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

2011 WROTC NFL Awards

They are back for a second year.  Last year my buddy Quentin and I broke out the WROTC NFL Awards.  This year it’s going to get freaky adding in a couple more with the Des Moines Sports Freaks Blake, Zach and Wendt.  It was fun putting last years together and this year’s too.  Hope you enjoy them. 

Play of the Year

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Matt – For the second straight year I’m going with a Chiefs receiver.  Jonathan Baldwin’s behind the back catch vs. the Broncos. 

Painter – I'm going back to Thursday of Week 1.  I know it's the homerish thing to do but Randall Cobb's 108 yard kick return touchdown was a thing of beauty

Blake – Ga'h.  Um, I'm not sure.  Maybe Randall Cobb's 109 yard punt return on opening night?

Wendt – Jerome Simpson of the Bengals flipping over a Cardinals player to score a TD

Zach – Even the Russian judge liked the Jerome Simpson leap

Game of the Year

Matt - Giants 37 Cowboys 34 (Week 14) – This game was a back and forth game that showed the best of Romo and Eli Manning.  They scored 29 points in the fourth quarter and Manning threw for 2 scores and 400 yards.  It was by far the most fun game I saw all year.  It isn’t as impactful as their Week 17 game for the Division title but it was huge in the East race and a gem of a game.

Painter – Tie - Week 14 Dallas @ New York Giants and Week 17 Green Bay vs Detroit.  A case could be made for the Dallas @ SF game but I'll take the other 2

Blake – Again, the one that sticks out is the opening night game between the Packers and the Saints.  I hope we get a rematch in the NFC Championship Game

Wendt – Chiefs upsetting the Packers

Zach – Chiefs upsetting Packers

Offensive Player of the Year

Matt - Drew Brees: Saints – no offense to Aaron Rodgers and his phenomenal year but the year that Brees has had is amazing and a record breaker.  Breaking Dan Marino’s 27 year old record with a game to play is amazing in its own right. 

Painter – Aaron Rodgers:Packers - He was consistent all season and broke Manning's QB rating record.

Blake – Aaron Rodgers:Packers  – Yes, he has a lot of weapons around him, but so does Drew Brees, and at least the Saints have a running game.

Wendt – Aaron Rodgers:Packers
Zach – Drew Brees: Saints

Defensive Player of the Year

Matt - Jason Pierre-Paul: Giants – The 2^nd year DEnd from South Florida has been a force all year.  16.5 sacks, 86 tackles, 2 Forced Fumbles and 6 pass deflections.  Jared Allen may 20+ sacks but going to go with overall production in Pierre-Paul.

Painter – Jared Allen: Vikings - He was one of the few Vikings that seemed to care this year

Blake – Jason Pierre-Paul: Giants

Wendt – Jared Allen: Vikings

Zach – Entire Niners Defense

Special Teams Player of the Year

Matt - Patrick Peterson: Cardinals - I’d love to give it to Devin Hester again as he is just adding to his all-time record, but this year its Peterson’s.  Peterson has one more return for a score than Hester and has amazing wheels when he gets out in the open.  Will he come close to Hester’s Hall of Fame resume?  No, and he’s just keeping this spot warm till next year.

Painter – Darren Sproles: Saints - I don't think anyone in particular really stood out this year, he really helped New Orleans

Blake – Patrick Peterson: Cardinals

Wendt – Devin Hester-Bears

Zach – Patrick Peterson: Cardinals – He made things happen

Rookie of the Year

Matt - Cam Newton: Panthers.  He’s proven me wrong.  Back in April I said he would be the BUST of all BUSTS!  And WOW was I wrong.  Is Carolina a playoff contender?  NO.  But they are relevant again and the reason is Cam.  He still has a ways to come but he’s broken rookie marks for passing yardage in a year and he’s had a better rookie year than Peyton Manning did.  I don’t think he can be successful running the QB position like he is now but he’ll keep Carolina exciting as long as he’s healthy and they give him weapons around him.

