NFL Awards

MVP: Peyton Manning
Manning was the trendy pick for this award. He was red-hot through the last nine games of the season, but this is the weakest of his three MVP campaigns. Still, in the absence of a clear-cut MVP voters went with the safe, comfortable pick.

Biggest Snubs:
Michael Turner was the motor to Atlanta's offense and he made things a whole lot easier on Matt Ryan. A good running back can make any QB look good.

Phillip Rivers and Drew Brees had outstanding seasons, but the fact that their teams' underperformed really hurt their stock.

Offensive Rookie: Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan had a season for the ages, posting one of the best campaigns for a rookie QB. Ever. This kid has the skills to pay the bills and is going to be a perennial Pro Bowler if he can doesn't spiral out of control. Rookie QBs like Ryan, Flacco and Roethlisberger are putting a lot of pressure on any players that follow in their tracks. Coaches, GMs, owners and fans are going to be (unfairly) expecting immediate returns.

Biggest Snubs:
There are a lot of rookie running backs that got the shaft this year. Steve Slaton, Matt Forte and Chris Johnson all topped 1,200 yards and each had at least 8 TDs. Any one of those guys could have gotten serious consideration.

Eddie Royal and DeSean Jackson both came up huge for their teams, but a receiver's never going to win this award.

Defensive Rookie: Jerod Mayo
It's easy to measure an offensive player's production in yards and touchdowns, but it's much harder to quantify defensive statistics. 128 tackles, 1 FF and 1 FR are outstanding wether you're a rookie or a veteran player, though. The Pats linebacking corps needed a youth transfusion and they got it.

Biggest Snub:
No one else really deserves the award over Mayo, but the Redskins' Chris Horton comes close. He had 76 tackles 3 INTs and a FR from the strong safety possition. That's an outstanding season.

Comeback Player: Chad Pennington
Pennington was unceremoniously dumped when the Jets picked up Favre, but he was quickly snapped up by Bill Parcells to Quarterback division rival Miami. There are a lot of knocks on Pennington, namely his arm strength and mobility (or lack thereof), but I think his pros outweigh his cons. Simply put this guy is one of the most accurate QBs in the league. I'd take him over at least half the starting QBs, including Favre. Pennington deserved this award.

Biggest Snubs:
Nobody's rise from the ashes was as big as Pennington's but Antonio Bryant's resurgance comes close. Bryant was basically ran himself out of the league with his bad attitude, but has returned, presumably humbled and become a top-tier receiver in Tampa. Remember that one-handed touchdown catch? Outstanding.

Kerry Collins should get a nod here too. He took over for Vince Young in Tennessee and quietly led an outstanding team into the playoffs. Critics claimed that the Titans couldn't win with Collins if you could shut down their ground game and he answered them in week 10 and 11 tossing for 519 yards and 5 TDs in those two weeks, both victories.

Coach of the Year: Mike Smith
No team was in as much turmoil last season as the Atlanta Falcons. Abandoned by Head Coach Bobby Petrino, star Quarterback (read vastly overrated coach-killer) on his way to federal prison for heinous crimes. The team just fell apart. Boy what a difference a year makes. Owner Arthur Blank and management made all the right moves. Hire a high-character coach, sign the best running back available and draft a franchise QB. This team had great success in just one season, but is built for the future.

Biggest Snubs:
Two other rookie head coaches also turned their franchises from doormats to contenders. The Dolphins went from 1-15 to the top team in the AFC East thanks in equal parts to Tony Sparano and Bill Parcells.

The Ravens struggled last year, but Harbaugh managed to turn them around into a playoff team. His feat isn't as impressive, though, since the Ravens were a vastly superior to the Falcons and Dolphins talent-wise.