Thursday, March 22, 2012

The NFL Blog: 2011 Horse Collar Awards Part VII (Just for Fun Individual Awards)

Just For Fun Awards (Individual)


The Paul Hornung Award

NFL Most Overrated Player of the Year

Winner: Tim Tebow-QB-Denver

Runner-up: Logan Mankins-LG-New England

Third Place: Ndamukong Suh-DT-Detroit

Comments: I’ll say it again: with apologies to Timmy’s Christian Army, this one isn’t really debatable. In fact, it’s possible that in 2011 Tim Tebow was the single most overrated player in the history of the NFL. In 14 regular season games, Tebow completed just 46.5% of his passes (yes, less than 50%!!!) for 1729 yards (107.4 per game), and just 12 TD’s against 6 INT. He took 33 sacks and posted a 72.9 rating.

Just looking at those numbers you would think he was not very good. However, when you throw in 660 rushing yards (47.1 per game), a 5.4 yards per carry average, and 6 rushing TD’s it changes the picture a little bit. In addition, the Broncos were 8-5 with Tebow as a starter (including the playoffs). You would look at those numbers and say that he’s a terrible passer, but he’s a weapon as a runner, and he doesn’t usually cost his team with turnovers in the passing game.

However, if you looked at Tebow’s popularity and the credit he was being given for his great play and for the team’s success, you would think that he was easily the best player in the game today. And that’s not an exaggeration. So without going any further we can already say that Tebow was the most overrated player in the NFL.

But this is only part of the story. In reality, Tebow was not just a poor passing QB; he was without question the worst starting quarterback in football in 2011 from a passing stand point. He also didn’t protect the ball as much as it might appear with a quick glance. Finally, and most importantly, although Tebow was given more than 100% of the credit for Denver’s 8-5 record with him as a starter (including the playoffs), the improved record had very little to do with good quarterback play.

During the regular season Tebow ranked 32nd among NFL QB’s in passing yards; 34th in completions; and tied 27th in passing TD’s. Among the 34 qualified NFL quarterbacks, Tebow finished 28th in both yards per attempt and rating, and he finished dead last in both passing yards per game and completion percentage. In addition, while he was a force as a runner, Tebow fumbled 12 times and lost 6 fumbles during the regular season. If you add those 6 lost fumbles to his 6 picks, you see that his total touchdown to turnover ratio was 18-12 or 1.5-1.0. That’s not very good.

While Tebow did have a couple of decent performances during the regular season, he was also absolutely awful in a handful of games. Tebow did seem to have an uncanny knack for playing well late in games and pulling wins out at the last moment. There’s really no way to argue that. However, it doesn’t change the fact that the main reason that Tebow was even in a position to make those seemingly heroic plays was that his awful performance during the rest of the game kept the Broncos from scoring more points.

This is very important and it’s something that so many people refused to admit. When the Saints or Lions win a game 45-41, with the defense making an interception in the final minute to seal the victory, nobody comes away crediting the defense for the win. However, when the Broncos win a game 13-10, with Tebow quarterbacking the offense to a last second FG, people come away saying that the quarterback got his team the win single handedly.

The Broncos scored 18 points or less in 5 of their 8 wins with Tebow as a starter (including the playoffs). They scored 14 points or less in 4 of their 5 losses with Tebow as a starter (including the playoffs). Now, unless you honestly believe that 14 to 18 points is all you need to win games in the NFL, you’d have to admit that most of the time Denver’s offense was performing at a substandard level with Touchdown Timmy at quarterback. Furthermore, since the offensive output usually remained the same, you would have to admit that the thing which usually determined whether the Broncos won or lost was the play of their defense.

Finally, let’s review Timothy Christ’s postseason. Tebow’s performance against the Steelers in the WC round was nothing short of brilliant. Though he completed only 10 of 21 passes, he threw for 316 yards and 2 TD’s without a pick, posting a 125.6 rating. He also ran for 50 yards and a score on 10 carries and never took a sack or fumbled. While Denver’s defense also played well, there’s no way you can say that Tebow didn’t do a lot to help his team win that game.

A week later against the Pats, however, it was just the opposite. Denver’s defense was shredded, but the offense was equally as inept. Tebow was just 9 of 26 for 136 yards, no touchdowns, and a 52.7 rating. He ran 5 times for just 13 yards and took 5 sacks. While he never threw a pick, he did lose a fumble.

