2012 WROTC NFL Awards

Time has flown by and the NFL regular season is over.  Playoffs and the march to New Orleans is on.  Time to hand out some awards.  This is the 3rd Edition of the WROTC NFL Awards.  Enjoy!

Play of the Year

Matt - Russell Wilson's game winning interception...errr Touchdown

Wendt - Golden Tate's game winning TD against the Packers
Painter - Fail Mary - showed how unprepared the replacement officlas were

Blake - Russell Wilson to MD Jennings to Golden Tate

Zach - Fail Mary

Game of the Year

Matt - Packers at Vikings - Week 17 - So much on the line for both teams, Peterson and the NFC Playoff picture.  They didn't disappoint.   

Wendt - Houston over Detroit (Turkey Day game)

Painter - Green Bay at Seattle (good battle despite the bad officiating both ways)

Blake - San Francisco vs New England - SNF 

Zach - San Francisco vs New England - SNF

Offensive Player of the Year

Matt - Adrian Peterson - Vikings - What he's done this year after surgery is amazing.

Wendt - Peyton Manning - Broncos

Painter - Adrian Peterson - Vikings

Blake - Peyton Manning - Broncos

Zach - Adrian Peterson - Vikings

Defensive Player of the Year

Matt - JJ Watt - Texans - I'd love to give it to a Bear like Jennings or Tillman, can't though.  

Wendt - JJ Watt - Texans

Painter - JJ Watt - Texans

Blake - Aldon Smith - 49ers

Zach - Charles Tillman - Bears

Special Teams Player of the Year

Matt - Brandon Fields - Dolphins - 50 yd avg on punts and 26 inside the 20

Wendt - Blair Walsh

Painter - Blair Walsh

Blake - None have really stuck out.  Maybe Greg Zuerlein

Zach - Jacoby Jones - Texans

Rookie of the Year

Matt - RG3 - Redskins - A pure spark to that team and organization.  Luck and Wilson are right there too.

Wendt - Andrew Luck - Colts

Painter - hate to go with a QB but RGIII (Casey Hayward would be my vote for defensive rookie)

Blake - Tough one, but I'll go Andrew Luck.  Can't go wrong with RG3 either.

Zach - Andrew Luck - Colts

Coach of the Year

Matt - The Colts Staff - What they've done with a team that sucked last year, a rookie QB is amazing.

Wendt - Mike Shanahan - Redskins

Painter - Bruce Arians - Colts

Blake - As much as it pains me to say it, Pete Carroll.  Bruce Arians 2nd if you consider him eligible.

Zach - Entire Colts Staff

Most Impactful Injury

Matt - Alex Smith getting knocked out and thus getting Wally Pipped by Collin Kaepernick.

Wendt - Kevin Kolb - Cardinals

Painter - Brian Urlacher (the Bears win at least 1 more game and make the playoffs with him)

Blake - For once I'm not sure there has been a defining one, especially coming off the blood bath that was last year.  Maybe Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher

Zach - Alex Smith's concussion leading to Collin Kaepernick starting

Biggest Surprise

Matt - Seattle's offensive explosion.  The Bengals with Andy Dalton in back to back playoffs.  The Bears go from 7-1 to home for the playoffs at 10-6.

Wendt - Indianpolis Colts

Painter - Minnesota Vikings making the playoffs

Blake - In some order; Saints suck, Colts are decent, Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning, the Seahawks are pretty darn good.

Zach - Adrian Peterson resurgent return post-injury

Biggest Disappointment

Matt - The Steelers and Giants not making the post season, Philly's collapse too.

Wendt - Kansas City Chiefs

Painter - Tie:  Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears (hot starts, cold finishes)

Blake - Again, in some order; the Saints suck, and so do the Giants and the Steelers

Zach - New Orleans Saints season

Big Ten Awards – Week 11

Team of the Week: Michigan State

Sparty had a lot to play for this week in what has been a house of horrors for them.  It’s been since 1989 since Michigan State had won in Kinnick Stadium.  They came out and punched Iowa in the mouth and got 2 big turnovers and turned them in to 14 points and eventually a 37-21 win over Iowa and took a HUGE step in moving forward to the Legends Division title and a trip to Indy for the inaugural Big Ten Title game.  Northwestern and Indiana stand in the Spartans way.  A win this week end clinches a tie for the  division for Michigan State.

