Federal judge Susan Nelson may have single handedly saved the 2011 NFL season from being shortened or even cancelled. In my last blog, I broke down the battle between the NFL Players Association(NFLPA) and the NFL owners over the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, here's what has happened since then...
In a major win for the players, Judge Nelson ruled in favor of the players yesterday in the battle over a collective bargaining agreement. In an 89-page document, she wrote, "the players have demonstrated that they are suffering, and will suffer, irreparable harm[from the lockout]." She went on to write, “The irreparable harm to the players outweighs any harm an injunction would cause the NFL." Basically she is saying that the owners will still be making money under the current collective bargaining agreement, while the players are not being paid at all during a lockout. She also referenced that the average career of an NFL player is less than four years, and that being withheld pay during such a minimal career would be "irreparable harm."
The NFL has appealed the decision and will seek a stay in the injunction until the appeal is heard. A stay essentially puts a hold on the ruling until an appeal is heard in court. This is important because the NFLPA sent out an email last night telling players that they are now, as of the ruling, legally entitled to access their team's training facilities and resume offseason activities. Conversely, the NFL also contends that "federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes," which they feel the appeals court will see similarly.
A few players from various teams did show up today, and while they were allowed into the team facilities, according to NFL sources, the NFL Management Council has advised teams to not open weight rooms or training rooms or discuss any trades or contract negotiations with players. The NFLPA, however, claims that if players are not allowed full access to their team facilities, the NFL teams are breaking the law. It's a pretty muddled situation right now, and probably will be for a few days or weeks until this decision and the appeal all gets sorted out.
If and when this does all get straightened out, we can expect all NFL activity to resume. This means, players will return to offseason workouts with their teams, players will regain access to their team facilities and weight rooms, free agency and trades will resume and teams can renegotiate contracts with current players.
It's still a confusing and murky issue, but Susan Nelson's decision yesterday is a good step closer to having football this year, and for that, I think she may be the early favorite for MVP of the league in 2011.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Dave Duerson story
About a week ago, a few days after Dave Duerson, the former Chicago Bears defensive star, was found dead after commiting suicide, a story and an interview with Duerson was posted on Deadspin. It's a hard read but a truly amazing story, check it out if you haven't already...
click here.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Decoding the NFL collective bargaining agreement debacle
On March 3rd, the current NFL labor agreement between the owners and players is set to expire. The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and the owners just finished up a week's worth of negotiations and still the two sides seem to be far from an agreement. If the two sides can't come to an agreement by March 3rd, the owners are expected to vote to lock the players out.
If there was a lockout, it would mean that essentially all league activity would stop. Players would not be allowed to use any of the team's facilities to workout or watch film, practices would stop, teams would not be able to sign free-agents or extend any current contracts, and players currently under contract would stop receiving checks until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.
The owners basically want more money, they feel they got shortchanged in the last collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations and are trying to take some things back this time around. The owners claim that the players take home 59 percent of the eight billion dollars in annual gross revenues the league generates, the highest percentage of all the major sports (57 percent in the NHL, 55 percent in the NBA, and 43 percent in MLB). The players refute that claim, stating that the owners scrape money off the top to pay for expenses, and therefore they only take home closer to 50 percent. The owners also want the rookie pay-scale to be re-worked, saying that they take too much of a financial risk on these unproven players. Many NFL players actually support this proposal, as a lot of veteran players feel slighted by rookies coming in and making significantly more money than they do before having ever played a snap in the league. The NFLPA, however, is hesitant to agree to lower rookie contract scales unless the excess money is funneled back to the players as opposed to directly into the owners pockets.
The other issue the owners are pushing is an 18-game regular season, which the players oppose staunchly. The owners want the extra revenue that an 18-game season would bring, but they don't want to give extra compensation to the players. They feel that since they would be shortening the preseason by two games, that there will still be the same number of total games in the season, thus they don't have to give anything extra to the players. Of course, the players feel that adding two more meaningful games to the regular season would cause even more injuries. And with the correlation between concussions among NFL players and dementia in former players coming to light, the NFLPA simply cannot support a longer season without more compensation. If the 18-game season is to happen, aside from money, the NFLPA wants a second bye week to rest players and avoid injuries, expanded rosters to help coaches more easily sub players in and out, and a shorter and less rigorous offseason workout program so they can stay fresh throughout the regular season.