Painter – Cam Newton: Panthers (for the stats) & Andy Dalton: Cincinnati (for getting the Bengals back into the playoffs).

Blake – Cam Newton: Panthers

Wendt – Cam Newton: Panthers
Zach – Cam Newton: Panthers - without controversy

Coach of the Year

Matt - Mike McCarthy: Packers - It’d be easy to take a deep breath after winning the Super Bowl, instead the Packers just went and rattled off a 15-1 season and are the favorites to get into the Super Bowl again on the NFC side of the bracket.  He is slowly replacing Holmgren in status as a coach in Green Bay and might have as many Super Bowl wins as Lombardi after this year.

Painter – Jim Harbaugh: 49ers

Blake – Jim Harbaugh: 49ers

Wendt – Jim Harbaugh: 49ers

Zach – Jim Harbaugh: 49ers

Most Impactful Injury

Matt - Jay Cutler: Bears - It’d be easy to say Peyton Manning and the effect him not playing has had on the Colts 2-14 year and eventual drafting of Andrew Luck, but after 10 games the Bears were 7-3 and rolling on offense and the defense looked great and the NFC looked like it was a four team race with Green Bay, San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago.  Then the thumb injury happened and the Bears free fell from the playoffs, Matt Forte got hurt, the team got Tebowed and the season that looked so great was lost. 

Painter – This one is easy though, Peyton Manning

Blake – Peyton Manning, without a doubt

Wendt – Jay Cutler and Matt Forte injuries turned the Bears from a #3 NFC playoff seed to sitting at home at 8-8

Zach – Jay Cutler's injury, ruined the Bears season

Biggest Surprise

Matt - Cincinnati - The Bengals entered the season with franchise QB Carson Palmer not wanting to be back in Cincy, OchoCinco and TO gone from the wide receiver core and Cedric Benson in trouble again.  They drafted 2 rookies in AJ Green and Andy Dalton and they still have Mike Brown as their owner.  But Dalton and Green have been fantastic from day 1 and they’ve played great and have a playoff shot going into week 17.

Painter – San Francisco - Getting the #2 seed in the NFC.  I know the NFC West is about as good as the MAC but I didn't expect the 49'ers to do that well

Blake – Indianapolis - How bad the Colts were without Peyton Manning

Wendt – Indianapolis - The Colts being so horrible, I realize losing one player such as a Peyton Manning would be impactful but they have glaring holes at a ton of other positions too

Zach – Matt Flynn (Packers back up) putting up Rodger-like numbers on Detroit

Biggest Disappointment

Matt - New York Jets - The Dream Team would be an easy pick here but I’m going another route with the J-E-T-S.  This is a team that Rex Ryan has proclaimed Super Bowl or Bust.  We’ll its BUST.  Their schedule has been brutal but they’ve got away from what I think they want to be, a physical team.  They aren’t pounding the ball and stopping the run like they have been the past few years.  They seem to be getting sucked into the air it out sense with what is going on in the league and they aren’t built for that.

Painter – Tampa Bay Bucs

Blake – I would say the Chiefs, Rams, and Bucs, all of which looked to have young, successful and improving teams after last season, and all took a (in some cases, huge) step back this year

Wendt – The lockout lasting as long as it did

Zach – New York Jets -- Two straight AFC Champ appearances to staying home is tough to swallow

2010 WROTC NFL Awards

There’s a lot of NFL Awards out there, and I thought since I’ve done some college football awards since 2001, but never NFL Awards, why not throw something together.  So with my buddy Quentin (@sportsfreak_qp on twitter and at Off the Crossbar) we’ve come up with the Wide Right Off the Crossbar or WROTC NFL Awards.  So here we go with our 10 categories and winners.  Let us know what you think!

Play of the Year

Matt – Moeki’s td Catch vs. San Francisco  – One handed catch by a rookie leaping toward the back end of the end zone and gets both feet in comfortably, and he’s a former Hawkeye, gotta give him some love!

Quentin –  Dan Connolly's 71 yard kickoff return TD vs. Green Bay - A 313 pound lineman returns a kick 71 yards?  how does that happen?

