STAMFORD, CT – The post-Super Bowl, pre-MLB sports dead zone might be even deader this year, with hockey on a brief hiatus for the NHL Four Nations Face-Off, which may or may not be interesting. In the meantime, all we have is hoops. I’m going to stick with football for one last week and talk about the NFL awards. I have no real complaints, but there were some odd quirks. Is that redundant? Maybe all quirks are odd. Anyway, quirk me, baby.
1. Allen is MVP But Not a First Team All-Pro or a Top 5 Offensive Player
Josh Allen was the MVP in a close battle with Lamar Jackson. I don’t have a problem with either guy winning. But Lamar was the first team All-Pro and Allen wasn’t even in the top 5 finalists for offensive player of the year. Was he playing defense in blitz packages? Was he on the FG block team? How could a QB be the MVP of the entire league and not be one of the top offensive players or 1st team all pro? The voters are the same.
2. Saquon Won for Offensive Player of the Year, But Got No First Place Votes for MVP and Only One Second Place Vote
Saquon also doesn’t play defense or special teams. If he’s the best offensive player, how could he not have gotten at least a few MVP votes? I understand the system is imperfect and there are going to be some quirks. But the lopsidedness of those two vote results is weird. If pretty much everyone thought Barkley was the best offensive player, you’d think a few of them would have voted for him for MVP.
Saquon was held in check by the Chiefs, but still had a massive effect on the game. I think the Chiefs’ strategy to shut down Saquon was a good one. If the Chiefs offense could have done anything in the first half, it might have had a chance to work. But their defense was on the field basically the entire first half. As the offense kept putting the D in tough spots, Spags had to get even more aggressive with the blitzes and man coverages and Hurts made them pay. The focus on Saquon led to some wide-open receivers.
3. Daniels over Nix for Offensive Rookie of the Year in a Landslide
I have no problem with this one, Jayden’s poise from the start was beyond impressive. I’m simply listing it here to point out that Bo’s stats were surprisingly comparable. His passing stats were better:
Daniels: 3,568 yards, 25 TDs, 9 Ints.
Nix: 3,775 yards, 29 TDs, 12 interceptions.
Jayden’s running ability set him apart, but overall, it was a lot closer than I thought.
Nix: 480 rush yards, 4 TDs
Daniels: 891, 8 TDs
A guy who might end up being a legend from this group is Brock Bowers, if the Raiders don’t ruin him. He finished third. WRs Brian Thomas and our own Malik Nabers rounded out the top 5. Marvin Harrison, Angry Ward’s pick to win this category in a landslide, was not in the top 5 or even the top 2 WRs.
It will be interesting to see if these two young signal callers will have a CJ Stroud Sophomore Slump or continue to ascend. The Giants may regret passing on Nix.
4. Verse and Surtain Win Defensive Honors Over Eagles
I have no issue with Verse winning DROY or Surtain winning DPOY, it’s just impressive that so many Eagles were finalists. The Eagles’ off-season was a master class in how you attack a weakness. They had one of the worst pass defenses in the league last year, so they went to work.
The hired Vic Fangio, proven studly D-coordinator. They used their top two picks on CB Quinyon Mitchell and S Cooper Dejean, who both were in the top 5 for DROY. Dejean has a SB pick 6 on his birthday in the Super Bowl. He might be on a list of one for that feat.
And Zach Baun, a Saints’ reject, was a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. Baun was misused as a pass rusher in New Orleans, but the Eagles moved him inside and it paid off. Baun had a fantastic diving interception of Mahomes that basically ended any hope of a comeback.
That’s it for me. Angry Ward will be here tomorrow, if he’s not too hurting from celebrating O’Connell’s coach of the year win and stated desire to bring back Darnold.
