By the time every NFL team has played eight games
Julién Davenport Jersey , there are some heavily established favorites for The Associated Press NFL awards that are handed out on Super Bowl eve.Not this
year.MVP? Lots of candidates — and not just quarterbacks.Coach of the Year?
Nearly every division has a contender.Comeback Player? Some likely Hall of
Famers are in the mix there.So the AP polled a few of the 50 voters for the
awards, including genuine Hall of Famer James Lofton. The theme was clear: There
isn’t much clarity as we head into the final eight weeks of the schedule.MVPThis
honor has gone to a quarterback the past five seasons and 10 of 11. Two running
backs, Adrian Peterson in 2012 and LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006, broke through
the QB domination in the past dozen years.Lofton and some others select Chiefs
quarterback Patrick Mahomes.“So good you just can’t take your eyes off of him,”
the CBS analyst says.“Maybe this opinion changes next week, given the stellar
competition that includes (Todd) Gurley and (Drew) Brees,” adds USA Today’s
Jarrett Bell. “Maybe not, as the kid keeps showing up. A first-year starter as
quarterback? Hey, Mahomes is like the new Kurt Warner.”Paul Domowitch of the
Philadelphia Daily News opts for Brees. Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk
prefers Gurley.Don’t forget about Tom Brady, Adam Thielen or Philip Rivers, and
perhaps even a defensive force such as J.J. Watt.COACHAnother wide-open field
headed by, according to Jenny Vrentas of Monday Morning Quarterback, Kansas
City‘s Andy Reid.“I selected Andy Reid … for his ability to seamlessly
transition from Alex Smith to Mahomes,” Vrentas explains. “He’s been so invested
in Mahomes’ development that he sits with him on the bench in between offensive
series
Will Fuller Jersey , going over what they see and how they’ll attack the opponent next. Reid has demonstrated an ability to keep his offense fresh and
tailored to his players, updating his West Coast system with spread concepts
pulled from the college ranks.”Bob Glauber of Newsday points to last year’s
winner, Sean McVay of the Rams.“He’s one of the brightest minds in the game, and
at 32, is proving not only to be a brilliant play caller, but an exceptional
leader as well,” Glauber says.Not far behind in our little poll: the Saints‘
Sean Payton, the Texans‘ Bill O’Brien, the Bears‘ Matt Nagy, and the Chargers‘
Anthony Lynn, whose team “plays a road game every week,” Lofton notes.COMEBACK
PLAYERRarely has there been such an impressive group vying for an award no one
really wants to win considering the implications of a comeback.From Watt to
Peterson to Aaron Rodgers, from Andrew Luck to Carson Wentz to Deshaun Watson,
from Odell Beckham Jr. to Richard Sherman — WOW!“It’s either Andrew Luck or
Watt
Nick Martin Jersey ,” says Williams, “but Watt has returned to being one of the best at his position. He is playing at an All-Pro and Pro Bowl level. Luck is
not one of the top-five quarterbacks in the NFL and maybe not in the top
10.”Eric Adelson of Yahoo Sports goes for the Colts quarterback.“Can’t imagine
the frustration he’s faced,” Adelson says. “A pro’s pro.”Vrentas picks Watt.“The
surgery Watt had last October to put his leg back together after a tibial
plateau fracture was so complicated that the surgeons couldn’t even be certain
that it would work, and that his leg would be able to bear the full weight of
his body while running full speed,” she explains. “Watt, who has nine sacks in
nine games, was undeterred. He wasn’t back to full strength in the season opener
but has steadily gotten better each week, a scary thought for
opponents.”OFFENSIVE PLAYERAnother free-for-all, with Gurley, Mahomes, Thielen,
Brees, Michael Thomas and James Conner getting consideration.“Before it’s done,
he could wind up as MVP
Tyler Ervin Jersey ,” Bell says of Gurley, his choice in this category. “Ditto for Brees. Running backs don’t get the same love as quarterbacks in the
pass-centric environment of the NFL. But if Gurley breaks LaDainian Tomlinson’s
single-season TD record and the Rams keep winning big, people will have to take
notice. Then again, Brees has a few records and has never been MVP.”Domowitch, a
Brees supporter for MVP, puts Mahomes here. So does Williams.DEFENSIVE
PLAYERThis category could be a two-horse race between a pair of thoroughbreds
previously honored with the award: Aaron Donald and Watt.“Now that’s a man who
don’t need no stinking training camp,” Bell says of Donald.Eric Adelson of Yahoo
Sports prefers Donald, as well.“A game wrecker on every down,” Adelson says.Adds
Glauber: “Donald is a disruptive force in the middle and already has 10 sacks.
The only problem for him — and the Rams — is that teams will often go to great
lengths to shut him down. Thus, the constant double teams he has to fight
through.”Lofton likes what Khalil Mack has done in Chicago: “Mack turned the
Bears from pretenders to contenders.” But this train could be a runaway for
Donald and Mack.OFFENSIVE ROOKIENo contest.“He’s the only good thing going for
an awful Giants team,” Glauber says of Giants RB Saquon Barkley. “Until the
Giants figure out their quarterback situation, he’ll be wasted in this
offense.”But not lost in the awards prognostications.“On pace for more than
2,000 total yards — on a bad team,” Adelson notes.DEFENSIVE ROOKIEChargers
safety Derwin James has gotten lots of love
Benardrick McKinney Jersey , but there’s no runaway leader.“Darius Leonard and Denzel Ward make this an interesting race for the award down the stretch,”
Williams says.Glauber leans to Leonard: “Halfway through the season, he not only
led all NFL rookies with 88 tackles, he led all NFL players in that category. He
also has four sacks and three forced fumbles and has already won defensive
rookie of the week honors twice.” Talk about a Friday afternoon news dump!"
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About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ?Filed under:Latest News2019 NFL
Draft2019 Houston Texans OffseasonHouston Texans Fire Brian
GaineNew,893commentsTalk about a Friday afternoon news
dump!CDTShareTweetShareShareHouston Texans Fire Brian GaineTroy Taormina-USA
TODAY SportsI saw it from Mark Berman first.My initial thought was that perhaps
Berman got hacked.But the team has confirmed that yes, your Houston Texans have
fired their general manager.This is bonkers.Firing Gaine now?A little more than
a month after the 2019 NFL Draft?What happened?I get being unimpressed, perhaps
even downright irritated, with how Gaine handled free agency and/or how the
draft played out, but the timing on this is tremendously odd, particularly since
many observers would contend Gaine did a fine job during the 2018 offseason,
considering he didn’t have a first or second round pick in the 2018 NFL
Draft.Remember all that talk about synergy between Gaine and Bill O’Brien?What
changed?Speculation is sure to run rampant.BFD’s Reaction:We’ll have more
later.For now, the floor is yours.