Anyway, I’ve proven my point here. Off the field stuff aside, the guy is a tremendous competitor, very talented as a runner, and he has a knack for coming through in pressure situations. However, he’s a terrible quarterback. Despite this fact, he was treated like the Michael Jordan of football, making him the most overrated player this season by a mile, and quite possibly the most overrated American athlete of all-time.

Let’s briefly look at the other guys mentioned for this award. It’s unfortunate that the only mention of an offensive lineman in these awards is a negative one. Logan Mankins might seem like a random choice for runner-up but to be honest there weren’t a lot of obvious candidates this season. More importantly, I haven’t seen an offensive lineman get dusted as often or as badly as Mankins did during Super Bowl XLIII by the New York Giants defensive line. One of the only other times I can remember a lineman getting so obviously outplayed was in Super Bowl XXXIX when Logan Mankins was dominated by the New York Giants defensive line.

This is strange, considering that Mankins has gone to the Pro Bowl in 4 of the last 5 seasons and he made 1st team All-Pro just last season. Mankins may well be a very good offensive guard against most competition, but he’s simply overmatched by the New York Giants. Rarely do you see an offensive lineman completely whiff a man who he’s head-up on. It’s even rarer to see it happen when a lineman is trying to block someone who is simply going straight ahead in the middle of the line. But watching a guy get torched so badly by a guy rushing straight ahead in the middle of the line that he doesn’t even get his hands up fast enough for it to be considered a whiff is perhaps the rarest sight of all.

Ndamukong Suh has gotten a lot of hype since becoming a household name following his performance against Texas in the 2009 Big XII championship game. Up until this year all of the hype had been fully warranted. This season, however, Suh did not live up to expectations as a defensive difference maker, while he more than lived up to his reputation for being less than a standup guy in terms of human behavior.

Suh had an excellent rookie season with Detroit in 2010, playing in all 16 games and posting 66-49-17 with 10 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 FR TD, 1 INT, 3 PD, and 6 stuffs. This season he didn’t come close to matching those numbers. He played in only 14 games and posted 36-26-10 with 4 sacks, 1 PD, and 2.5 stuffs.

In his rookie season Suh rode the line between playing hard and taking cheap shots. This season Suh took a few giant strides across that line. He got himself ejected and suspended for 2 games for stomping on an opponent’s arm during the early game on Thanksgiving. Incredibly, Suh later claimed that he was only trying to regain his balance. He needs to get himself under control, stop trying to act like a victim, and focus more on being a good player.


The Bill Peterson Award

NFLWorst Coach of the Year

Winner: Raheem Morris-Tampa Bay

Runner-up: Steve Spagnuolo-St. Louis

Third Place: Bill Caldwell-Indianapolis

Comments: After last season you wouldn’t have expected all 3 of the coaches mentioned for this award to be fired after the 2011 season, but that is indeed what happened. It’s been clear since day one that Raheem Morris was in over his head as an NFL head coach. In 2009, the Bucs started 1-12 and finished up 3-13 in Morris’ first year on the job. What’s truly amazing is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 10-6 the following season and could easily have won as many as 13 games that year.

This season the Bucs started out 4-2, with wins against the Falcons and Saints, and their only losses coming against the Lions and 49ers. There was a preview of things to come in that loss to the Niners, however, as the Bucs went into the game as just 2.5-point dogs, and left the Bay Area having been beaten 48-3. That final score would indicate that when things got tough the team had just given in.

Eventually the Bucs would quit on the 2011 season. They lost their final 10 games, with only 2 of those losses coming by fewer than 9 points. They lost each of their final 5 games by at least 16 points. Tampa Bay’s players simply quit on their coach, who has never appeared in control, and who was obviously completely out of control towards the end this season. To no one’s surprise, Morris was fired by Tampa after the season.

Steve Spagnuolo was a popular hire by the Rams back in 2009, and after St. Louis won only 1 game in his first season on the job, he received rave reviews for guiding the team to 7 wins in 2010. Hell, Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys were 1-15 in his first season, then they won 7 games in year 2, before reaching the playoffs in just his third season. They would then win back-to-back Super Bowls over the next two seasons. So, you know, maybe the 1 win to 7 wins improvement was a sign of good things to come.

