The NFL Blog: 2009 Season Awards

2009-2010 NFL Horse Collar Awards

So this is the first annual edition of the NFL Horse Collar Awards. These awards are similar to my baseball and college football awards. The all-conference teams are pretty much based on which players had the best season this year. The All-Horse Collar teams (my version of All-Pro) are based in part on which players had the best season but also on which player I think is currently the best at each position. Just like with my college award teams I picked the best offensive line instead of picking individual players at each position on the line because you really have to watch film in order to know what you’re talking about in that regard. You can look at rushing totals, protection numbers, penalties, 3rd and 4th down conversions, etc. in order to make a judgment on who has the best offensive line. You need to watch the coach’s reel to know which tackle had the best year. Also, it should be noted that I do take postseason results into consideration. I understand giving out regular season awards in some sports but in the NFL I have always thought that awards should be given out after the playoffs because those are the most important games. It really didn’t have much of an effect on my picks anyway other than in a few specific instances which I will discuss. Along with the normal awards, I also came up with some non-traditional awards just for fun.

Conference Awards

All-AFC Team

QB: Phillip Rivers
RB: Chris Johnson
FB: Le’Ron McClain
WR: Andre Johnson
WR: Reggie Wayne
TE: Dallas Clark
OL: Tennessee Titans
DE: Aaron Schobel
DE: Dwight Freeney
DT: Tony Brown
DT: Randy Starks
OLB: Elvis Dumervil
OLB: Lamar Woodley
ILB/MLB: David Harris
CB: Jairus Byrd
CB: Darrelle Revis
SS: Brandon Meriweather
FS: Antoine Bethea
K: Sebastian Janikowski
P: Dustin Colquitt
KR: Josh Cribbs
PR: Wes Welker

All-NFC Team

QB: Drew Brees
RB: Steven Jackson
FB: Leonard Weaver
WR: Larry Fitzgerald
WR: Miles Austin
TE: Vernon Davis
OL: New Orleans Saints
DE: Jared Allen
DE: Will Smith
DT: Jonathan Babineaux
DT: Jay Ratliff
OLB: DeMarcus Ware
MLB: Jon Benson
ILB: Patrick Willis
CB: Charles Woodson
CB: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
SS: Adrian Wilson
FS: Darren Sharper
K: Ryan Longwell
P: Mat McBriar
KR: Percy Harvin
PR: DeSean Jackson

AFC Offensive Player of the Year: Chris Johnson
AFC Defensive Player of the Year: Darrelle Revis
AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year: Austin Collie
AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year: Brian Cushing
AFC Coach of the Year: Bill Belichick

NFC Offensive Player of the Year: Drew Brees
NFC Defensive Player of the Year: Charles Woodson
NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year: Percy Harvin
NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year: Clay Matthews
NFC Coach of the Year: Mike Smith

1st Team All-Horse Collar

QB: Drew Brees
RB: Chris Johnson
FB: Leonard Weaver
WR: Larry Fitzgerald
WR: Andre Johnson
TE: Antonio Gates
OL: Tennessee Titans
DE: Elvis Dumervil
DT: Tony Brown
DT: Jay Ratliff
DE: Jared Allen
OLB: DeMarcus Ware
ILB: Patrick Willis
MLB: Jon Benson
CB: Darrelle Revis
CB: Charles Woodson
SS: Adrian Wilson
FS: Darren Sharper
K: Olindo Mare
P: Dustin Colquitt
KR: Josh Cribbs
PR: DeSean Jackson

2nd Team All-Horse Collar

QB: Peyton Manning
RB: Adrian Peterson
FB: Le’Ron McClain
WR: Randy Moss
WR: Wes Welker
TE: Vernon Davis
OL: New Orleans Saints
DE: Dwight Freeney
DT: Kelly Gregg
DT: Kyle Williams
DE: Will Smith
OLB: LaMarr Woodley
ILB: Ray Lewis
MLB: David Harris
CB: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
CB: Asante Samuel
SS: Brandon Meriweather
FS: Nick Collins
K: Sebastian Janikowski
P: Mat McBriar
KR: Percy Harvin
PR: Patrick Crayton