Helmet Sticker: Jeremy Ebert : WR : Northwestern.  The Wildcats stepped away from conference play this week with a game vs Rice.  The Wildcat WR had a big day too.  Ebert had 7 catches, 208 yards and 2 scores.  The Cats are now a win away from bowl eligibility.

Game of the Week: Purdue 26 – Ohio State 23

The Boilers fought the Buckeyes nose to nose and took a lead, punched them in the nose.  Ohio State scored a late touchdown when trailing 20-14, and blocked a field goal to send the game to overtime.  The Boilermakers then held off the Buckeyes just enough to get the win.  The Boilers have won 2 straight vs. OSU at Ross-Ade Stadium and are a win away from bowl eligibility.

Big Ten Jimmy John’s Challenge

Chad (62-22)          Matt (61-23)          Kyle (60-24)

Big Ten Takeaway:  Lots of respect to Bo Pelini this week.  His statements after the Penn State-Nebraska game were more powerful and meaningful than any explosion he had on the sidelines at the refs or a player in his comments about the situation at Penn State.  He said that the game should have been cancelled.  As a university it was a teaching moment to the young kids on his team and also those watching sports center.  Props to him.

National Takeaway: I thought one unbeaten would fall this weekend with Oregon upsetting Stanford.  I never thought Boise State would go down to TCU.  The BCS may have gotten messier with the Broncos unbeaten no more, Oklahoma State and LSU both have tough games ahead.  We may still be in for one big mess!

Heisman Ballot:  Kellen Moore : Boise State / Case Keenum : Houston / Andrew Luck : Stanford

Big Ten Player of the Year Top 3: Montee Ball : Wisconsin / Russell Wilson : Wisconsin / Marvin McNutt : Iowa

Big Ten Awards - Week 5

Team of the Week - WISCONSIN - Well that wasn't the welcome Tom Osborne and Big Red.  Wow did Wisconsin look good.  Getting down 14-7 and then rallying off 34 straight points.  Russell Wilson looked great like he has the past 4 games and Monte Ball scampered for 4 tds and 151 yards.  Nebraska got into passing situations and this is were Taylor Martinez struggles, and it showed.  The Husker QB tossed 3 picks.  The Huskers welcome tour heads home to face the struggling Buckeyes next week.

Helmet Sticker - AJ Jenkins-WR-Illinois - The Illinois wideout had a HUGE day in the shoot out with the Wildcats.  Jenkins caught 12 passes for 248 yards and 4 scores in the 38-35 win over Northwestern.

Monte Ball-RB-Wisconsin - The Badger running back rolled up 151 yards and 4 scores vs the vaunted Nebraska Blackshirt Defense.  Ball has been a touchdown scoring machine for the Badgers, with 6 tds this year on the ground and 22 since the beginning of last season.

Game of the Week - Illinois 38 : Northwestern 35 - If you blinked in the 2nd half you missed an arena game break out at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.  The Illini needed 21 points in the fourth quarter to move to 5-0/1-0 and are a surprise in the Big Ten and the nation.  Northwestern couldn't contain AJ Jenkins as he rolled up 248 yards recieving and QB Nathan Scheelhouse had 391 yards passing a 4 tds.  In return to Big Ten play, Wildcat QB Dan Persa tossed 4 tds.  

Highlight of the Week - coming soon

Big Ten Takeaway - Where did the Fighting Zooker's come from?  5-0/1-0?  Will the keep up with the Badgers?  That will be hard, Wisconsin looks really good and like a top 4 team in the nation after they rolled up Nebraska.  Michigan State got a nice win in the Horseshoe to stay a top the Legends Division with rival Michigan.  

National Takeaway - Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma and Wisconsin are the class of FBS.  I wish we could see these four teams playoff.  Luckily we get to see the Tide and Tigers face off, but a four team playoff?  Hello NCAA?  Robert Griffin III has had one hell of a season so far, and has thrown one bad pass, an interception that lead to Kansas State to an upset of Baylor.  