Alas, it was not to be. The Rams were a total disaster this season, starting 0-6 and losing their final 7 games to finish the season 2-14, having been outscored by 214 points. After two seasons of 2 wins or less in three years, the Rams axed “Coach Spags.” His teams went just 10-38 during his 3-year tenure.

Many people (included myself) felt that Jim Caldwell was a decent short term hire but a questionable long term hire when the Colts pegged him to take over for Tony Dungy after the 2008 season. To begin with, Dungy seemed to have orchestrated the handoff, choosing his own successor from amongst his trusted assistants. This isn’t always a great situation because, well, what if you don’t really want the guy who the old coach chose? Plus, in this case, who knows what Dungy’s motivation is? He might have chosen Caldwell because he never cursed or something.

Still, I thought it wasn’t the worst thing for the Colts to do in the short term because you don’t really want to have a dramatic change in personality at the head coaching post when your team has posted 7 consecutive double digit win seasons. And with that kind of success, the players might not buy into a stranger coming in and trying to do things his way.

You also had what some people might call a “George Seifert” scenario. When Seifert took over for Bill Walsh as head coach of the Niners in 1989 he inherited one of the most talented rosters as ever assembled. That 1989 team would go 14-2 and win all 3 of their playoff games in blowout fashion. Conventional wisdom had it that Walsh had built such a great system and the players were so good that they didn’t really need an impact head coach; all they needed was a guy who wouldn’t screw everything up. Though the Niners would continue to be one of the best teams year in and year out under Seifert, winning another Super Bowl in 1994, Lonesome George was never given much credit for the team’s success.

If you bought that theory, Caldwell might be the guy for the job in Indy long term. I never did agree fully with that theory and I was concerned about the Caldwell hire from a long term perspective. Short term it made sense to merely elevate the quiet assistant to head coach. Indeed, the Colts indeed won 14 games in his first year and went to the Super Bowl. The following season things didn’t go as well for Indy, especially in terms of health, and it became more apparent (at least to me) that Caldwell was a bit out of his league.

This season the Colts were suddenly without Peyton Manning and their streak of 9 consecutive double digit win seasons went down the shitter, with the final flush sound being replaced by a 2-14 campaign. Caldwell seemed helpless to curtail the slide. The nadir for the Colts came in week 6 on Sunday night when Indy was massacred in New Orleans to the tune of a 62-7 final score.

To Caldwell’s credit, the team did manage to win 2 of their last 3 games, avoiding the 0-16 mark that they seemed destined to obtain. However, it wasn’t enough to save Caldwell’s job. It turned out that Jim Irsay was going to clean house and Jim Caldwell wasn’t going to be there when the rebuilding process got underway.


The Mike Brown Award

NFL Worst Front Office of the Year

Winner: Oakland Raiders

Runner-up: New York Jets

Third Place: Atlanta Falcons

Comments: It might seem uncalled for to name Oakland as the worst front office this season based solely on the Carson Palmer trade, especially since things obviously changed in a major way for the Raiders when Al Davis passed away in early October. But for me it wasn’t just the move to get Palmer, it was also the way they handled the whole situation, and the front office’s reaction to the team’s 1-4 slide to end the year.

You can understand why the Raiders felt desperate for some kind of quick fix when Jason Campbell was lost for the season. They were 4-2 at the time and in what appeared to be a very winnable division. They wanted to capitalize on their chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. The Raiders’ run of futility from 2003-2009 took a toll on the team’s popularity, with attendance issues leading to local TV blackouts. They obviously felt like they couldn’t afford to lose their momentum, having gone 8-8 in 2010 and starting this season off 4-2.

However, while trading for Palmer might have seemed like a perfect quick fix in theory, it wasn’t a sure thing. There aren’t many sure things out there, especially when you’re talking about a midseason replacement at quarterback. In most situations you would be okay with a move that might or might not work out. In this case, however, there were two important factors to remember. First, the Raiders were going to have to give up a lot, so the idea that it might not work isn’t as easy to deal with. Second, this wouldn’t just be a short term fix; it would be a long term fix. The Raiders would be acquiring Palmer not just for the rest of this season, but for several years to come. They would be acquiring Palmer for a high price, not just in terms of future draft picks, put also in terms of future cash.