Unfortunately the two sides seem miles apart even after a week of talks. The owners however seem to have the upper hand as they will continue to make revenue even during a lockout, through TV contracts and merchandise sales.
The players' union does have a trick up their sleeve though... decertification. Decertification means that the union would be dissolved, which would allow individual players to take the NFL to anti-trust court to try to block the lockout. Confusing I know... here's how it works: as long as there is a union that represents the players, that is to say as long as the NFLPA exists, players are not allowed to take their negotiations outside of the bargaining room. However, if the NFLPA were to dissolve itself before the owners lock the players out, then players would be free to seek an injunction in anti-trust court that could block a potential lockout. If the negotiations did go to court, players could then fight any terms of employment they felt necessary, which could end up being a worse deal for the owners than they could have negotiated themselves. So, the threat of decertification is a powerful bargaining chip for the NFLPA. The head of the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith, hinted recently that the union would decertify before March 3rd if no new CBA had been reached.
This is how things finally got done the last time the collective bargaining agreement had to be renewed. During the last CBA negotiations in 1993, the NFLPA made significant gains in their negotiations when the decertified. After the union decertified, Reggie White acted as the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the league. The result is the current NFL collective bargaining agreement, which, of course, the owners feel is tilted too heavily towards the players. Clearly the owners want to stop the union from decertification, as history has shown that the players have made much more progress negotiating through the courts as opposed to directly with the owners.
As far as taking sides, of course I'm with the players. But really, it's hard to root for anyone who is splitting up eight billion dollars and crying about it. A lockout on March 3rd is looking like an inevitability, and unless the negotiations go to court, the lockout will probably last deep into the summer, maybe even cutting the regular season short. Hopefully it won't come to that though and these two sides can carve up that eight billion dollars in a mutually beneficial way. Til then though, we'll just have to sit back and wait...
If there was a lockout, it would mean that essentially all league activity would stop. Players would not be allowed to use any of the team's facilities to workout or watch film, practices would stop, teams would not be able to sign free-agents or extend any current contracts, and players currently under contract would stop receiving checks until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.
The owners basically want more money, they feel they got shortchanged in the last collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations and are trying to take some things back this time around. The owners claim that the players take home 59 percent of the eight billion dollars in annual gross revenues the league generates, the highest percentage of all the major sports (57 percent in the NHL, 55 percent in the NBA, and 43 percent in MLB). The players refute that claim, stating that the owners scrape money off the top to pay for expenses, and therefore they only take home closer to 50 percent. The owners also want the rookie pay-scale to be re-worked, saying that they take too much of a financial risk on these unproven players. Many NFL players actually support this proposal, as a lot of veteran players feel slighted by rookies coming in and making significantly more money than they do before having ever played a snap in the league. The NFLPA, however, is hesitant to agree to lower rookie contract scales unless the excess money is funneled back to the players as opposed to directly into the owners pockets.
The other issue the owners are pushing is an 18-game regular season, which the players oppose staunchly. The owners want the extra revenue that an 18-game season would bring, but they don't want to give extra compensation to the players. They feel that since they would be shortening the preseason by two games, that there will still be the same number of total games in the season, thus they don't have to give anything extra to the players. Of course, the players feel that adding two more meaningful games to the regular season would cause even more injuries. And with the correlation between concussions among NFL players and dementia in former players coming to light, the NFLPA simply cannot support a longer season without more compensation. If the 18-game season is to happen, aside from money, the NFLPA wants a second bye week to rest players and avoid injuries, expanded rosters to help coaches more easily sub players in and out, and a shorter and less rigorous offseason workout program so they can stay fresh throughout the regular season.
Unfortunately the two sides seem miles apart even after a week of talks. The owners however seem to have the upper hand as they will continue to make revenue even during a lockout, through TV contracts and merchandise sales.
