Image courtesy of Matt McGee/Flickr.
The NFL season is closing in on the midway point and Pro-Bowl ballots are already being accumulated faster than selfies at a Taylor Swift show. Let’s look at my picks for some of the major awards out there to be won.
MVP: I have always looked at MVP as the player that you would take if you had the first pick in a restructuring draft. While I hate to admit this Peyton Manning has the edge here. DeMarco Murray and a few defensive players are in the mix of the discussion, but Manning is solid on too many levels. Nation wide, we’re on your side, Peyton.
Offensive Player: Over 1000 yards in eight games, DeMarco Murray has this in a walk unless he gets hurt. To be fair if he keeps up his current pace he could likely miss three whole games and still finish at the league leader in rushing.
Defensive Player: Von Miller has been on a tear, and having DeMarcus Ware drawing attention off the edge has helped. I like J.J. Watt a lot more, but Miller’s stats are too large to ignore.
Offensive Rookie: Zack Martin of the Cowboys deserves the award, but Sammie Watkins of the Buffalo Bills will likely win this as he is putting up numbers and showing up on highlight reels across the nation. It’s tough to compare the two, but for my money the guy helping put up record numbers is better than the guy putting up solid numbers on his own.
Defensive Rookie: This is such a tough one to call. One huge game can be enough to vault one guy to the top of the discussion, and with how up and down teams are these days an eight sack or four interception game isn’t out of bounds. Khalil Mack is really the front-runner, but the Oakland Raiders poor standing may impact how the voters view him. The same could be said for two other contenders C.J. Mosley (Baltimore Ravens) or Kyle Fuller (Chicago Bears).
Coach: This is really only a two-horse race, and it will come down to the wire (or perhaps next week). Bruce Arians has made the Arizona Cardinals look like a legit contender, but there was some hope for that coming off a strong defensive showing from last year. Jason Garrett has the Cowboys near the top of the NFC in a very surprizing fashion. The Cowboys play the Cardinals this Sunday. I expect the Cardinals to win, but I’ve been wrong in the past (only a few hundred times). Garrett is doing more with less, certainly on defense. If both teams finish with the same record I’d give the nod to Garrett, if the Cardinals finish above the Cowboys than Arians walks away with the it.
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