Despite all of these deterrents, the Raiders took the gamble. They sent a 1st round pick in the 2012 draft and a 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft to Cinci for Palmer. He is signed through 2014. Palmer got paid $2.5 million by Oakland for his services in the final 11 games of 2011, but he’s due to make $12.5 million next year, $13 million in 2013, and $15 million in 2014. Sure, only $5 million of the $40.5 million left on his deal after this year is guaranteed, but considering what the Raiders gave up to get him, you’d have to assume that they’ll stick with him for a while.

The Raiders had already traded away a ton of future picks, and giving up 2 futures for Palmer has left them with few picks of their own. The Raiders didn’t have a pick in last year’s draft until the 48th selection and they won’t have a pick in this year’s draft until the 5th round.

When Palmer was acquired by the Raiders on Tuesday, October 18th, he hadn’t played in a game or participated in a practice with any team since the final game of the 2010 season. The Raiders’ bye week was coming up after their next game so many people assumed that Palmer would be an observer in Oakland’s week 7 game against KC, would spend the next two weeks getting back in the swing of things and getting comfortable with his new team, and would make his Raiders debut in week 9 at home against the Denver Broncos. But because of Palmer’s familiarity with head coach Hue Jackson and his system, and because the Raiders didn’t have another competent QB on the roster, there were those who suggested that Palmer might play in the game against the Chiefs in just 5 days.

The Raiders flirted with the idea of doing just that, as odd and as potentially damaging as such a decision seemed to be. Eventually the Raiders came to their senses and announced that Kyle Boller would play in week 7 with Palmer wearing a baseball cap and holding a clipboard on the sidelines. But Palmer would have a helmet on and a football in his hand before the end of that game.

What happened? Perhaps Boller was just too awful for the coaches to bear. He went 7 for 14 for 61 yards with 3 picks, including 1 returned for a touchdown, fumbled a snap, and took a 10-yard sack. After Boller and the Raiders went 3-and-out in their first possession of the 2nd half, the Chiefs drove for a TD to make the score 21-0 with 10:25 left in the 3rd quarter. For whatever reason, with the game now out of hand, the Raiders felt that this would be a good time to get Palmer reacquainted with live football action.

Palmer would play the rest of the game, going 8 for 21 for 116 yards and 3 picks, including 1 returned for a touchdown. This was the experience Palmer would take with him into the bye week. Palmer started every game the rest of the season as the Raiders went 4-5. Palmer played in 10 games for Oakland, completing 60.7% of his passes for 2753 yards, 13 TD’s against 16 picks, and an 80.5 rating.

The questionable decisions didn’t stop with the end of the regular season. The front office decided to fire Hue Jackson after 1 season as head coach, getting rid of the man who pushed hardest for the Palmer trade and who’s relationship with Palmer was one of the main reasons that the trade made any sense at all.

Only time will tell how bad (or maybe good) this deal ends up being for Oakland. At this point, about the only way I can see the deal being considered anything less than a disaster would be if Palmer regains the form of his first 3 pro careers, something he hasn’t been able to do in the 5 years since.

The Jets are runner-up for this award, but to be fair they are really being punished for a few years of poor front office decisions. They should have made a change at offensive coordinator prior to this season, as it was clear that the Brian Schottenheimer thing wasn’t working. They stuck with Marty’s kid and instead decided to make some changes at wide receiver. Getting rid of Braylon Edwards made sense from a chemistry stand point, but they replaced Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery with Derrick Mason and Plaxico Burress which didn’t turn out to be much of an upgrade.

They got rid of Mason after 5 games and just days after it was reported that Mason had gone to Rex Ryan and complained about Schottenheimer. Burress wasn’t a bust but he wasn’t as good as the Jets hoped he would be.

Meanwhile, Mark Sanchez continued to go in the wrong direction in Schottenheimer’s offense, and WR Santonio Holmes continued to take out his frustrations on his quarterback. The Jets lost their final 3 games to fall out of the playoff picture, and by the end of the season the locker room was a complete mess.

I hate to put my own team in the running for such an embarrassing distinction but the Falcons did not have a good season from a front office stand point. It’s primarily about the draft day trade. The Falcons went 13-3 in 2010 for their 3rd winning season in the first 3 years of the Mike Smith/Matt Ryan era. As the #1 seed in the NFC, the Falcons ended up playing a red hot Green Bay team at home in the divisional round. The Falcons simply couldn’t slow down or keep up with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense. The Packers won 48-21 on their way to a Super Bowl championship.

