Come Up and Get Your Hardware

(Sorry, sorry, sorry I know I forgot to post it before the games started. I had a wild night last night and I couldn't even get out of bed to post this. It was a good night).

Week 12 already; only five more Sunday’s filled with football. Normally I would be very sad by this, I mean what am I supposed to do on Sunday’s if there is no football? I can’t watch movies on TBS, TNT, and USA for an entire day, that’s too boring and it can’t hold my attention long enough. Maybe for a couple hours max (I hate movies when there’s commercials in the middle of them). But, alas, college basketball season is here to catch me when I fall. This truly is the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s not because of the holidays. Refer to my college basketball blog for more on my feelings in that area. Anyways, as I was thinking how little time is left in the season, I began to formulate my awards. Behold.

MVP- I gotta say, I thought the era of Kurt Warner being in the MVP race had passed 7 or 8 years ago, but clearly I was mistaken. Although, anyone who thought those days weren’t over is a fool. Regardless, Warner was brought in with the intention of being a mentor and back up to Matt Leinart; to help him develop and progress into the Cardinals long-term quarterback. Safe to say that he’s certainly earning his money. Warner at this point has led Arizona to a 7-3 record and first place in the NFC West, granted that’s not saying much because the NFC West is the Big Ten of the NFL, but first place is first place. Warner leads the league in completions (270) and completion percentage (70.9%) and is also first in QB rating (105.5). He is second in the league in passing yards with 3155 behind only Drew Brees (3251), and is also second in touchdown passes with 20 (Rivers, 21) compared to just seven interceptions. I would say this guy is playing like he’s young again, but when he was younger he was bagging groceries. Point is, Warner has introduced success to the desert and he’s going to lead the Cardinals to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
Honorable Mention: Drew Brees

NOTE: I believe it’s naturally assumed and goes without saying that this award be marked with an asterisk*. It would be incredibly unfair to the legendary Tom Brady if it wasn’t, because as we all know he would have defended his title easily if given the opportunity. The only reason this award would even have a chance of going to anyone else is because he’s not in the running.

Comeback Player of the Year- I think that in order to be named comeback player of the year, one has to have actually been there before. It’s kind of implied by the actual name of the award, but I’m going to make a semi-exception in this case. The winner? The one and only Kerry Collins. Yes, gray beard and all. Tennessee is out to a 10-0 start and is the only undefeated team in the league. Sure, Collins hasn’t blown anyone away with his numbers. The Titans have been winning with great defense and a solid running game, but that doesn’t diminish the job Collins has done. The Titans have won several close games, and they haven’t all been just because of the defense. Remember the comeback at Chicago? What about the overtime victory over Green Bay? Or the 14-3 deficit they erased against Jacksonville? Maybe he’s only thrown 8 touchdowns, but he’s only had 4 interceptions. He’s managed the game for the Titans without making mistakes, and he’s given them the offense at times when they need it. Most of all, he’s proven he can still win in this league.

Rookie of the Year- With all due respect to the great class of rookie running backs (Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Steve Slaton, etc.), this award goes out to Matt “The Future” Ryan. Yes, I gave him a nickname myself, it has a nice ring to it. Ryan has taken the Falcons out of the basement of the NFC South and resurrected them to a 6-4 record. He has all the tools to become a star in the NFL, and he’s shown flashes of brilliance this season. He already has a go-to guy in Roddy White which is huge for young QB. To create that chemistry with a receiver and develop a comfort level is something key to helping a young quarterback succeed.

Most Improved Player- Is there any doubt about this one? The guy threw for 400 yards and rushed for 60, and he’s led the Patriots to a 6-4 record after Brady, the reigning MVP, was injured for the season in the very first quarter of the year. Even ignoring the stat line from that game, he proved he is similar to his mentor by being money in the clutch. After releasing that perfectly placed ball to Randy Moss to tie the game at the end of regulation, the recipient of this award became clear: Matt Cassell. After all, you can’t have a bigger improvement than going from not playing since high school to what he’s done.

Best Actor- An award inspired by the exquisite performances of Peyton Manning on the screen goes to the originator. No one has come close to dethroning the king. His brother Eli showed potential in the commercial with big bro and the William’s sisters, but he has since faded. When was the last time he came out with a new commercial? He gave up on himself too fast, it’s a shame. I do have to give honorable mentions to Jim Mora, Dennis Green, and Brian Billick in the new set of Coors Light commercials. Granted they didn’t really know they were acting, but those things are hilarious. Oh, and I was paroosing through youtube looking for these commercials but I didn't have any luck (granted I probably could've tried a little harder) but I did stumble upon this absolutely hysterical parody of those commercials. It’s done by a bunch of kids and they use the infamous tirade Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy from last year. Check it out.

Player You Love to Hate- I’m going to go in a different direction with this one. Everyone knows I love to hate on Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens and people of that stature, but right now I’m hating on a lesser known loud mouth: Joey Porter. Did you hear what he said to Keyshawn Johnson in an interview? I just saw it on the ESPN pregame show and I am fuming. I wasn’t going to have an award like this but Porter just instilled so much hate in me that I have to let it out. He told Keyshawn that he thinks that Pittsburgh could have smoked the Pats in those two AFC Championships they lost to them during the Pats run, and that the only reason they didn’t was because they must have taped them. Then, when I didn’t think I could hate anyone more than I hated him at that moment, he attacked the man himself, saying that Tom Brady is only as good as he is because he uses the alleged tapes. I cannot wait to see the Miami defense get smoked today by Brady’s understudy. I’m looking for an embarrassment of epic proportions, and I wouldn’t mind if Porter got hurt either. Career-ending would be nice. If you're a Pats fan and you're looking to get pissed off, here's part of the script from that interview.

“I am MAN” award- How could it be anyone besides Anquan Boldin? The guy had eight metal plates and forty screws inserted in his face, and then came back after only a month and picked up right where he left off: torching secondaries. Find me an example from someone else that proves they’re more of man than this guy. Go ahead and try. You won’t find anything.

Picks:

Cleveland (-3) over Houston- The Brady Quinn era takes form
Kansas City (+3) over Buffalo- Call it a hunch
NY Jets (+5.5) over Tennessee- Titans will continue to prevail in close games
New England (-2) over Miami- Redemption
Dallas (-9.5) over San Francisco- Remember when this game meant something?
Tampa Bay (-8) over Detroit- Culpepper: more INT’s then completions this game?
Philadelphia (+2) over Baltimore- McNabb’s IQ=7.9
Chicago (-7) over St. Louis- No Steven Jackson, no competition
Minnesota (+2) over Jacksonville- Jags need to start thinking about next year
Carolina (+1) over Atlanta- I have a man crush on Matt Ryan
Oakland (+8) over Denver- Over/under on people watching this game: 17
Washington (-3) over Seattle- People don’t seem to mention the Seahawks when they talk about bad teams and I don’t know why
NY Giants (-3) over Arizona- Warner only gets 400 yards this week
Indianapolis (+3) over San Diego- Two teams going in opposite directions
New Orleans (-1.5) over Green Bay- Fantasy dream game

Last week: 8-7
Season: 37-73-1