I've had some reasonable success in handing out awards compared to the official results in prior years, though defense is always tough. You can view my picks from 2013 and 2012 at the links provided.
In my work for UKEndzone, I've also been handing out awards at each of the quarter polls in 2014. The first, second, and third quarter awards have only applied to players in the NFC North, as that has been my assigned division, but some of those players will receive votes in these awards as well. Those posts also have some "anti-awards", as it were, primarily to pick on the dumpster fire that is the Chicago Bears franchise. When the awards for the year in the division go live, I will link to it here.
For now, here are my league-wide picks for the major NFL awards.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
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| Photo by the Associated Press (No photographer credited) |
91 catches, 1305 yards, 12 TD; 7 carries, 35 yards
I didn't want to make this a reaction to that ridiculous one-handed touchdown catch he made a month or two ago, so fortunately his body of work supports this pick. Beckham led all rookies in yards from scrimmage, beating Cincinnati's Jeremy Hill by one yard and beating the rest of the first round wideouts from his draft class by at least 300 yards (Carolina's Kelvin Benjamin was the only other one to top 1000 yards). Meanwhile, Beckham's 12 touchdowns tied Mike Evans for the most in the league among rookies, while no one else hit double digits. When we factor in that Beckham did all this in just 12 games this season... just give him the trophy.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
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| Photo by Thearon W. Anderson (Getty Images) |
84 tackles, 1 sack, 5 passes defensed, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery
As usual, picking a defensive rookie of the year is a hard task. I opted for Borland based on his good all around line. He finished second among rookies in tackles (trailing only C.J. Mosley of the Ravens), and wasn't much of a pass rusher, but impacted a few passes and was all over the field. He had four games of double digit tackles, and when you consider that he did all this in just 14 games while only starting eight, that's pretty good.
Offensive Player of the Year
392 carries, 1845 yards, 13 TD; 57 catches, 416 yards
I think Murray deserves some credit for the season he had. He led the league in yards from scrimmage and was one of only two to top 2000 of them (Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell is the other). They tied with 13 total touchdowns, which wasn't tops in the league, however (Seattle's Marshawn Lynch led the way with 17, Murray's teammate Dez Bryant had 16, and Antonio Brown and Jamaal Charles each had 14, plus a few other players who also finished with 13). Despite all that, Murray was a key part of Dallas' success this year, rushing for at least 100 yards in 12 games this year. By comparison, Bell only did so in four, though he had a game of 200+ rushing yards, something Murray did not do. Antonio Brown deserves some consideration too for finishing fourth in the league in yards from scrimmage, and his worst day was probably his seven catch, 72 yard performance in Week 16. Ultimately, I'm going with Murray, though either Pittsburgh player or a quarterback (say, Rodgers, Brady or maybe Romo) isn't a bad choice either.
Defensive Player of the Year
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| Photographer uncredited |
59 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, 10 passes defensed, 1 interception, 4 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 2 TD
There's J.J. Watt... and then there's everybody else. The only guy who voters should even think about challenging Watt with is Justin Houston, who had a league-leading 22 sacks for Kansas City and forced four fumbles as well, but didn't recover any, didn't pick off a pass, and only defended five passes. In a world without J.J. Watt, Houston probably wins. But Watt is a freak of nature, and it shows with his diverse stat line.
Coach of the Year
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| Photo by Michael Chow (AZCentral Sports) |
11-5 (2nd in NFC West), Wild Card, matched COAS prediction, outperformed Pythagorean expectations by 2.7 wins
That last line, to me, is what clinches this award for Arians, his second in three years from COAS. Most of this team's success has come from its defense, and when you consider the chaos at quarterback for the Cardinals, that they finished 11-5 is very impressive. They went 5-1 in games decided by a touchdown or less, something that over a long stretch of time tends to even out close to .500 (and pretty much supports that Pythagorean expectations number). While the Cardinals are probably not going anywhere in the postseason, considering that Ryan Lindley is their quarterback, the fact that they got to the tournament means something.
Most Valuable Player
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| Photo by Getty Images (photographer uncredited) |
341-520, 4381 yards, 38 TD, 5 INT; 43 carries, 269 yards, 2 TD
To me, there are a handful of deserving candidates. Steelers fans will probably argue for either Ben Roethlisberger or Antonio Brown, Cowboys fans are adamant about Tony Romo or DeMarco Murray winning, and a lot of football minds are making a serious push for J.J. Watt to be the first defensive player to win MVP since Laurence Taylor. Roethlisberger had good arguments about halfway through the year, then had a bad game against the Jets to likely knock him out. Antonio Brown has probably cemented his place as a top-five receiver in the NFL, but it's hard to say whether or not he's got enough to get MVP, considering the damage Le'Veon Bell has done on the ground for them. In Dallas, Tony Romo had another very good year, but he also had a ton of help in the league's leading rusher, so they will probably cancel each other out for this award. That brings us to the freak of nature. Watt, as a defensive lineman, doesn't have a lot of tackles, but has made his presence known in many a defensive backfield. His 20.5 sacks were second in the NFL, and he had three offensive touchdowns to go with his two on defense. But here's where I and a lot of other people differ: value to the team. We all know what happens to the Packers without Aaron Rodgers, but what about the Texans without Watt? I do believe that Houston would have a major dropoff without him, but how much? Four games against the Titans and Jaguars, plus getting Oakland and Cleveland on the schedule has to account for something. Let's also factor in that the Texans just barely missed the playoffs, while Green Bay gets a week to rest and recover for a home playoff game. Also, Rodgers led the Packers to the division title and bye with a calf injury. missed part of Sunday's game against the Lions, then came back into a tie game and orchestrated the win, including scoring a rushing touchdown with that bum calf. I really, really respect what Watt did. Rodgers just did more.
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