Thread: Unofficial NFL Awards

For me, the MVP and OPotY is clearly Adrian Peterson. In the former category, it's clear that AP means significantly more towards his team's success than Peyton does for his own. AP had a sub-par game against the Packers last week (in AP terms at least, with nearly 100 yards) and the Vikings lost....by a lot. He's been the single-largest reason for their success this year, in no uncertain terms. As for Peyton, no question he's playing at a high level this season, but he has far more support from his team and is not the driving force for Bronco success as AP is for the Vikings. Take Peyton off the Broncos, replace him with an average QB, and they're still a playoff team because of talent on the o-line, at WR, and on their defense. Take AP off the Vikings and replace him with an average RB, and the Vikings would have been in the running for the #1 overall pick.

As for OPotY, I think people can make convincing cases for multiple players (Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, etc.), but AP came 9 yards short of breaking a record that's stood for 28 years, and he did it during an era where focusing on the running game is just this side of being considered a dinosaur.

DPotY for me has to be JJ Watt. The man's a 3-4 DE, someone whose job description is "occupy blockers"; yet he lead the league in sacks and probably led the league in passes defensed (thanks to balls swatted at the line). The closest players I could put near him would be premier pass-rushers like Aldon Smith, but Watt even beat them out in sacks. So it's a no-brainer for me.

ORotY I think is going to end up in the hands of Russell Wilson. Luck had a more complex offense, RG3 had a bit less help, but Wilson was one of the most efficient QBs in the league in the 2nd half of the season. 7 of his last 8 regular season games featured passer ratings of over 100, and he averaged a 100 rating over the course of the season. He didn't throw for a lot of yardage (only 3k yards), but with 26 TDs compared to only 10 picks he had some very good numbers from an efficiency standpoint.

DRotY I think will be Bobby Wagner. Luke Kuechly had more tackles, Lavonte David had more splash plays, but Wagner solidified the middle of a very good defense. I think valid arguments can be made for either of the other LBs, as well as Harrison Smith and Casey Hayward, but I honestly think the award will be Wagners.

~Morningfrost

Originally Posted by Morningfrost

DPotY for me has to be JJ Watt. The man's a 3-4 DE, someone whose job description is "occupy blockers"; yet he lead the league in sacks and probably led the league in passes defensed (thanks to balls swatted at the line). The closest players I could put near him would be premier pass-rushers like Aldon Smith, but Watt even beat them out in sacks. So it's a no-brainer for me.

This is true for most 3-4's but Wade Phillips runs an abnormal 3-4...very similar to how NYG runs their 4-3...instead of occupying blockers the Texans D-line focuses on beating the gaps and causing havoc in the backfield rather than sitting in a hole occupying the o-line and allowing the OLB's to wreak the havoc. It's been pretty successful in alot of places...Pittsburgh ran something very similar in the 90's with Dom Capers. I would expect Pittsburgh to go to a similar style of 3-4 whenever Dick Lebeau retires because that is the type of personnel they have drafted on the D-line.

Originally Posted by iLLusioN

This is true for most 3-4's but Wade Phillips runs an abnormal 3-4...very similar to how NYG runs their 4-3...instead of occupying blockers the Texans D-line focuses on beating the gaps and causing havoc in the backfield rather than sitting in a hole occupying the o-line and allowing the OLB's to wreak the havoc. It's been pretty successful in alot of places...Pittsburgh ran something very similar in the 90's with Dom Capers. I would expect Pittsburgh to go to a similar style of 3-4 whenever Dick Lebeau retires because that is the type of personnel they have drafted on the D-line.

That's certainly true, but even on that type of a 3-4 defense one doesn't expect the dominance that Watt showed this season. Even 4-3 DEs or 3-4 OLBs don't typically rack up the numbers that Watt did this year, and those are positions where one finds pass-rushing specialists.

~Morningfrost

Oh, I agree...DPOY, hands down. Just saying that JJ is not supposed to be playing the position like Aaron Smith(who anchored LDE for Pittsburgh for a decade and is considered the best 3-4 DE ever by many)