NFL POST SEASON AWARDS

MVP

Danny & ERIC Select:

Tom Brady QB New England Patriots:

Yes, the Patriots disappointed in the playoffs but this was never supposed to be their year and if it were for a stellar year from Brady, no one would have given them the hype. A 111.00 rating 3,900 yards, 36 TD’s, and just 4 INTs without a real #1 receiver, a couple of rookie tight ends and a committee of no name running backs. He fell flat in the playoffs but played a terrific regular season.

Runners Up
Michael Vick: His performances this season were absolutely incredible. His comeback against the New York Giants may go down as one of the best comebacks in NFL history. Vick had a terrific season.


Offensive MVP

ERIC Selects:

Jamaal Charles RB Kansas City Chiefs

Charles finished 149 yards behind league leader Arian Foster in rushing yards and two-hundredths of a yard behind all-time leader Jim Brown in yards per carry. Jamaal Charles’ stats could have taken a big hit after the Chiefs acquired Thomas Jones yet he went on to amass close to 1500 yards on just 230 carries.

DANNY Selects:

Arian Foster RB Houston Texans

Foster led the league in touchdowns (16), 3rd in rushing attempts, 1st in total rushing yards (1,616), and was the only running back to average over 100 rushing yards per game. With a defense the Texans are a complete team. Foster proved his worth this season and elevated himself into top running back status.

Runners Up

Phillip Rivers: At one point appeared he would threaten Marino’s all time passing yards record. Finished with a bad record and great stats.
Michael Vick: He didn't play a full season, if he did this award is his.

Defensive MVP


ERIC Selects:

Clay Matthews LB Green Bay Packers

Matthews emerged as a superstar in 2010. The Packers’ defense was largely responsible for their 2009 playoff exit against the Cardinals. Matthews played a large part in transforming the defense into a group the Pack could hang its hat on. Matthews played his way into league wide stardom accruing 13.5 sacks and forcing opposing teams to account for him with 2 or more men at all times.

DANNY Selects:

Troy Polamalu S Pittsburgh Steelers

Polamalu is the leader of arguably the best defense in the NFL. 7 interceptions this year in 15 regular season games, one returned to the house, and 11 pass deflections. This guy is the epitome of the word "ballhawk". His defense only allowed over 22 points 1 time this season (loss at New England 26-39). Troy plays at a level that no one else in the NFL can get too. Don't get me wrong Ed Reed can do great things in the secondary, but Troy covers everything from a defensive aspect. Troy plays centerfield just as good as Reed, Troy causes turnovers (sack fumble vs Baltimore ring a bell), and Troy is around the ball on every rushing attempt. The guy is a beast, a leader, and my DEF MVP.

Runners Up
Julius Peppers: Turned back into the pro bowlers he once was and helped the Bear’s defense reinvent itself.

Ed Reed: The man missed a chunk of the year and still led the league in picks. Remove him from Baltimore’s secondary and they’re an average team.

Flub of the Year:

DANNY & ERIC:

The McNabb trade (from a Redskins perspective). New coach Mike Shanahan let Jason Campbell walk and elected not to bring in a young QB in of trading away a much needed draft pick for McNabb. McNabb struggled and Shanahan threw him to the wolves claiming he wasn’t in good enough shape for a two minute drill then benched him for good in favor of the immortal Rex Grossman.

Runner Up

Minnesota Vikings - Don't even try to blame this on Farve. Brett played well enough in the early going to keep the Vikings competitive. I place the blame on the offensive game plans for the first half of the year. Adrian Peterson only averaging 18+ rushing attempts per game?? Then you trade for Randy Moss and you blow that opportunity. This was a complete mess, and now they are without a quarterback for next season.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

DANNY & ERIC:

Sam Bradford QB St. Louis

Bradford took a terrible team and transformed them into a borderline playoff squad. Bradford gave the Rams a great deal to look forward to and years of, at the very least, respectability. His ability to come back from being down and developing 4th quarter drives/big plays shows how strong Bradford is mentally.

Runner Up

Dez Bryant: Bryant started slow but took off amassing 6 receiving scores and 2 return touchdowns before succumbing to a season-ending ankle injury against Indy.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

DANNY & ERIC:

Ndamukong Suh DT Detroit Lions

You cannot disagree here. The Pro Bowl defensive tackle was a stud all 16 games. But as you may know, Suh plays for Detroit so many of us missed out on a chance to see a lot of him. He was every bit the player the Lions hoped for headed into last year’s draft. Along with Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and most importantly, the departure of Matt Millen, the Lions have a great base upon which to build.

Runner Up

Devin McCourty CB New England Patriots - 7 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, and solidifying one side of the Patriots secondary McCourty was an absolute stud.

Coach of the Year:

ERIC Selects:

Mike McCarthy Green Bay

The Packers looked dead early in the year and McCarthy rallied the troops to make a Super Bowl run. If they win the SB, McCarthy etches his name alongside Holmgren and Lombardy.

DANNY Selects:

Bill Belichick Head Coach New England Patriots

The Patriots dominated the NFL during the regular season once they got rid of one of the best wide receivers of all time. Remember everyone has been saying Moss made Welker look better than he really is, well, Moss left and Welker still performed just as well. Belichick got his defense to overachieve all season. He got the most out of this team, I think this was one of his best regular season coaching jobs of his career.

Runner Up:

Pete Carroll: He took a dreadful Seattle team to the playoffs and then knocked off the defending champs- that deserves something.

Player with the most to prove:

DANNY & ERIC Select:

Carson Palmer QB Cincinnati Bengals

Palmer hasn’t played up to his reputation in a couple of years. Last season he blamed injury, this year he put up decent numbers that amounted to just a couple of wins. He might get dealt in the offseason, he might not, but either way he needs to bounce back or he could become the next Duante Culpeper just looking for a sucker to give him a few bucks.

Runners Up

Tony Romo: Romo’s been through two coaches and has all sorts of high priced talent. Is he Roger Staubach or Danny White? Its beginning too look like the latter.

Jay Cutler: A late addition. After his casual demeanor on the bench in the playoff loss in Chicago, Cutler needs to bounce back in a big way and win back the Bears’ faithful.