MVP- Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings
Adrian Peterson is not a man, he is a freak of nature. For those of you who somehow forgot, AP's knee all but exploded in Week 15 of the 2011 season. It was a gruesome injury that makes you cringe when you watch replays of him going down on FedEx Field in Washington. Not only was it a disgusting injury, but it's a strenuous rehab process that takes most full-grown men anywhere from a year to 18 months to fully recover and be ready to take the blows of an NFL season. Not for All-Day. He was back in time for training camp, but was limited to non-contact drills until midway through the preseason. He then came back in Week 1 to score two touchdowns and show people that he's okay. Regardless of a mildly slow start, Peterson was more than okay. He was mind-blowing. Ultimately he became the 7th player to ever rush for 2,000 yards, and the first since Chris Johnson in 2009. He then put 2,000 in his rearview and set his sights on Eric Dickerson's all-time mark. By the final whistle of Week 17, Peterson fell just 9 yards short of the record, but made everyone collectively say "wow". Along with Peterson's remarkable recovery, he was the focal point of the Vikings offense. Reminder: Christian Ponder is the Vikings QB. All due respect to Ponder, but he's not exactly an All-Pro just yet. Peterson put the city of Minnesota on his back and said, "I'll run through anyone in my sight and take us to the playoffs". And that he did. For that, I find it impossible to not give Peterson this award.
Honorable Mentions: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers
Offensive Player of the Year- Peyton Manning, QB, Broncos
Probably the toughest decision of these awards is deciphering between Manning and Peterson for MVP. Both lead their teams to the playoffs, and both teams would be mediocre at best without them. But Peterson's record-setting season on an otherwise OK team leapfrogged Manning in my eyes. Regardless, you can't say enough about Manning. Besides getting used to the sight of seeing Manning in orange, rather than his typical royal blue, he was the same old player in 2012. Ho-hum, 37 touchdowns, 4,659 yards, rating of 105.8. As unfair as it is, you expect this from Peyton. He turned the Broncos from a run-first, Tebow-lead offense, into a passing juggernaut turning Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker into stud wideouts. He also gave the Broncos the #1 seed in the AFC and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. He picked apart defenses and was truly the standout offensive player of this year.
Honorable Mentions: Peterson, Calvin Johnson, Tom Brady, Marshawn Lynch
Defensive Player of the Year- JJ Watt, DE, Texans
Despite a slow finish, Watt was the most dominant force on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL this season. He finished with 20.5 sacks, 2 shy of the all-time record, and 80 tackles. He also deflected a remarkable 16 passes, good for 10th (tied) in the NFL and the only non-DB in the top 30. In layman's terms, Watt was a force and needed to be accounted for on every down, regardless of the play call. If you lose track of him, he'll hit you in the mouth or knock down your pass attempt. Only a few NFL players can say that they're in the elite category of doing both of those as well as Watt does.
Honorable Mentions: Aldon Smith, Von Miller, Richard Sherman, Charles Tillman
Offensive Rookie of the Year- Robert Griffin III, QB, Redskins
Part of this pick is playing favoritism, and part of it is realizing just how efficient RGIII was in his rookie campaign. He was fourth in the league in completion percentage, third in QB rating, and threw the least amount of interceptions among QB's with at least 350 attempts. He was efficient, accurate and dynamic. He also managed to rush for 815 yards and 7 touchdowns, being the ultimate dual threat quarterback. Unfortunately, as we saw, this can be extremely scary and dangerous. Griffin suffered a torn ACL and LCL in the playoffs, and now will be set back 6-8 months, tentatively speaking. You have to wonder if his style of play will change a little bit, which will be unfortunate because he's such a different species of QB, and you'd love to see how he can grow into that as he matures. Regardless, I narrowly give him this award over Russell Wilson of Seattle, and by a little bit wider margin over Andrew Luck in Indy.
Honorable Mentions: Wilson, Luck, Alfred Morris, Doug Martin
Defensive Rookie of the Year- Luke Kuechly, LB, Panthers
Another extremely tough call. This award will almost certainly go to either Kuechly, Bobby Wagner in Seattle, or Casey Hayward in Green Bay. I'm going with Kuechly because he stepped into the MLB role when Pro-Bowl LB Jon Beason went down with an injury, and from the word go Kuechly flourished. He lead the NFL in total tackles with 164, and was one of those rare linebackers than can just fly all over the field. If there was a play needed to be made, Kuechly was there to either tackle the defender or knock down a pass. He was the consensus number one linebacker coming into the draft, and he lived up to the hype showing he's the real deal.
Honorable Mentions: Wagner, Hayward, Janoris Jenkins, Harrison Smith
Comeback Player of the Year- Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings
Once again this is an award that will most certainly go to either Peterson or Peyton Manning. Both were two of the best players at their position who missed time last season and endured an incredibly long offseason of rehab and making sure they were healthy for 2012. Manning is completely deserving, working his way back from 4 neck surgeries to bounce back to his old form and lead his new team to the playoffs. But the gruesomeness of Peterson's injury, coupled with how dominant he was at a position that is so physically demanding makes me tilt the odds in his favor. I wouldn't be surprised, or disappointed, to see the award go to either of these two deserving players, but the wow factor that Peterson brought to the table makes me believe he should walk away with this award.
Honorable Mentions: Manning, Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry
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