AP Most Valuable Player:
It is strange to not immediately put Peyton Manning down for this and move on, but he is not even in contention this year. This year’s contenders include Aaron Rodgers, J.J. Watt, Demarco Murray, and Tom Brady. It will really come down to Rodgers and Watt and unfortunately for Watt, Rodgers is a QB and that tops a defensive end, even if it was the most amazing season by defensive linemen ever.
Winner: Aaron Rodgers
AP Coach of the Year:
There were several impressive coaching campaigns this season. The guys in contention are Jason Garrett, Bruce Arians, Pete Carroll, and Bill Belichick. Arians continues to improve the Cardinals even without a QB. Garrett was on the hot seat at the end of last season and another 8-8 season would have ended with Garrett losing his job. Instead he lead the Cowboys far into the post season. Carroll and Belichick brought both of their teams to the Super Bowl again. To me, the most impressive campaign goes to Arians because he almost made it to the divisional round with a second and later third string QB.
Winner: Bruce Arians.
AP Offensive Player of the Year:
This one is easy since Rodgers may already win MVP. I give this to Demarco Murray. He carried the Cowboys all season and broke an NFL record with eight straight 100-yard rushing games. He was also the leagues top rusher for the 2014-15 season. Without Murray, Romo does not have the spectacular season he did.
Winner: Demarco Murray
AP Defensive Player of the Year:
No need to explain.
Winner: JJ Watt
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year:
This was the year of stand out rookie WRs: Odell Beckham Jr., Kelvin Benjamin, Sammy Watkins, Jordan Matthews, Allen Hurns, ect. Zack Martin deserves an honorable mention for being the missing peace in the Cowboy’s offense, but he is a long shot to win the award. In 12 games Beckham had 1,305 yards, 91 catches, 12 touchdowns, and arguably the greatest catch of all time. Makes it hard to give it to anyone else…
Winner: Odell Beckham Jr.
AP Defense Rookie of the Year
Immediate impact rookie defenders aver very hard to come by and that’s why there are only 3 players really in contention for this award. My top three rookie defenders are C.J. Mosley, Khalil Mack, and Aaron Donald. I give this one to C.J. Mosley. He’s no Ray Lewis but he stepped up and took the starting job at MLB and went on to have one of the most impressive seasons by a rookie line backer ever. Starting all 16 games, Mosley registered 133 total tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble.
Winner: CJ Mosley
AP Comeback Player of the Year:
The way I see it is there are only two players in contention for Comeback player of the year. Rob Gronkowski’s 2013 season was filled with injury, including an infection in his forearm, and a complete ACL/MCL tear. In 2014 he rallied back and reclaimed his crown as footballs top TE.
The other player in contention is Cowboy’s MLB Rolando McClain. Just a few years ago, the NFL had all but forgotten about Rolando McClain. What makes that even more depressing is he was only drafted five years ago. Once the eighth overall pick, McClain was a monster on the field. Unfortunately he could not stay out of legal trouble off the field, being arrested four times in two years.
McClain retired after being released by the Raiders but then came out of retirement to sign with the Ravens in 2013. He was then promptly arrested again and then retired…again. Jerry Jones then pulled the trigger on a trade for the rights to McClain for just a seventh round pick. What followed was an impressive season by McClain filling the shoes of the injured Sean Lee.
I give this one to Gronkowski because without him the Patriots are not in the Super Bowl.
Winner: Rob Gronkowski
NFL.com Fantasy Player of the Year
This really could go to anyone of the top point scorers including Demarco Murray, Aaron Rodgers, Gronk, ext. But I’m giving this one to Le’Veon Bell. He was unstoppable in the running game as well as the passing game and he went on a hot streak heading into fantasy playoffs.
Winner: Le’Veon Bell
[Photo: AP/Ben Liebenberg]Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