The Falcons area of weakness seemed obvious: they needed to upgrade the defense, particularly in the areas of pass rush and pass coverage. With most of the key offensive pieces coming back and 8 picks in the draft, it seemed like the Falcons would have a good shot at making those upgrades and taking another shot at playoff success in 2011. Apparently, GM Mike Dimitroff had different concerns and different plans. Not only that; apparently Dimitroff’s Scott Pioli/Bill Belichick influences weren’t as strong as had been believed.

On the day of the draft, the Falcons sent their 27th pick in the 1st round, along with their 2nd and 4th round picks and their 1st and 4th round picks in 2012 to the Bengals in exchange for Cinci’s 6th pick in the 1st round. They used that pick to select WR Julio Jones. That was it. 5 picks for 1. That 1 pick being used on a wide receiver. I was stunned and irate at the time, and as I sit here today, I am still amazed and upset over what happened.

My main problem is with giving away 5 high draft picks for 1 pick. Next, the fact that the pick was used not for some once-in-a-draft-class defensive player, but for the 2nd best wide receiver. Yes, an explosive #2 receiver to go along with Roddy White, TE Tony Gonzalez, and RB Michael Turner figured to improve the offense. However, the idea that an explosive #2 receiver would have a dynamic impact on the offense was slightly flawed because of Matt Ryan’s limitations in terms of arm strength.

Ryan doesn’t have the arm strength to throw deep outs and long bombs all day. Atlanta’s passing game is all about short and medium stuff to the outside and deeper passes in the middle of the field, and simply adding a super fast receiver who can jump high was unlikely to turn the Falcons offense into the Air Coryell Chargers. In addition, even if adding a #2 receiver was something that could help the team, it was far from the biggest need.

The Falcons drafted RB Jacquizz Rodgers in the 5th round which I thought was a nice selection but they failed to get a single defensive contributor in the draft. Their only major addition through free agency on offense or defense was signing DE Ray Edwards. From the start I thought the Edwards signing was a classic FA bust in the making.

Team’s often over pay or reach for the best player at a certain position if it happens to be a major need. The Falcons really needed a pass rushing end, so they sprung for Edwards, who had recorded a total of 29.5 sacks over 5 years with Minnesota, never tallying more than 8.5 in any season. Also, Edwards had done most of that damage while playing on a D-line that also included Jared Allen and the Williams Wall (Pat and Kevin).

There was serious doubt (at least in my mind) that Edwards would be able to put up his even his relatively average numbers in Atlanta. Then it came to light that Edwards had undergone “minor” knee surgery during the offseason and wouldn’t be ready in time for the team’s first preseason game. During the offseason the Falcons let go of solid possession receiver Michael Jenkins; two decent defensive backs in Brian Williams and Erik Coleman; and RG Harvey Dahl, who had been one of the key cogs in an offensive line that had mostly been intact during the Smith/Ryan era.

The result of the Falcons offseason was that the team took a step or two back in the 2011 season rather taking that next step forward. Jones had a good rookie season but he certainly didn’t transform the offense into a high powered machine. While Jones showed some flashes of brilliance, he did not do anything to make me feel any better about trading 5 picks for him.

In addition, the Falcons’ weakness was once again in pass coverage and pass rush. The offensive line also took a major step in the wrong direction, with the team being unable to convert on short yardage situations in several key moments during the season. The Falcons went from 13-3 to 10-6, and instead of losing to the eventual champions in the divisional round, they lost 24-2 to the Giants in the WC round. Making matters worse, with the team now seemingly trying to fill more holes than they were last off season, they are without a 1st round pick or a 3rd round pick in the NFL draft.


The Kurt Warner Award

NFL Most Surprising Player of the Year

Winner: Victor Cruz-New York Giants

Runner-up: Jason Pierre-Paul-New York Giants

Third Place: (Tie) Rob Gronkowski-TE-New England/Alex Smith-QB-San Francisco

Comments: Victor Cruz signed with the Giants as an undrafted rookie out of UMass prior to the 2010 season. He played in 3 games last year but did not catch a single pass. This season Cruz exploded onto the scene and became one of the most difficult to stop receivers in the game, catching 82 passes for 1536 yards and 9 TD’s.

