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Award-winning edition With the season under way, we hand out some hardwarePosted: Friday September 06, 2002 4:07 PM
Now that the NFL season has started -- and that was a surprisingly good and extremely illustrative game Thursday night, because it showed that the Giants have to be near-perfect to win against the good teams, and it showed that the 49ers can win the close, low-scoring games -- let's take one last long look at the coming four months. Let's predict the unpredictable, the 2002 awards. The envelopes, please.
MVPGreen Bay QB Brett Favre. Not just because of the numbers, though I think he'll throw for 3,700 yards or so, with a plus-17 or so touchdown-to-interception ratio. It's because the Packers will win 12 games, and because Favre will be breaking in a mostly new receiving corps. No one's ever won four MVP awards, but Favre's a good a guy as any to set that standard. Runners-up: 2. LaVar Arrington, Redskins LB. 3. Marshall Faulk, Rams RB.
Offensive Player of the YearMinnesota WR Randy Moss. I think he'll break multiple single-season receiving records. If he does, he should get more support for this award than for MVP. Runners-up: 2. Faulk; 3. LaDanian Tomlinson, Chargers RB.
Defensive Player of the YearWashington LB LaVar Arrington. New defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis is a very smart man, and I think he has it in his mind to put Arrington in a position to pick up 15 sacks and be the impact guy the Redskins knew he'd be when they picked him so high three drafts ago. This is year Arrington takes over as the newest "next Lawrence Taylor." Runners-up: 2. Richard Seymour, Patriots DT; 3. Brian Urlacher, Bears LB.
Offensive Rookie of the YearGiants TE Jeremy Shockey. Eighty catches, 10 touchdowns, first go-to tight end in New York since Bob Tucker. There is absolutely nothing about this kid not to like. He stands up to veterans. He drives players to practice harder. He thinks he's the difference, not so much in a show-offy way, but in whether the Giants will win or lose. He wants the pressure on his shoulders, every week. Only one thing worries me: the sprained ankle he begins the season with. But it doesn't worry me much. Runners-up: 2. Javon Walker, Packers WR; 3. Clinton Portis, Broncos RB.
Defensive Rookie of the YearDallas S Roy Williams. The other day I was in the Cowboys front office and listened with amazement as secondary coach Clancy Pendergast told me the team has Williams playing three different positions: free and strong safety in the regular defense (strong and roaming toward the line as the eighth man in the box 70 to 80 percent of the time, free the rest); free safety in nickel defenses; and middle linebacker when there are six defensive backs on the field. Whew. "No big deal," Williams told me. "Not much different than what I did at Oklahoma." This guy will have an impact in all 16 games, I think. Runners-up: 2. Napoleon Harris, Raiders LB; 3. Bryan Thomas, Jets DE.
Coach of the YearWashington's Steve Spurrier. The learning curve is overrated. Spurrier will get it, and fast, and he'll lead the Redskins to the playoff appearance Daniel Snyder so craves. Runners-up: 2. Jon Gruden, Buccaneers; 3. Butch Davis, Browns.
Executive of the YearNew England director of player personnel Scott Pioli. Which brings to mind the time I was with Bill Belichick at the league meetings last year as Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney, who was being recognized as the 2001 Executive of the Year award by The Sporting News, was up on the podium. "Let me ask you a question," I said to Belichick. He said: "I know what you want to ask: Why isn't it Scott Pioli standing up there right now?" The way I figure it, the Patriots are better at five positions and stronger at three more backup spots than they were when they shocked the Rams in the Super Bowl last January. Credit this man for a large role in the pursuit of wideout Donald Hayes and tight end Christian Fauria -- at the right prices -- and for bringing in 17 players at sub-market prices last year, many of whom will continue to make big contributions on another playoff teams. Runners-up: 2. Jay Zygmunt, Rams; 3. Mike Sherman, Packers (I know, but he's the GM, too).
Comeback Player of the YearMiami RB Robert Edwards. There is only one option here. I don't care if Edgerrin James rushes for 6,000 yards, or Jamal Lewis leads the Ravens to a 16-0 record. Three-and-a-half years ago, Edwards, who'd just finished a huge rookie year for the Patriots, collapsed in a heap on a Hawaii beach while playing beach football. Edwards knew he had suffered a horrific knee injury, but it wasn't until he was in the hospital that he learned he'd severed the artery near his knee that supplied blood to the lower part of his leg. A doctor told Edwards that had he arrived minutes later his leg would have been amputated. Now Edwards, after painful and very long rehab, will be the Dolphins' third-down back and an ace on special teams. Runners-up: 2. Edgerrin James, Colts RB; 3. Desmond Clark, Dolphins TE. One request: Please do not keep this and test me at the end of the year. If you know my track record on predictions, you know that the MVP is as likely to be Shane Matthews as it is Favre. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Check out his Monday Morning Quarterback column every -- and you should see this coming -- Monday morning.
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