As the season comes to an end, with just the Super Bowl remaining, I want to give out honors to my top and bottom players this year….
1. MVP- The first award goes to the player who played above the rest. Adrian Peterson. Without him, where would the Minnesota Vikings be? Probably in the gutter. The Vikings needed an out of this world performance from the running back every game. He did this, while still recovering from major knee surgery less than a year before the season started and he never missed a start.
2. Comeback Player of the Year- This could easily go to Peterson as well, but to share the glory I give this to Peyton Manning. Manning missed all of last season after getting his FOURTH neck surgery and being told he would probably never play football again. Instead, Manning came back with his new team, the Denver Broncos, and owned the league. He got his team into the playoffs as the number one seed, but that is about where the comeback tour ended.
3. Rookie of the Year- Robert Griffin III changed the way the quarterback has to play. His impact is what influenced my opinion on this award. More and more quarterbacks are forced to scramble out of the pocket and run the ball themselves. Unfortunately for other team’s defenses, when he was forced to stay in the pocket, he was even better. He was near perfection when he threw the ball which is what puts him over the edge. The ending may not have been pretty and I only wish him a speedy recovery.
4. Biggest Disappointment- It isn’t an award any team wants to win, but the most disappointing team was the 2011 Super Bowl Champions New York Giants. This team was on a roll at the beginning of the season and looked poised to make another playoff run, however when it came down to the wire and the Redskins caught fire this team went ice cold and was even having problems getting to the end zone! This team lives to be the underdog, however, so I expect a big upswing next year!
5. Biggest Joke- The New York Jets. The butt fumble, need I say anymore? Between the constant quarterback swapping and the awful play calling, this team just could not garner respect. They seemed to take the game of football very lightly and most people couldn’t bare to watch them. Hopefully this team can get a little less media attention, but somehow they won’t.
6. Comeback Team: Indianapolis Colts have been the poster children for resilience and will power. Mostly thanks to head coach Chuck Pagano, who battled leukemia in season, but found a way to beat it and lead his team from the sidelines for their final regular season game. This team also led the league in comeback victories even after losing their head coach. This team never gave up and it was great to see Pagano come back and be #CHUCKSTRONG.
7. Biggest Drop Off- You could not turn on anything sports related without hearing the name Tim Tebow last year. He was the golden child of football and everyone wanted a piece of him. Well, this year the Broncos picked up Peyton Manning and Tebow went to the Jets. Caution: if you want to have a successful NFL career, stay away from the Rex Ryan/Mark Sanchez Jets team. Tebow would be lucky if he could find another starting job in his career. However, crazier things have happened, Sanchez still has a job….
8. Biggest Surprise- When talking about possible Super Bowl winners, nobody predicted the Seattle Seahawks to be actual threats. However, with the help of a sixth round draft pick, two physical cornerbacks, and a top running back, this team looked like the underdog to beat. Their defense was tough, their offense was crisp, and their home crowd? Oh, they got into the game and took competition out of theirs. Russell Wilson looked like a perfect fit and made the Seahawks look like geniuses for taking a risk on a 5’11” sixth round pick.
Now, who takes home the top honors? Will it be the San Francisco 49ers or the Baltimore Ravens?
