Offensive Rookie of the Year
258-393, 3200 yds, 20 TD, 5 INT; 120 car, 815 yds, 7 TD, 12 FUM (2 lost)
This was one of the tougher calls to make obviously, given that this is probably the best quarterback draft class in decades and the brilliance that Griffin, Andrew Luck and more surprisingly Russell Wilson have displayed this season. As awesome as Luck has been in being a key part of getting Indianapolis back to the playoffs far sooner than anyone expected, he's been asked to do a lot for that team. You hate punishing him for it, but his 18 picks is the most among rookie quarterbacks. That leaves two similar guys in RGIII and Wilson. Griffin's biggest issue are his fumbles, but he has taken care of the ball the best and has been more efficient than Wilson has, despite Wilson's lead in touchdowns. Really, if you have any of these 3 guys, your team is in good shape, but we have to pick one, and I have to go with RGIII. And honestly, if Luck or Wilson end up winning the award, I can't complain.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
53 tackles, 6 INT, 21 PD, 1 FF
The amazing part of this one is that Heyward hasn't been an every-down player (granted, those are getting rarer these days) but when he's been out there, he's made the most of his opportunities. He's tops among rookies with 6 interceptions and 26 pass deflections (numbers which are tied for 5th and alone in 3rd, respectively, among all players). He's been a big reason why Green Bay's defense has been better than it was last year.
Offensive Player of the Year
400-583, 4659 yds, 37 TD, 11 INT
Peyton has to be included on here somewhere. It was a tough decision between him and Tom Brady (surprise surprise), but Manning was more efficient (Brady threw 50 more passes for a little less than 200 more yards) in terms of yards per attempt. Manning's QBR (105.8, behind only Aaron Rodgers) and Total QBR (84.1, best in the league) were higher than Brady's (98.7 and 77.1, respectively).
Defensive Player of the Year
81 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 4 FF, 2 FR
There's some good competition here with guys like Von Miller, Aldon Smith, or one of Chicago's corners (Peanut Tillman or Tim Jennings), but JJ Watt has been a freak of nature. Not only has he made a habit of getting to the quarterback and knocking the ball loose, he also possesses the great instincts to get his hands up when he can't reach the quarterback, knocking down Lord knows how many passes (NFL.com does not have him down for any). That impact earns him this title.
Coach of the Year
9-3 as interim head coach, AFC Wild Card
Not usual for an interim head coach to be here, but this one was pretty much a no-brainer. While I definitely think #Chuckstrong had a lot to do with it, he took over a 1-2 team at the time, he went 9-3 in place of Chuck Pagano when there was no expectation for him to takeover, and to do so almost seamlessly deserves a lot of credit. Granted, it helps when you have an awesome rookie quarterback and some knowledgeable veterans in your midst, but Arians' impact can't be overstated.
Most Valuable Player
348 car, 2097 yds, 12 TD, 4 FUM (2 lost); 40 rec, 217 yds, 1 TD
I had made up my mind a couple weeks ago that if the Vikings made the playoffs, Adrian Peterson was going to be the MVP. I can certainly see the argument for both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and even to an extent for Aaron Rodgers. I can also see the argument against Peterson that it was more so Christian Ponder that decided the fate of several Vikings games (case in point: in Green Bay Ponder threw a couple red zone picks and they lost, while in the final game Ponder was excellent and Minnesota won). But we need to look at the bigger picture. Teams had to stack the box to stop Peterson and dare Ponder to beat them, something that teams do against other feature backs, but none are in the same class as him. Of his 2000+ yards, almost half (over 1000!) yards came after contact. That's absurd. You take Peterson off this Vikings team, they go something like 4-12. I'm convinced.
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