          

Game of the Year

Matt - Philadelphia vs. NY Giants, The Comeback  – Down 31-10 with 7:30 left to play, the Eagles scored 28 unanswered points capped off by DeSeann Jackson’s punt return for a td as time expired.

Quentin –  Philadelphia vs. NY Giants  – 28 4th quarter points for Philly - Down 21 points in the 4th only to score 28 in a row, capped by an amazing punt return for a TD by DeSeann Jackson as the clock struck 0:00.

Offensive Player of the Year

Matt – Mike Vick, Philadelphia – When he was playing, most the year he was Superman.  See the Washington game and The Comeback vs. New York.  Dude was amazing.

Quentin – Mike Vick, Philadelphia - After some time off he regained his pre-legal-issues self and took control of games.  He did it all with his arms and legs.

Defensive Player of the Year

Matt – Clay Matthews, Green Bay – Probably wouldn’t have the Offensive player of the year without the Defensive player of the year.  Clay knocked out Kevin Kolb and that allowed Mike Vick to emerge in Philly.  Clay is a force in the middle in Green Bay and wrecks havoc on opposing QBs.

Quentin – Clay Matthews, Green Bay - Dom Capers used Charles Woodson in many different ways in 2009 and did the same with Matthews in 2010.  Matthews worked hard during the off season to improve and it paid off.  He was the most disruptive pass rusher in the NFL.

Special Teams Player of the Year

Matt – Devin Hester, Chicago – Mr. Record Breaker….that is all.

Quentin – Devin Hester, Chicago - Definition of a 'game changer' (see week 3 vs Green bay).  Teams had to game plan around him, how many returners can that be said about?


Mr Record Breaker

Rookie of the Year

Matt – Sam Bradford, St. Louis – a year ago he was banged up a couple times vs. BYU and Texas.  The Rams made him the #1 pick, and if he doesn’t lose some receivers they probably win the division by a game or two.

Quentin – Sam Bradford, St. Louis - Thrown into the fire from the start and exceeded expectations.  Keep Mark Clayton healthy and St Louis is in the playoffs easily.  No other rookie had as much of an impact as Bradford, except maybe Bryan Bulaga in Green Bay.

Coach of the Year

Matt -Lovie Smith, Chicago – Lovie was on the hot seat coming into the season and made some questionable hires with Mike Martz and Mike Tice.  The Bears then went on to go 5-1 vs. division opponents and came out 2010 Division Champions and a #2 NFC Seed.
Quentin – Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay – 3-13 in 2009 to 10-6 in 2010.  Tampa Bay was left for dead after 2009.  No real expectations for 2010 and they missed the playoffs by 1 game.  Lots of unknown players that played at an elevated level.  The NFL version of Kirk Ferentz.

Best Replacement for an Injured Player

Matt – Mike Vick, Philadelphia for Kevin Kolb  – Easy pick here.  Kolb may have lost his starting gig in Philly.

Quentin – Mike Vick, Philadelphia for Kevin Kolb - Not only did Kolb lose the starting spot he may have also lost his roster spot in Philly. 

Kevin Kolb is the new Wally Pipp

Biggest Surprise

Matt – St. Louis Rams – #1 Pick in 2009 to almost being in the playoffs and in division championship contention up to the last game of the regular season

Quentin – Kansas City Chiefs – 4-12 in 2009 to 10-6 and AFC West champions in 2010.  Team looked almost inept in 2009 and then prolific in 2010.

  

Biggest Disappointment

Matt – Minnesota Vikings & Brett Favre  – Almost a Super Bowl last year and a perfect season for Favre to a total collapse and last place finish in the NFC North.  Oh and a collapsed roof at the Metrodome and a fired head coach and the Randy Moss fiasco.

Quentin – San Francisco 49ers - Huge expectations for the team and coach going into 2010 only to disappoint yet again.  Minnesota was close but I knew that Favre would have a down year, he has a 2 year cycle (up one, down next).

Let us know what you think and if you agree or not and what would you have chose?