The players' union does have a trick up their sleeve though... decertification. Decertification means that the union would be dissolved, which would allow individual players to take the NFL to anti-trust court to try to block the lockout. Confusing I know... here's how it works: as long as there is a union that represents the players, that is to say as long as the NFLPA exists, players are not allowed to take their negotiations outside of the bargaining room. However, if the NFLPA were to dissolve itself before the owners lock the players out, then players would be free to seek an injunction in anti-trust court that could block a potential lockout. If the negotiations did go to court, players could then fight any terms of employment they felt necessary, which could end up being a worse deal for the owners than they could have negotiated themselves. So, the threat of decertification is a powerful bargaining chip for the NFLPA. The head of the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith, hinted recently that the union would decertify before March 3rd if no new CBA had been reached.
This is how things finally got done the last time the collective bargaining agreement had to be renewed. During the last CBA negotiations in 1993, the NFLPA made significant gains in their negotiations when the decertified. After the union decertified, Reggie White acted as the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against the league. The result is the current NFL collective bargaining agreement, which, of course, the owners feel is tilted too heavily towards the players. Clearly the owners want to stop the union from decertification, as history has shown that the players have made much more progress negotiating through the courts as opposed to directly with the owners.
As far as taking sides, of course I'm with the players. But really, it's hard to root for anyone who is splitting up eight billion dollars and crying about it. A lockout on March 3rd is looking like an inevitability, and unless the negotiations go to court, the lockout will probably last deep into the summer, maybe even cutting the regular season short. Hopefully it won't come to that though and these two sides can carve up that eight billion dollars in a mutually beneficial way. Til then though, we'll just have to sit back and wait...
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Peyton Manning and Mike Vick get hit with franchise tags
Both Peyton Manning and Mike Vick were given the franchise tag last week by their respective teams. One, however, will almost assuredly be given a new contract in the next few weeks, the other will likely have to play his way into a new contract.
NFL teams have the option of designating one player per year as their "franchise" player. The franchise tag is given to a player in lieu of a new contract once the player's contract has expired. There are two types of franchise tags, an "exclusive rights" franchise tag, and a "non-exclusive" franchise tag. When a team gives a player an exclusive rights tag, they must offer the player a one-year contract worth no less than the average salary of the top five paid players at that position or 120 percent of the player's salary from the previous season, whichever is greater. The "exclusive" part of the deal means that the player is not allowed to negotiate with any other teams. A non-exclusive franchise tag means the same thing, except that the player can negotiate with other teams, but the player's original team has the right to match any offer that the player may receive from other teams.
Most times, players don't like getting the franchise tag honor from their team. For them, it means playing in another expiring-contract year instead of signing a huge new deal with a large signing bonus. In the "franchise" year, a player could easily get hurt or under-perform, which lowers the amount of money he will be offered the following year by teams, when he finally does become a free agent. In the cases of Vick and Manning however, I think it may not be a bad thing for either player.
Both Manning and Vick were given an exclusive rights franchise tags, assuring that they will be in Colts' and Eagles' uniforms respectively in 2011.
The Colts made a similar move in 2004 when they placed an exclusive rights franchise tag on Manning on February 23rd, only to re-sign Manning to a seven-year, 98 million dollar deal a week later on March 2nd, nullifying the franchise tag deal. Expect a similar result this time around as the Colts have zero interest in losing Manning in 2012. As of now, the franchise tag will pay Manning 23 million dollars next season, which is 120 percent of his 2010 salary. Many believe that the move was made mainly because of the uncertainty of next year's NFL collective bargaining agreement, which is still unresolved. An owner lockout or player strike seems like it will be hard to avoid as the two sides battle over salary issues, NFL pensions and the owner-proposed 18 game regular season. The way the Colts see things, they have insurance now if there is a lockout or strike, since no other teams would be allowed to talk to Manning if or when a stoppage does take place. In the end, I'm sure the Colts will do everything in their power to re-sign Manning for a long-term deal. He is the face of their franchise and far and away their best player. Hell, he's the best player in the history of their franchise one could argue very easily. I don't think he has any intention of leaving either. The Colts have always put good skill players around Manning and he seems like a loyal guy. We'll see but I'd bet that they work out a deal before any type of work stoppage happens.