Heisman Ballot - Russell Wilson:Wisconsin, Robert Griffin III:Baylor, LaMichael James:Oregon

Jimmy John's Big Ten Challenge

Week – Matt (6-0)          Chad (5-1)                Kyle (5-1)

Season – Matt (41-11)          Chad (40-12)          Kyle (39-13)

Big Ten Awards - Week 4

Well I said in the predictions, watch out for North Dakota State and North Texas vs Minnesota and Indiana respectively.  What happened....Minnesota suffered its 3rd loss to a Dakota team since 2007.  Indiana went to the Mean Green's new stadium and former Iowa State coach Dan MacCarney came away with a win.

Team of the Week : NEBRASKA : I would have said Wisconsin but they played a FCS school.  The Huskers went to Wyoming, 3-0 from the Mountain West and racked up nearly 500 yards of offense and controlled the game throughout.  The Huskers play their first Big Ten game next week when the go to Camp Randall and take in a top 10 showdown with Wisconsin.

Helmet Sticker : This will be a little deja vu from last week but here we go - Denard Robinson - QB - Michigan.  Yes he had a couple picks but Denard ran for 200 yards with 3 touchdowns, one being a bullet out of a gun run for 53 yards.  He won't be able to have passing performances like that in the Big Ten and win but he sure can run the ball.

Russell Wilson - QB - Wisconsin : Ok, how did he get out of NC State and to Madison?  Wilson tossed the ball for 345 yards and 3 scores.  The Badger QB is in the top 5 in passer efficiency in the nation and is on his way to All-American/All-Big Ten and Heisman status if he keeps this up.  A BIG test next week vs the Blackshirts.

James Vandenberg - QB - Iowa : If not for Wilson Vandenberg is having right now what could be an All-Big Ten year.  After 399 yard performance last week, JVB threw for 270 and 3 scores (2 to Marvin McNutt) and also ran for a score in Iowa's romp over Louisiana-Monroe.  The Iowa coaches may have seen something in their signal caller and are letting him sling it a bit more than we are accustomed to seeing.








Game of the Week : Illinois 23 - Western Michigan 20 : The Illini are off to their best start in more than 50 years after a struggle with the Broncos.  Being ranked for the first time since 2008 and the Big Ten season on the horizon the fighting Zookers might have been looking past Western Michigan a bit, but in the end were able to wear down the Broncos and rack up nearly 300 yards rushing.  Illinois next hosts Northwestern in Big Ten Play.

Highlight of the Week - Denard Robinson 53 yard touchdown run vs San Diego State

-The run is at the 20 second mark

Big Ten Take Away - I'd rather not dwell on the negative but on a weekend were there wasn't much competition (other than in Champaign) Minnesota and Indiana in their coaches first years are struggling.  They lost to teams they should have beat today in North Texas and North Dakota State.  I don't see them going winless in the Big Ten, but they will struggle this year and maybe next, but the fans should get behind Kevin Wilson and Jerry Kill.  Rome wasn't built in a day, neither are college football programs.


National Take Away - Robert Griffin III and Baylor are good.  This isn't your father's or grandfather's Baylor Bears.  RG3 has more TD's in 3 games than incompletions.  This has been against TCU, Stephen F Austin and Rice.  TCU is good but the others are world beaters.  Next week they go to Kansas State where the Bears should move to 4-0 and RG3 will continue to put up impressive numbers again.  If you get a chance to watch him, the dude is good!

Jimmy John Big Ten Challenge

Week – Matt (8-2)          Chad (8-2)          Kyle (8-2)

Season – Matt (35-11)          Chad (35-11)          Kyle (34-12)

Big Ten Awards - Week 3

Welcome back Jerry Kill!  one week after suffering a seizure on the sidelines, coach Jerry Kill returned to the Gopher sideline and notched his first W with a win over Miami(Ohio).  Along with Kill, Indiana coach Kevin Wilson got his first win as Hoosier coach with a 38-21 win over South Carolina State.

Team of the Week : ILLINOIS - Arizona State came into Champaign with a 2-0 record, some fancy new uniforms with a new logo, and a win over top 25 team already last week topping off Missouri.  Also the tallest QB in the nation at 6-8.  Though Illini QB Nathan Shcheelhaase was the QB that lead a game winning drive in the 4th with a TD pass.  The Illini and Ron Zook are now a quiet 3-0 in the Big Ten with the impressive win over Arizona State and can go 4-0 next week with a win over Western Michigan.