Jason Pierre-Paul was taken by the Giants with the 15th pick in the 2010 draft. He played only 1 season at South Florida after transferring from junior college, and he only started 7 games that year, often overshadowed by fellow DE George Selvie. Last year JPP had a solid rookie campaign, recording 4.5 sacks in 15 games. While he showed promise in 2010, it wasn’t obvious to most people that he would become perhaps the most disruptive defensive force in the game in 2011, recording 16.5 sacks.

I’ve already chronicled Alex Smith’s career and breakthrough season so let’s focus on Rob Gronkowski. Gronk had a good college career at Arizona but he wasn’t a national star. The Patriots drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft and he had an excellent rookie season, catching 42 passes for 546 yards and 10 touchdowns. Still, that didn’t prepare anyone for what Gronk would do in his second pro season. Gronkowski had perhaps the single greatest season for a TE in NFL history this year, catching 90 passes for 1327 yards and 17 touchdowns.


The Keyshawn Johnson Award

NFL Most Disappointing Player of the Year

Winner: Peyton Hillis-RB-Cleveland

Runner-up: Josh Freeman-QB-Tampa Bay

Third Place: Sam Bradford-QB-St. Louis

Comments: Oh, man. Peyton Hillis. The question went from “Who knew how big of a badass this guy was?” to “Who knew how big of a flake this guy was?”

Hillis didn’t get much publicity in college at Arkansas where he played in a backfield that included Felix Jones and Darren McFadden. Hillis spent his first two pro seasons in Denver where he was a contributor, and when your team played the Broncos you thought, “Damn! Who was that annoying white fullback that kept making plays?” Hillis played in 26 games for the Broncos over 2 seasons, rushing for 397 yards and 6 TD’s and also making 18 receptions for 198 yards and a touchdown.

Peyton Hillis joined the Cleveland Browns in 2010 and ended up winning the job as the #1 running back. He became a bit of a sensation as the first Caucasian feature back in the NFL in decades. People can downplay his race all they want. The fact is that the only thing that distinguished Hillis from the scores of running backs who have gone from unknown to 1,000-yard rushers over the last 30 years was that he was white. For many young fans he was the first white NFL tailback they had ever seen. I’m not saying there was some big white supremacist thing going on or even that he was seen as some form of “The Great White Hope.” I’m saying that there was something unusual about him that stood out, and anyone who denies this is lying.

Hillis not only won the starting tailback job in Cleveland, he became their best player, rushing for 1177 yards and 11 touchdowns, playing in all 16 games, and averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He also caught 61 passes for 477 yards and 2 TD’s. It was an impressive breakthrough season. He seemed like a tough, hard-nosed guy who would stick around for a while.

Hillis was a popular player coming into this season, not just in Cleveland but nationally, as there was a groundswell of support for him to be on the cover of the Madden game. Hillis would soon piss all of that away. After limited production in the first two weeks of the season, Hillis missed week 3 and had only 6 carries against Oakland in week 6. He then missed the next 5 games before playing in the team’s final 6 games.

It would be one thing if Hillis missed all of this time due to injuries which kept him from being able to perform. However, Peyton Hillis’ coaches and teammates weren’t convinced that Hillis really was hurt. Hillis and his agent hinted that he was protecting himself from injury in a contract year. It appeared that Hillis was attempting to orchestrate a “covert holdout” so to speak to gain leverage in contract negotiations with the team which weren’t going the way he and his agent had hoped. I say, “he and his agent” as if Hillis only had one agent. In fact he went through three agents in one year.

Hillis finished the 2011 season rushing for just 587 yards and 3 TD’s in 10 games, averaging a meager 3.6 yards per carry. He caught only 22 passes for 130 yards and no touchdowns as a receiver. Hillis topped the 100-yard mark just once all season and was held to 46 yards or less in 5 of the 10 games in which he played. In recent days as the Browns have tried to decide whether or not to franchise Hillis, the running back has openly mused about retiring and claims to have seriously considered quitting football to join the CIA at one point. Weird.

Hillis was a disappointment in terms of his play, his health, and his attitude/personality. Josh Freeman didn’t have health problems or attitude problems in 2011 but he was a massive disappointment on the field.