Vick on the other hand probably won't be getting a new contract until a few weeks into the 2011 season, if there is a 2011 season. And that's also assuming that he plays at the same level he did last season. Vick will be paid the average of the top 5 quarterbacks in the league which amounts to roughly 16 million in 2011. For a guy who declared bankruptcy a few years back and only got paid 1.6 million last year, he's got to be ecstatic. And although he probably would rather have been given a monster new contract worth 50+ million over several years, it's an amazing turnaround from being in prison only two years ago. If he goes out in 2011 and plays the way he showed he could in 2010, teams will be lining up to pay him a huge contract in 2012. More than likely though, if he does look like the Mike Vick of 2010, the Eagles will lock him up mid-season and keep him in Philly for possibly the remainder of his career.
It will be very interesting to see how it all plays out in the coming months with the collective bargaining agreement not resolved. How it affects free agency and re-signings is still yet to be seen.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Is Newton the #1 quarterback?
Responding to critics saying his skills wouldn't translate to the NFL, Cam Newton held a media-only workout last weekend in San Diego. Since winning the national championship a month ago, Newton has been living and working out in San Diego with renowned quarterback trainer George Whitfield Jr. Whitfield was a former college and arena league quarterback and runs Whitfield Athletix in San Diego, a quarterback training program. He has worked with a number of quarterback prospects, including Ben Roethlisberger.
About 30 media outlets including ESPN and the NFL Network were invited. I watched some home videos of the workout and I gotta say... I'm on board. This dude looks like the real shit. I think he's going to be the #1 quarterback taken in the draft and possibly even the #1 overall pick.
NFL prospects rarely let the media see their workouts before the NFL combine,. The combine is a series of drills and written tests in which coaches from NFL teams attend and observe player's skills leading up to the draft. Newton's father, quickly becoming a master of hype, organized the workout, which took place two weeks before the first day of the NFL combine.
Newton worked almost exclusively out of the shotgun spread offense at Auburn last season. Some folks have questioned whether Newton could make a smooth transition to taking snaps from under center in the NFL. Newton said he wanted to show people that he's been working on that transition for the last month and show that he could in fact be effective under center. "Today was just a day for everybody to see and get a glimpse of what I do on an day-to-day basis," he said.
He looked really good in the workout, throwing deep passes all over the field with accuracy, and into a pretty strong wind too. His arm has that explosiveness that guys like Mike Vick and Brett Favre have. I think he's going to be fun to watch at very least next season. He also interviewed pretty well and didn't come off as as much of a dick as I figured he would have. Although I suppose the whole idea of holding a media day for no reason is kind of a cocky move in itself. Here's a slightly lengthy video of his interview and some workout highlights if you want to judge for yourself....
Oh, and peep how much of a boner Trent Dilfer gets while watching the workout...
About 30 media outlets including ESPN and the NFL Network were invited. I watched some home videos of the workout and I gotta say... I'm on board. This dude looks like the real shit. I think he's going to be the #1 quarterback taken in the draft and possibly even the #1 overall pick.
NFL prospects rarely let the media see their workouts before the NFL combine,. The combine is a series of drills and written tests in which coaches from NFL teams attend and observe player's skills leading up to the draft. Newton's father, quickly becoming a master of hype, organized the workout, which took place two weeks before the first day of the NFL combine.
Newton worked almost exclusively out of the shotgun spread offense at Auburn last season. Some folks have questioned whether Newton could make a smooth transition to taking snaps from under center in the NFL. Newton said he wanted to show people that he's been working on that transition for the last month and show that he could in fact be effective under center. "Today was just a day for everybody to see and get a glimpse of what I do on an day-to-day basis," he said.