Helmet Sticker : Denard Robinson went off like it was 2010.  Rushing for 198 yards vs Eastern Michigan he also tallied 3 tds in a 31-3 victory.  The Wolverines were never in any doubt to lose this game but PS3 (aka Shoelace) went off again and was just fun to watch.  It's not RichRod's offense but Hoke isn't dumb enough to keep DRob just in the pocket.



James Vandenberg threw for 399 yards, 168 in the fourth quarter and 3 tds to lead Iowa to it's biggest comeback victory in school history.  Kirk Ferentz and Ken O'Keefe abandonded the run vs 8 in the box and got rid of the play action and let James sling it. Hopefully they learned something from this.  He put the Hawks on his arm and did what he does best.

Russell Wilson also put on a passing clinic.  Earning his 2nd helmet sticker, the Badger QB threw for 347 yards and 3 scores in a route of Northern Illinois in Soldier Field.  The transfer has been a nice addition for the Badgers who with Wilson have a threat at QB now with their road grading running attack.  In 3 games Wilson has 759 yards passing and 8 tds to 0 int.  

Game of the Week : IOWA 31 - PITT 27 : Don't call it a comeback!  WOW.  What happened in Iowa City was reminiscent of Iowa-Indiana 2009.  Down 21 at one point Iowa went to outscore Pitt 28-3 over the final 16 minutes to move to 2-1.  James Vandenberg tossed the ball 399 yards and had 3 tds.  With little time in the 3rd the Hawks changed their offensive philosophy from running and play action to a gun slinger in no huddle and shot gun and it worked.  The offense sparked, Jordan Bernstine started and laid some big hits.  Micah Hyde capped the game with a pick as Pitt was driving.

Highlight of the Week : Jeremy Ebert touchdown grab vs Army.  (at the 47 second mark)

Big Ten Take Away : Wisconsin is the best team in the Big Ten.  Nebraska jumped up in competition and showed its stuff.  Though I still think if you get the Huskers where they need to pass they are in trouble.  Illinois is a sneaky 3-0 and may give some teams some fits.  Iowa needs to abandon what they are known for with this young team.  Michigan State isn't in trouble, just met a desperate Notre Dame team this weeknd.

National Take Away : Auburn's luck ran out with a 14 point loss at Clemson.  Oklahoma made the biggest statement of the weekend with a win over Florida State at Doak Campbell.  

Jimmy John's Big Ten Challenge

Week – Matt (8-4)          Chad (7-5)          Kyle (8-4)

Season – Matt (27-9)          Chad (27-9)          Kyle (26-10)

Big Ten Awards - Week 1

The big news of the week in the Big Ten was that mother nature suspended games in Iowa City and even called the game in Michigan.  Other teams had some scares.  Purdue barely escaped Middle Tennessee State while Indiana fell to Ball State, and Minnesota put a scare in to USC at the Coliseum.  The rest of the conference rolled to a wins they were expected too.

Team of the Week: Northwestern - The Wildcats went on the road to Boston College without their Heisman Candidate QB Dan Persa and came out with a 24-17 win.  The Cats rolled up 227 yards rushing against the top team against the run in 2010.  Northwestern gets to come home next week 1-0 and host Eastern Illinois.

Game of the Week: USC 19 - Minnesota 17 - The Gophers went in to LA and even after starting QB Marquis Gray got hurt, they still managed to hang with mighty Trojans.  Jerry Kill had his Gophers ready to play, they might be a competitive out in the Big Ten this coming year.

Helmet Stickers:  Brandon Herron from Michigan became the first Wolverine to score 2 defensive touchdowns in one game.  He nabbed a interception return as the Broncos were going into score and then a fumble recovery for 6.  


Russell Wilson opened his Badger season with a nice performance in a dominating game over the visiting UNLV Rebels.  Passed for 255 yards and 2 TDs and scampered for a long 46 yard touchdown. 

Highlight of the Week:  Brandon Herron's 98 yard interception return for a touchdown at the 1 minute mark.




Russell Wilson TD run…go to about the 2 minute mark.

Big Ten Weekly Picks

Matt (10-2)   -   Chad (11-1)   -   Kyle (10-2)