After struggling in 10 games as a rookie for the 3-13 Bucs in 2009, Freeman took several giant steps forward in his second season. In 2010, Freeman started all 16 games for Tampa, leading the team to a surprising 10-6 record. He completed 61.4% of his passes for 3451 yards and 25 TD’s against only 6 picks, posting a 95.9 rating. He also ran for 364 yards.

Freeman looked like the real deal for sure. However, he took a major step back this season. While Freeman improved with a 62.8% completion percentage and 3592 yards in 15 games, his TD’s dropped to 16 and his INT’s increased to 22. He ran for 238 yards and did score 4 rushing TD’s, but Freeman’s 74.6 rating was among the worst in the league this season. Freeman’s team appeared to quit on the season, losing their last 10 games to finish the season 4-12.

Sam Bradford has only been in the NFL for 2 years but if I was a Rams fan I would be really worried. I had 3 major concerns about Bradford coming out of college. Number one: he appeared to be injury prone, and that was in college, playing in the Big XII. There aren’t many stout defenses in that conference and the brand of football played is not all that physical. Also, the number of times that defenses got a clean shot at Bradford was relatively small.

Number Two: I really didn’t know how good of a passer he was because he played in offense where his job was mainly to get the ball into the hands of elite athletes in open spaces. It’s not like he was running pro style plays and making NFL type throws all of the time. Plus, in the overwhelming majority of games his skill position players were much more talented than the opposition’s defense.

Number Three: I wondered how he would handle pressure and sophisticated defenses. At Oklahoma Bradford routinely had all day to throw to wide open receivers. That wouldn’t be the case in the NFL, especially since he would be going to the awful St. Louis Rams.

Following Bradford’s rookie season of 2010 I started to think that my concerns were unfounded. After watching his 2011 season, however, I’m starting to doubt Bradford again. Last year, Bradford started all 16 games as a rookie, completing 60.0% of his passes for 3512 yards, 18 TD’s against 15 picks, and a 76.5 rating. He also scored a rushing touchdown and led a Rams team that had won a total of 6 games over the 3 previous years to a 7-9 record.

Bradford’s second season did not go so well. After starting the first 5 games of the year, Bradford missed 6 of STL’s final 11 games. He ended up playing in only 10 games, completing just 53.5% of his passes for 2164 yards and 6 TD’s against 6 picks. His 70.5 rating was among the worst in the league and his team finished the year 2-14.


The Ryan Leaf Award

NFL Least Valuable 1st Round Pick Rookie of the Year

Winner: (Tie) Cameron Heyward-DE-Pittsburgh/Nick Fairley-DT-Detroit

Third Place: (Tie) Blaine Gabbert-QB-Jacksonville/Jon Baldwin-WR-Kansas City

Comments: The Lions drafted Nick Fairley with the 13th pick out of Auburn. A lot people (including myself) thought that Fairley would be able to contribute in his rookie season, as he would be joining a D-line that was already one of the best in the league. However, Fairley’s career got off to a staggered start due to injuries. He didn’t get to play much during the abbreviated training camp and preseason and then missed the first 4 games of the year. He would play in only 10 games during the regular season, posting 15-9-6 with 1 sack and 1 stuff. He made 2 solo tackles in Detroit’s playoff game.

I feel kind of bad giving part of this award to Cameron Heyward because for all I know he merely didn’t get enough reps this year and could blossom into a star next season. But there aren’t many 1st round picks to choose from and it’s gotta go to someone. The son of Ironhead, Heyward was drafted out of Ohio State with the 31st pick. He played in 16 games for Pittsburgh this season, recording 11 total tackles, 10 solo tackles, 1 Ast, 1 sack, 1 FF, 1 PD, and 1 blocked kick. That doesn’t seem like much production for a guy who played in every game. Heyward did have 3 solo tackles and an Ast in Pittsburgh’s playoff game.

I went into this thing expecting Blaine Gabbert to be the winner. I thought Jacksonville reached for need when they selected Gabbert 10th overall in the draft. I was highly skeptical when they threw him into the fire in just the 2nd week of the season. And every single time I saw Gabbert play in 2011 he was gawd awful.