He looked really good in the workout, throwing deep passes all over the field with accuracy, and into a pretty strong wind too. His arm has that explosiveness that guys like Mike Vick and Brett Favre have. I think he's going to be fun to watch at very least next season. He also interviewed pretty well and didn't come off as as much of a dick as I figured he would have. Although I suppose the whole idea of holding a media day for no reason is kind of a cocky move in itself. Here's a slightly lengthy video of his interview and some workout highlights if you want to judge for yourself....
Oh, and peep how much of a boner Trent Dilfer gets while watching the workout...
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Troy Polamalu wins NFL Defensive Player of the Year award
Last night the NFL announced that Troy Polamalu, the safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, won the Defensive Player of the Year award, edging out his Super Bowl opponent Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers. It's no surprise that the two defensive stars in the league will be facing off in the championship. Both these players have raised the level of play of the players around them and either would have been a worthy pick for the award. The rest of the NFL awards will be announced throughout the week leading up to the big game Sunday. Here's the way I see it going down...
MVP: Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers has his team in the Super Bowl and, despite a rash of injuries throughout the year, has been able to keep the offense potent. Rodgers threw for 3,922 yards with 28 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions this year for the Pack. Most importantly though Rodgers has gotten hot when it matters most, late in the year and in the post-season. The Packers quarterback won two must win games to get into the playoffs against two very good teams in weeks 16 and 17. An eye-opening destruction of the New York Giants by the score of 45-17, in which Rodgers threw for over 400 yards, and a gutty 10-3 win over the Bears in week 17. He then went into Philadelphia and bested Mike Vick, threw for 360+ yards in a decisive win over the #1 seeded Atlanta falcons in the Georgia Dome, and still had enough gas in the tank to beat the Bears at Soldier Field to clinch the NFC.
Runner up: Tom Brady
If Tom Brady hadn't choked and lost to the Jets in the playoffs, he'd probably be the MVP. I know we're only supposed to take the regular season into account when picking the MVP, but I think that's rubbish. Rodgers was more clutch and won when it counted. He's the MVP in my eyes.
Coach of the year: Mike McCarthy
Sticking with the Packers theme; I think Mike McCarthy is worthy of the Coach of the Year award. Don't be fooled by the Packers' #6 seed. They were hit by a slew of injuries in the early weeks of the season, many to starting players. In week 1, starting veteran running back Ryan Grant, a huge part of the teams' offensive gameplan, was put on injured reserve (ending his season) after breaking his ankle. A few weeks later Jermichael Finley, their budding sophmore tight end and Rodgers' go-to target in a pinch, was lost for the year as well with a knee injury. The list goes on and on as the injuries continued to pile up; other key players to go down were safety Morgan Burnett, linebackers Nick Barnett, Brandon Chillar and Brady Poppinga. In total, the Packers lost a mind-boggling 16 players to season ending injuries, as well as dealing with the normal nicks and bruises of the NFL grind. Rodgers missed a game, veteran receiver Donald Driver also missed multiple games. Somehow, through all this, Mike McCarthy was able to stay competitive and deliver wins week in and week out. His bench players stepped up, played well, and stayed focused throughout the setbacks.
Runner up: Todd Haley
Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley did an amazing job leading his team to a 10-6 record. Despite bowing out in the opening round of the playoffs to the Ravens, the Chiefs had a very good season. The Chiefs won only four games in 2009 and some were speculating that Haley may be replaced. Haley was able to balance the workload of his backfield successfully as the Chiefs had the #1 rushing attack in the NFL this season. Matt Cassell's exceptional play also reflects favorably on Haley, who stuck with him despite a rough 2009 campaign with the team.
Offensive rookie of the year: Sam Bradford
Last year's #1 overall pick in the draft earned instant credibility in my mind. Any player who can immediately go into St. Louis and turn things around from the way they had been going for the last few years is okay in my book. The team's 7-9 record in 2010 may not look too impressive, but if you consider that the team could only muster six wins in their previous three seasons, then you can start to see how Bradford had affected things. Not much else has changed either, although an improving defense was a boon to Bradford's success, the offense remained mostly the same. Once Bradford was inserted, he made good decisions and some clutch throws. The result was wins and a near playoff berth. He's my vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Runner up: Mike Williams
The young Buccaneer wideout was spectacular in his debut season, catching nearly 1,000 yards worth of passes and scoring 11 TDs. Considered a raw talent that needed to be groomed over a few years when he was drafted last year, Williams came into training camp on fire and looked much more mature than originally thought. He was one of the hottest players in the preseason and was able to keep that momentum going into the regular season, as he scored TDs in first two NFL games. He quickly became the go-to guy for Josh Freeman. Seeing as both these guys are very young, it's going to be exciting to see what they can do as a combo in the coming seasons for the improving Bucs. And with Freeman's cannon arm and Williams' speed and size, the sky is the limit.
Defensive rookie of the year: Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh, the overall #2 pick in last April's draft, recorded 10 sacks and generally wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks all season. The rookie defensive tackle was voted into the pro-bowl. Suh is a soft spoken guy and a hard worker, and considering he is only going to get better, things are looking at least slightly brighter for Detroit Lions fans.
Runner up: Devin McCourty
The Pats rookie cornerback ended the season with 89 combined tackles and seven interceptions. The seven interceptions was best among NFL rookies and second only to superstar Ed Reed, who had eight. Like Suh, McCourty played in the Pro Bowl last week and considering he was happy to just make the team in September, it's safe to say McCourty had an amazing rookie season.
Comeback player of the year: Mike Vick
For me, this is the story of the year. The return from arrest for dog-fighting, public humiliation and a lengthy jail stint to NFL superstar wasn't a seamless one. Vick looked rockyin 2009 when he took the field and was only a shell of the QB he was in Atlanta pre-jailtime. But after an injury to Eagles' starting QB Kevin Kolb in week one this year, Vick took flight once again. The guy won our hearts back with his ridiculous arm, his lightning quick reactions and his legs. My love for Vick is well documented. The guy is once again the most dynamic player in the league.
Runner up: Brandon Lloyd
I don't think anyone would have predicted that a guy who caught eight passes for a paltry 177 yards in 2009 would be this beastly. Lloyd returned to relevancy to the tune of 1,448 yards on 77 catches and 11 TDs. The 1,448 yards was the best in the NFL for any receiver. Credit recently canned Broncos coach Josh McDaniel's passing prowess for the improvement. Lloyd had never caught more than 48 balls before and had never received for more than 733 yards, both of which he did way back in 2005 for the 49ers. Doubling those totals was quite impressive and it will be interesting to see how he does next season without McDaniels.
MVP: Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers has his team in the Super Bowl and, despite a rash of injuries throughout the year, has been able to keep the offense potent. Rodgers threw for 3,922 yards with 28 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions this year for the Pack. Most importantly though Rodgers has gotten hot when it matters most, late in the year and in the post-season. The Packers quarterback won two must win games to get into the playoffs against two very good teams in weeks 16 and 17. An eye-opening destruction of the New York Giants by the score of 45-17, in which Rodgers threw for over 400 yards, and a gutty 10-3 win over the Bears in week 17. He then went into Philadelphia and bested Mike Vick, threw for 360+ yards in a decisive win over the #1 seeded Atlanta falcons in the Georgia Dome, and still had enough gas in the tank to beat the Bears at Soldier Field to clinch the NFC.
Runner up: Tom Brady
If Tom Brady hadn't choked and lost to the Jets in the playoffs, he'd probably be the MVP. I know we're only supposed to take the regular season into account when picking the MVP, but I think that's rubbish. Rodgers was more clutch and won when it counted. He's the MVP in my eyes.
Coach of the year: Mike McCarthy
Sticking with the Packers theme; I think Mike McCarthy is worthy of the Coach of the Year award. Don't be fooled by the Packers' #6 seed. They were hit by a slew of injuries in the early weeks of the season, many to starting players. In week 1, starting veteran running back Ryan Grant, a huge part of the teams' offensive gameplan, was put on injured reserve (ending his season) after breaking his ankle. A few weeks later Jermichael Finley, their budding sophmore tight end and Rodgers' go-to target in a pinch, was lost for the year as well with a knee injury. The list goes on and on as the injuries continued to pile up; other key players to go down were safety Morgan Burnett, linebackers Nick Barnett, Brandon Chillar and Brady Poppinga. In total, the Packers lost a mind-boggling 16 players to season ending injuries, as well as dealing with the normal nicks and bruises of the NFL grind. Rodgers missed a game, veteran receiver Donald Driver also missed multiple games. Somehow, through all this, Mike McCarthy was able to stay competitive and deliver wins week in and week out. His bench players stepped up, played well, and stayed focused throughout the setbacks.
