year

Also Considered: None

3. T.Y. Hilton and Vick Ballard  (Indianapolis)– The Colts resurgence wasn’t just Andrew Luck, and these two provided a lot of help, particularly over the second half of the year. Each put up over 1,000 yards (rushing, receiving, returning combined), and they accounted for 11 Td’s.

2. Trent Richardson (Cleveland) – Was slowed significantly by injuries, but still put up 950 yards rushing and 367 receiving. His 12 TD’s were also significant.

1. Andrew Luck (Indianapolis) – Not only set some rookie records through the air (4,374 yards), but more importantly he took a team that had 2 wins a year ago to 11 and into the playoffs. His 28 total TD’s were a big reason why.

NFC Defensive Rookie of the year

Also Considered: Casey Hayward, Janoris Jenkins

3. Lavonte David (Tampa Bay) – 139 tackles, 2 sacks, and an interception.

2. Bobby Wagner (Seattle) – In a distant second, Wagner was a big part of the great Seahawks defense. He had 140 combined tackles, 2 sacks, and 3 interceptions.

1. Luke Kuechly (Carolina) – Led the entire NFL in tackles with 164 combined. That’s just incredible. He also accounted for five takeaways. The future is bright with he and Cam leading the way.

AFC Defensive Rookie of the year

Also Considered: None

3. Derek Wolfe (Denver) – It’s easier to rush the passer playing along with Von Miller, but he did have 6 sacks this season.

2. Vontaze Burfict (Cincinnati) – This linebacker had 127 tackles and helped turned the Bengals defense around.

1. Chandler Jones (New England) – This pass rushing specialist did that well. He accounted for 6 sacks and 3 forced fumbles (45 tackles also).

NFL Rookie of the year

Also Considered: Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson

1. Andrew Luck (Indianapolis) - It came down to the three quarterbacks, but Andrew Luck stood out to me the most. He was asked to do so much more with the Colts than the other two, and his surrounding cast was also way worse (and younger) than RG3’s and Wilson’s. I am astounded that he took a 2-win team to 11 wins and into the playoffs.

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

Also Considered: None

1. Luke Kuechly (Carolina) – Easy call here. He was by far the most impressive rookie on the defensive side of the ball. In fact, he makes a case for the overall defensive player of the year.

NFC Offensive Player of the Year

Also Considered: Matt Ryan, RGIII, Tony Romo

3. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay) – He didn’t have as dominant a season as we’ve come to see, but he did have 41 total TD’s this year. And that was with tons of injuries to his receivers and running backs.

2. Calvin Johnson (Detroit) – Set the all-time record for receiving yards in a season and was 36 yards away from 2,000. His 5 touchdowns were disappointing (as was Detroit’s win total), but that yardage is insane.

1. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota) – 9 yards away from the all-time rushing record in a season, and that was coming off an ACL injury and only having rushed for under 102 yards in the first 6 games. Ended with 2,097 rushing and 13 total touchdowns.

AFC Offensive Player of the Year

Also Considered: Andrew Luck

3. Arian Foster (Houston) – Helped lead Houston to one of the best records in the NFL by producing 17 total touchdowns and over 1,600 yards from scrimmage.

2. Tom Brady (New England) – 34 TD’s through the air, 4 more on the ground, only 10 INT’s, and just over 4,800 yards passing. Oh and they earned the 2 seed in the AFC.

1. Peyton Manning (Denver) – Led Denver to the top record in the AFC by passing for nearly 4,700 yards and throwing 37 touchdowns. He had his second highest passer rating ever with a 105.8 rating over the course of the year.

NFC Defensive Player of the Year

Also Considered: Luke Kuechly, NaVorro Bowman, Chad Greenway

3. Charles Tillman and Tim Jennings (Chicago) – The starting corners for the Bears are also starting for the Pro-Bowl team. Jennings led the NFL with 9 interceptions and Tillman forced 10 fumbles, recovered 2, and still had 3 picks. They scored 4 TD’s between them, shut down corners constantly (even Calvin Johnson), and are only this low because the Bears missed the playoffs, which counts for something in my opinion.

2. Richard Sherman (Seattle) – Behind Jennings with 8 interceptions but is become “Sherman Island” with his coverage skills.

1. Aldon Smith (San Francisco) – Anchored one of the best defenses in the league and led the NFC with 19.5 sacks. He is an animal that keeps getting better.

AFC Defensive Player of the Year

Also Considered: Cameron Wake

3. Jerod Mayo (New England) – New England didn’t win as easily as they did solely due to their offense. The defense was much better than a year ago and it started with this guy. He was fourth in the NFL with 147 tackles.

2. Von Miller (Denver) – Third in the NFL with 18.5 sacks and helped anchor a vastly improved and impressive defense.

1. J.J. Watt (Houston) – Unblockable up front and led the NFL with 20.5 sacks. He also became known as “Swat” because of his ability to knock down passes.

NFL Offensive Player of the year

Also Considered: Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson

1. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota) – We see quarterbacks put up great numbers constantly, but his rushing this year was unreal.

NFL Defensive player of the year

Also Considered: Von Miller

1. J.J. Watt (Houston) – Wade Phillips speaks very highly of him and puts his name with some of the best he’s ever coached (which is a very impressive list).

NFL Comeback player of the year

Also Considered: Adrian Peterson

1. Peyton Manning (Denver) – New team (players, coaches, and system), missed an entire year due to a career threatening neck injury, yet led his team to the 1-seed in the AFC.

AFC Coach of the year

Also Considered: None

3. Marvin Lewis (Bengals) – In a tough division, Lewis kept a young team unified and they overcame a bad start to the year.

2. John Fox (Denver) – Brought in Manning and coached them to the top seed in the AFC. If it weren’t reflective so much on Peyton himself, Fox would have been my top choice.

1. Chuck Pagano and Bruce Arians (Indianapolis) – This combo took the worst team in the NFL to a team with 11 wins… and that was with an offense led by mostly rookies (QB, RB, 2 TE’s, 2 WR’s) and a bunch of new faces including. Those new faces included both of these coaches. Pagano dealt with leukemia and was hospitalized for much of the season and Bruce was a fill in due to that. Incredible!

NFC Coach of the year

Also Considered: Leslie Frazier

3. Mike Shanahan (Washington) – Battled through some major adversity and won the competitive NFC East by winning 6 in a row to close the season. This was with two rookies leading the way and significant injuries in the first few weeks to studs on defense.

2. Pete Carroll (Seattle) – Has turned Seattle into the NFC favorites with a rookie quarterback to boot. He has turned them into a physical team too.

1. Mike Smith (Atlanta) – Best record in the NFL with a fairly young team in a league with a lot of parity. He coached well in close games too.

NFL MVP

Also Considered: Peyton Manning

1. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota) – Minnesota would have been terrible without him and his value truly was astounding. He “carried” them into the playoffs nearly single handedly and knocked my Bears out in the process.

By: Andrew Miller