However, while he posted hideous numbers, they weren’t quite as bad as I thought. Also, you have to go a little bit easy on rookie QB’s, especially when they are a part of a terrible offense like Gabbert was in Jacksonville. He played in 15 games, competing just 50.8% of his passes for 2214 yards and 12 TD’s against 11 picks. He finished dead last among qualified QB’s with a 65.4 rating, and only Tim Tebow ranked below Gabbert in completion percentage and yards per game.

Jonathan Baldwin was drafted by the Chiefs with the 26th pick of the 1st round out of Pittsburgh. Baldwin’s career didn’t start well, as he missed the team’s first 5 games due to injury. He played in the final 11 games of the year but really didn’t do much. He ended up with 21 catches for 254 yards and 1 touchdown. Most of that production came during KC’s overtime win over the Chargers on Monday Night Football in week 8, Baldwin’s 2nd career game. He caught 5 passes for 82 yards and a TD. That was Baldwin’s only score of the season, and he caught 3 passes or less for 28 yards or less in each of his other 10 games.


The JaMarcus Russell Award

NFL Least Valuable Player of the Year

Winner: Caleb Hanie-QB-Chicago

Runner-up: Chad Johnson-WR-New England

Third Place: Tyler Palko-QB-Kansas City

Comments: When Caleb Hanie was forced into action in the 2010 NFC championship game he was playing in just his 5th game over 3 seasons and had 14 career pass attempts under his belt. While he made some crucial mistakes, many gave him credit for doing a decent job and keeping the Bears in the game. Hanie threw 2 picks, 1 returned for a touchdown, but he also completed 13 of 20 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown as the Bears lost 21-14 to Green Bay.

Given that this was really the only time that we had seen Hanie play, there was no way for anyone to anticipate just how awful he would be when he was forced into the lineup again in week 12 of the 2011 season. Actually, he wasn’t terrible that game at Oakland. Making his first career start, Hanie completed 18 of 36 passes for 254 yards, 2 TD’s, and 3 picks, while also rushing for 50 yards on 5 carries, though he was sacked 4 times. The Bears were in the game late but eventually lost 25-20.

Hanie would get the start in each of the Bears next 3 games and he would be absolutely awful in all 3 games. Against the Chiefs in week 13, Hanie completed only 11 of his 24 pass attempts for 133 yards and fired 3 picks without throwing a TD. He was sacked 7 times, ran only once for 3 yards, fumbled once, and posted a 23.8 rating. The Bears offense amassed just 181 yards of total offense in a 10-3 defeat.

In week 14 at Denver, Hanie completed 12 of 19 passes and didn’t throw a pick, but he threw for only 115 yards and no TD’s. He ran twice for 11 yards and took 4 sacks as the Bears lost 13-10 in overtime. Hanie’s last game was his worst. In week 15 against the Seahawks, Hanie completed just 10 of 23 passes for 111 yards, 1 TD, and 3 interceptions. He ran 5 times for 34 yards but he also took 4 sacks. Worst of all, Hanie fired 2 pick-sixes and threw another INT in the end zone as the Bears were creamed 38-14.

In his 4 starts, Hanie posted a hideous 41.8 rating, completing 51 of 102 passes for 613 yards and 3 TD’s against 9 picks. Hanie did manage to run for 98 yards on 13 attempts but he took 19 sacks and threw 2 INT TD’s. The Bears went 0-4 in those 4 starts, averaging 9 points per game over the final 3.

Chad Ochodork Johnson joined the Patriots prior to this season hoping for the sort of career rejuvenating change that fellow former Bengal Corey Dillon experienced when he went to New England. Instead, Johnson went from being a clownish, loudmouthed receiver in decline, to being virtually invisible. He caught only 15 passes in 15 games all season, amassing just 276 yards and 1 touchdown. He did not catch a pass in either of NE’s first two playoff games before finally catching 1 pass for 21 yards in the Super Bowl.

After playing in only 2 games and attempting 6 passes in his 2010 rookie season, Tyler Palko was forced into action this season after Matt Cassel went down. Palko played in 6 games for the Chiefs, making 4 starts, with KC going 1-3 with him as the starter. In 6 games, Palko completed 80 of 134 pass attempts for 796 yards and 2 TD’s against 7 picks, posting a 59.8 rating. He had only 15 yards rushing on 5 attempts and lost a fumble.

No comments: