JJ Watt, Andrew Luck, and
Bruce Arians were all involved in the NFL awards season, but for different
reasons
By Jeremy Philipson
Watt wins DPOY: Many expected the AP Defensive Player of the
Year voting to be suspenseful, but not for the reason you may think.
Everyone was waiting not to see who won, but how he won.
 |
| (Kirby Lee/US Presswire) |
JJ
Watt took home DPOY honors in his second NFL season almost unanimously, raking
in 49 of the 50 votes. Watt recorded one of the most dominant seasons by a defensive
end in recent memory, and was rewarded with the highest honor a defensive
player can receive.
Other
players who had big years, like Bears’ defensive back Charles “Peanut” Tillman
and 49ers defensive end Aldon Smith, were shut out of the vote completely, with
the other vote going to Von Miller, the second-year defensive end for the
Broncos.
Here
are some numbers to quantify just how good Watt was this season*:
·
He led
NFL with 20.5 sacks (tied for the sixth-most all-time).
·
He
became one of nine players to register at least 20 sacks since sacks began to
be recorded in 1982.
·
He
batted or tipped 16 passes this season, most in the NFL
·
He
disrupted 5.7 percent of the drop-backs he faced. In the past three seasons, no
other player posted a number higher than 4.3 percent (Jared Allen in 2011).
Watt
has said he has even higher goals for next year, and it will be fun to see how
defenses adjust to compensate for his talent.
Defensive
coordinator Wade Phillips, who has coached greats like Reggie White and Bruce
Smith, recently said that Watt “had the absolute best year any defensive
lineman has ever had.”
Pretty
high praise for a kid from Wisconsin.
*All stats from ESPN Stats and
Information
Luck not so lucky: Most years, breaking the rookie passing
record and turning a 2-14 team into an 11-5 wild card team would be enough to
win the Rookie of the Year award.
Unlike
most years, this year featured three of the best rookie quarterbacks of all
time. And unfortunately for Andrew Luck, he was on the wrong side of the vote. Luck
tallied just 11 votes, compared to 29 for RGIII, who took the league, and
ultimately the trophy, by storm.
Throwing
for the seventh most yards in the NFL, more than former Super Bowl and NFL MVP
Aaron Rodgers and two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning? Not enough. Breaking
the rookie records for most yards in a single game, 300-yard passing games,
game-winning drives, and fourth quarter comebacks? Maybe next time.
Luck
has been bested by Griffin III previously, with the first time coming in 2011,
when both players were Heisman finalists. That ended with the Baylor QB hoisting
the trophy, and Luck finishing as runner-up for the second year in a row.
NFL
fans can only hope these two players continue to battle for NFL awards over the
next decade. And next time, maybe RGIII will be the runner-up.
Arians wins as Interim HC: How many times has an interim head coach
won the AP Coach of the Year award? Before last week, the answer would be
zero.
After
leading an emotional Colts team to a 9-3 record while head coach Chuck Pagano
battled leukemia, Bruce Arians became the first interim head coach to win the
award, and the first coach from Indianapolis to win since the team moved from
Baltimore in 1984.
Arians
took over in October and led the team through December, compiling a record of
9-3. Pagano is officially credited with all wins and losses, so Arians wins the
award with a record of 0-0. Not only is this an awkward situation, but it is
one that is likely to never happen again. When interim coaches take over teams,
it usually means the head coach is fired. Head coaches usually get fired on
poor teams, and coaches of the year do not come from poor teams.
Arians
benefited from a strong organization and one of the best rookie quarterbacks
ever. When he takes over as the head man in Arizona next season, his task will
be much tougher. With no quarterback of the future in place, Arians will have
an opportunity to prove that this year was no fluke.
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