NFL Awards, 2021

I've gotta admit, this Olympic/Super Bowl overlap is really throwing me off!  So is the NFL Honors being moved to Thursday.  I don't know if that's a permanent thing or if it was just because NBC couldn't air it on Saturday, but there is one thing I like about it...it lets me stagger my blog posts!  I don't have to cram the awards, Hall of Fame and Super Bowl pick into the same weekend anymore!  So for that, I thank you NFL.

And, with the Pro Bowl set for Sunday (moving it before the Super Bowl...another one of Roger Baddell's brilliant ideas!), I figured I might as well start with the eight major awards that will be handed out at the NFL Honors.  Although, frankly, there isn't much suspense regarding most of them.  There are four that are so obvious they'll likely be unanimous.

The obvious ones are Defensive Player of the Year, both Rookies of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year.  MVP is a race between two guys, and this will probably be one of those years where the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year are the same person.  So, that really leaves us with just Coach of the Year where there might be any sort of suspense.

While it's possible there could be a surprise among the others, that's doubtful.  Which means the names you'll see below will be somewhat predictable.  So, I probably shouldn't drag it out any longer and get on with it then...

MVP: Aaron Rodgers, Packers-All season long, the debate was Rodgers or Brady.  Frankly, I don't really understand why.  Brady had one of the best years of his career in what turned out to be his final season.  But what Rodgers did was ridiculous!  And the Packers had the best record in the league!  He threw four interceptions all year!  Yes, Rodgers looked like an idiot for his whole "I'm immunized" thing, then having to miss a game because he got COVID, and I'm sure some voters will go with Brady just because of that (that one guy from Chicago already said so).  Being named First Team All-Pro should be our indication that Rodgers won his second straight MVP, though.

Offensive Player of the Year: Aaron Rodgers, Packers-Had he gotten 2,000 yards rushing and/or the Colts made the playoffs, it would've been hard to pick anybody other than Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor.  But neither of those things happened.  I was also tempted to go with Cooper Kupp, who nearly had 2,000 yards receiving.  If they don't want to give both to Rodgers, Kupp gets it.  But I think Rodgers likely wins both.

Defensive Player of the Year: T.J. Watt, Steelers-When you tie Michael Strahan's single-season sack record, there's a pretty good chance you're gonna be named Defensive Player of the Year.  Yes, there was an extra game.  Records are gonna fall with the extra game.  And he only played in 15 of them, which means he had 1.5 sacks per game, including four in that Monday night win over the Browns that kept Pittsburgh's playoff hopes alive.  He becomes the second Defensive Player of the Year in the family. 

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals-Joe Burrow received a lot of the credit for the Bengals' success this season, but he needed somebody to throw to!  And Chase was simply spectacular at R1, setting NFL rookie single-season and single-game records for receiving yards.  His 266-yard game against the Chiefs in the regular season is a big reason why Cincinnati won that game!  The Benglas don't win the AFC North (or get to the Super Bowl) without their outstanding rookie receiver.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Micah Parsons, Cowboys-Parsons essentially had this award wrapped up at midseason, and rightfully so!  He had one of the best rookie seasons by a defensive player in recent memory.  In fact, he was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate for a good portion of the season.  If it wasn't locked up already, the fact that the same voters made him the only rookie named First Team All-Pro confirmed it.

Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Burrow, Bengals-Everyone pretty much assumed Dak Prescott was a shoo-in for Comeback Player of the Year.  And for a good portion of the season he was!  Then Joe Burrow blew past him.  Voting was done after the regular season, so Cincinnati's Super Bowl run doesn't count, but he sure deserves credit for leading the Bengals to the division title.  It makes you wonder how last season might've gone if he hadn't gotten hurt (but then they don't get Ja'Marr Chase, so I guess it all worked out).

Coach of the Year: Mike Vrabel, Titans-There's a lot of support for Zac Taylor, which makes sense after the season the Bengals had.  There's even some support for Belichick after the Patriots got back to the playoffs.  I'm going with Mike Vrabel, though.  The Titans didn't just earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC.  They had a five-game winning streak that included victories over Buffalo, Kansas City and the Rams, and their record against playoff teams was spectacular!  (Yet, they also somehow lost to the Jets and Texans.)  Then they won three straight to end the season and snag the 1-seed.

Walter Payton Man of the Year: Cameron Jordan, Saints-This is always a tough one.  It's the NFL's most prestigious award, but it's not like the other seven where it's determined by performance on the field.  Each team nominates somebody and, while there are some familiar names among the 32 finalists, it's based on what a player does off the field as much as he does on it.  And, as usual, if you read all 32 profiles, you'll think they all deserve to win.

Sometimes there's a clear choice.  That's what we had last year with Russell Wilson.  This year?  Not so much!  Although I'd love to see it go to Andrew Whitworth just because his two teams are meeting in the Super Bowl, it probably won't be him.  But then again, maybe it will be.

My choice, however, is veteran Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan.  His on-field exploits are obvious.  What he did for New Orleans residents in the wake of Hurricane Ida is the thing that puts him over the top for me, though.  It was so long ago that it doesn't even seem like this season, but the Saints were displaced when the hurricane ripped through New Orleans in September.  Afterwards, he immediately teamed up with the United Way to provide meals for people who became homeless or food insecure.  He's also set a program where New Orleans police work with the local community and volunteers at elementary schools every week.  All 32 candidates are worthy, but Cameron Jordan stands out the most.