NFL MVP
1. Drew Brees
2. Peyton Manning
3. Brett Favre

NFL Offensive Player of the Year
1. Chris Johnson
2. Drew Brees
3. Phillip Rivers

NFL Defensive Player of the Year
1. Charles Woodson
2. Darrelle Revis
3. Jared Allen

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
1. Percy Harvin
2. Austin Collie
3. LeSean McCoy

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
1. Brian Cushing
2. Clay Matthews
3. Jairus Byrd

NFL Coach of the Year
1. Mike Smith
2. Bill Belichick
3. Tom Cable

NFL Front Office of the Year
1. Indianapolis Colts
2. New Orleans Saints
3. Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Comeback Player of the Year
1. Vince Young
2. Tom Brady
3. Michael Vick

NFL Postseason MVP
1. Drew Brees
2. Tracy Porter
3. Garrett Hartley

Most Overrated Player
1. Chad Johnson
2. Mark Sanchez
3. Darrelle Revis/Peyton Manning/Drew Brees

Biggest Surprise (Team): Cincinnati Bengals
Biggest Disappointment (Team): New York Giants
Biggest Surprise (Player): Matt Schaub
Biggest Disappointment (Player): Albert Haynesworth/Jay Cutler
Biggest “What the Fuck???” Performance: Jerome Harrison in week 15
NFL Least Valuable Player: JaMarcus Russell

Best Game of the Year
14. Detroit over Cleveland, 38-7, week 11
13. Chicago over Minnesota, 36-30 (OT), week 16
12. Dallas over New Orleans, 21-14, 24-17, week 15
11. Denver over Cincinnati, 12-7, week 1
10. Minnesota over San Francisco, 27-24, week 3
9. Minnesota over Baltimore, 33-31, week 6
8. New England over Buffalo, 25-24, week 1
7. Tennessee over Arizona, 20-17, week 12
6. Pittsburgh over Green Bay, 37-36, week 15
5. New Orleans over Washington, 33-30 (OT), week 13
4. New Orleans over Indianapolis, 31-17, Super Bowl XLIV
3. Arizona over Green Bay, 51-45 (OT), Wild Card Round
2. Indianapolis over New England, 35-34, week 10
1. New Orleans over Minnesota, 31-28 (OT), NFC Championship Game


NFL Worst Coach of the Year
1. Jim Mora Jr.
2. Jim Zorn
3. Raheem Morris

NFL Worst Front Office of the Year
1. Chicago Bears
2. Washington Redskins
3. Oakland Raiders

Worst Loss of the Year
1. Jets over Colts, 29-15, week 16
2. Raiders over Steelers, 27-24, week 13
3. Browns over Steelers, 13-6, week 14
4. Raiders over Eagles, 13-9, week 6
5. Chiefs over Steelers, 27-24 (OT), week 11
6. Panthers over Giants, 41-9, week 16
7. Lions over Redskins, 19-14, week 3
8. Patriots over Titans, 59-0, week 5
9. Bucs over Saints, 20-17 (OT), week 16
10. Bucs over Seahawks, 24-7, week 15

Best Moment of the Year
1. Cutler’s Opening Night Debacle
2. Falcons Achieve Consecutive Winning Seasons
3. Vince Young Leads Tennessee over Arizona in week 12

Worst Moment of the Year
1. Wes Welker Blows Out a Knee
2. Colts Forfeit in Week 16
3. Favre vs. Green Bay, Part I
4. Favre vs. Green Bay, Part II
5. Favre Throws Another Head scratcher
6. Manning Fails
7. Rackers Chokes

Biggest Douche of the Year
13. Terrell Owens
12. Todd Haley
11. Dre Bly
10. Dan Snyder
9. Tom Benson
8. Jim Mora Jr.
7. Chad Johnson
6. Brandon Marshall
5. Rex Ryan
4. Jim Caldwell
3. Tony Dungy
2. Jay Cutler
1. Keith Brooking