So let’s begin with Defensive Player of the Year. The 3 front-runners for this achievement are Von Miller of the Broncos, JJ Watt of the Texans, and Aldon Smith of the 49ers. Von Miller has registered 11.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles this year. Despite this only being his 2^nd year in the NFL, Miller has jumped onto the radar of every opposing offensive coordinator. JJ Watt is having a great season with 15.5 sacks and over 15 deflected passes. Watt’s presence is felt every play and he makes those game changing plays that every team yearns for. Aldon Smith is beyond dominant. In every 49ers game thus far this season he has not been able to be stopped. With 19.5 sacks, 3 fewer than the single season record, he is the best pass rusher the league has seen this year. Also, Smith makes his presence felt as a run defender as well. My selection for Def. POY would be Aldon Smith.

November 19, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aldon Smith (99) celebrates after a sack against Chicago Bears quarterback Jason Campbell (2) during the second quarter at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie of the Year is fairly simple. As of week 14, there are 3 rookie quarterbacks who all are still in the playoff hunt: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russell Wilson. One could argue that the level of their success this year will have a lot to do with their team and not their individual talent (i.e. Seattle’s stout defense). Odds are that 2 of these 3 quarterbacks will lead their teams into the playoffs this year (even though there is a chance none could make it). The ROY winner should be whoever leads their team furthest into the postseason. If the teams lose the during the same round, the deciding factor should be regular season record.

December 9, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass against the Baltimore Ravens in the first quarter at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 31-28 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Now here is where it gets tricky. It is very possible that all 3 of the remaining awards could go to the same individual; at least 2 of the 3 are more than likely to go to the same person. When talking about which players deserve to win the MVP, I always ask myself this one simple question: “If this player were not on the team, would the team still be able to compete in the same way?” My candidates are: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson. One could make a reasonable case for Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, RG3, and Andrew Luck to be considered. First, let’s discuss stats and team impact. Tom Brady has tallied 3,833 passing yards and 29 touchdowns while throwing just four picks. Tom Brady will be facing Aldon Smith and the 49ers defense after crushing JJ Watt and the Texans defense in week 14. Manning’s stats are top-notch, too. He’s passed for 3,812 yards with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In week 15, Manning faces the Ravens defense. Only Drew Brees has more touchdown passes than Manning this season. Adrian Peterson needs 506 rushing yards in his next three games to break Dickerson’s record. In his past seven games (all of which were 100-plus yard performances) Peterson has rushed for 1,101 yards—an average of just over 157 yards per game. My selection for Comeback Player of the Year is Peyton Manning. The winner of League MVP will also win Offensive Player of the Year. Based on the overall performance throughout the year Peyton Manning will win all 3 awards. However, this can change if Brady puts up another dominant performance against the 49ers and Peyton Manning struggles versus the Ravens, which he has in the past.

Dec 6, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) takes the snap from center Dan Koppen (67) during the game against the Oakland Raiders at the O.co Coliseum. The Broncos defeated the Raiders 26-13. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Thanks for reading.

Follow me on Twitter: @kareemns

Oct 7, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) is assisted by an official after taking a hit against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half at FedEX Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

After RG3’s first, and hopefully last,  serious injury of the season, a mild concussion, many pundits around the league, and the social networks, are discussion how this was expected. Robert Griffin has been labeled “The most exciting player in the League” by many and continues to live up to this name every week. But with this level of excitement and unexpected brilliance comes a risk. Throughout the season RG3 has been subject to several vicious hits, some the result of play calling, others the result of putting his body on the line to get the extra yard, which some analysts refer to as “poor decision making”. Nevertheless, RG3 singlehandedly turned a stagnant Redskins offense into a fun to watch, high scoring machine.

RG3’s style of play is great to watch and is great for that particular play/series but in the long term it can be detrimental to the team. RG3 is not only the Franchise quarterback but also the Franchise. He is the marquee player, the reason people fill the seats every week. Without him in the starting lineup the team loses a lot of its appeal to the moderate fan (but not to us die hard fans). Also, without his talents we have to rely on Kirk Cousins who, as I previously blogged about, is a phenomenal talent, but has taken very few snaps in games being as though he is a rookie as well.

In regards to “changing” his style of play my take on that is that it will come with time. RG3 is a rookie, let’s not forget. He will learn when it is wise to slide or run out of bounds (which he should have did against the Falcons) instead of taking unnecessary hits (which he took on Sunday and got knocked out of the game). As long as this is not a consistent trend moving forward, I believe Griffin can continue to be exciting to watch but also make wise choices regarding his safety and will “live to see another play”.

Follow Me on Twitter @KareemNS

September 16, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz (left) argues with referee Richard Nicks (70) during the third quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

If you haven’t noticed yet, there has not been any progress in the lockout between the NFL and its Referees. This may not appear to be a HUGE deal to most, but it is definitely impacting the game in a negative way. In an attempt to flex their strength, the NFL League office is doing more damage to the game than good.

5 Reasons the NFL needs to strike a compromise with the league officials:

1)      Missed/Phantom Calls

During Week 1 and Week 2 games, the officials seem to have been missing a lot of obvious calls.  Most of these calls are pass interference, unnecessary roughness, and down by contact related calls.  All of these calls can be game changing due to the immense yardage they net.  The referees have also been making calls that are inaccurate costing teams yardage when there was no foul committed, (not to mention accusing players of committing a penalty when that player isn’t even on the field.)

2)      Calls are Taking Too Long

Not only are the calls inaccurate, but they are taking a VERY long time to make these bad calls.  This shows that the officials are uncertain and have to spend extra time discussing the legitimacy of a call.  This can slow the momentum of the game and create player frustration since it always seems as though there is confusion around EVERY call.

3)      Leads to Unnecessary Challenges

Every coach is allowed 2 challenges per game, and these challenges can be very important.  Challenges can also cause a team to lose a timeout which can prove to be devastating down the stretch.  Every missed call, or incorrect call, whether it’s a fumble, or even a bad ball spot, can lead to a coach using their challenge to get the correct call.  This is unnecessary since the call should have been correct in the first place.  This has to be very frustrating for coaches all over the league.

4)      No Respect by the Players

The players know what that can get away with so they will continue to push those limits.  A lot of the dirty plays we’ve seen are a direct result of players thinking: “The refs are letting us be physical today, let’s see if they flag me for this.”  The very next play someone is held trying to catch a pass, or a defenseless player is drilled, or a QB is drilled to the ground… and no flag is thrown thus continuing the cycle of dirty plays.  Until the players respect the officiating, dirty plays will continue to happen.

5)      Overall Integrity of the Game

As Joe Flacco said in his post-game interview on Sunday, the lack of reliable officiating has led to everyone questioning the integrity of every penalty, placement of the football, the time left on the clock, or anything that the referees are in control of.  Since the referees can directly impact the results of a game, it is imperative that the BEST officials are available to make certain that the integrity of the NFL can remain intact during these games.  The integrity of football was questioned during the era of performance enhancing drugs and the NFL resolved that very severely.  This debacle should be resolved with similar enthusiasm by the league office.

Follow Me on Twitter @KareemNS
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