Runner up: Todd Haley
Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley did an amazing job leading his team to a 10-6 record. Despite bowing out in the opening round of the playoffs to the Ravens, the Chiefs had a very good season. The Chiefs won only four games in 2009 and some were speculating that Haley may be replaced. Haley was able to balance the workload of his backfield successfully as the Chiefs had the #1 rushing attack in the NFL this season. Matt Cassell's exceptional play also reflects favorably on Haley, who stuck with him despite a rough 2009 campaign with the team.
Offensive rookie of the year: Sam Bradford
Last year's #1 overall pick in the draft earned instant credibility in my mind. Any player who can immediately go into St. Louis and turn things around from the way they had been going for the last few years is okay in my book. The team's 7-9 record in 2010 may not look too impressive, but if you consider that the team could only muster six wins in their previous three seasons, then you can start to see how Bradford had affected things. Not much else has changed either, although an improving defense was a boon to Bradford's success, the offense remained mostly the same. Once Bradford was inserted, he made good decisions and some clutch throws. The result was wins and a near playoff berth. He's my vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Runner up: Mike Williams
The young Buccaneer wideout was spectacular in his debut season, catching nearly 1,000 yards worth of passes and scoring 11 TDs. Considered a raw talent that needed to be groomed over a few years when he was drafted last year, Williams came into training camp on fire and looked much more mature than originally thought. He was one of the hottest players in the preseason and was able to keep that momentum going into the regular season, as he scored TDs in first two NFL games. He quickly became the go-to guy for Josh Freeman. Seeing as both these guys are very young, it's going to be exciting to see what they can do as a combo in the coming seasons for the improving Bucs. And with Freeman's cannon arm and Williams' speed and size, the sky is the limit.
Defensive rookie of the year: Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh, the overall #2 pick in last April's draft, recorded 10 sacks and generally wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks all season. The rookie defensive tackle was voted into the pro-bowl. Suh is a soft spoken guy and a hard worker, and considering he is only going to get better, things are looking at least slightly brighter for Detroit Lions fans.
Runner up: Devin McCourty
The Pats rookie cornerback ended the season with 89 combined tackles and seven interceptions. The seven interceptions was best among NFL rookies and second only to superstar Ed Reed, who had eight. Like Suh, McCourty played in the Pro Bowl last week and considering he was happy to just make the team in September, it's safe to say McCourty had an amazing rookie season.
Comeback player of the year: Mike Vick
For me, this is the story of the year. The return from arrest for dog-fighting, public humiliation and a lengthy jail stint to NFL superstar wasn't a seamless one. Vick looked rockyin 2009 when he took the field and was only a shell of the QB he was in Atlanta pre-jailtime. But after an injury to Eagles' starting QB Kevin Kolb in week one this year, Vick took flight once again. The guy won our hearts back with his ridiculous arm, his lightning quick reactions and his legs. My love for Vick is well documented. The guy is once again the most dynamic player in the league.
Runner up: Brandon Lloyd
I don't think anyone would have predicted that a guy who caught eight passes for a paltry 177 yards in 2009 would be this beastly. Lloyd returned to relevancy to the tune of 1,448 yards on 77 catches and 11 TDs. The 1,448 yards was the best in the NFL for any receiver. Credit recently canned Broncos coach Josh McDaniel's passing prowess for the improvement. Lloyd had never caught more than 48 balls before and had never received for more than 733 yards, both of which he did way back in 2005 for the 49ers. Doubling those totals was quite impressive and it will be interesting to see how he does next season without McDaniels.
Friday, January 28, 2011
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