Now that the Associated Press football awards and All-Pro teams have been announced, I thought I'd post my votes for your perusal. This was my second year voting as one of the 50 writers and broadcasters selected nationally to vote for the awards. Former Bee sportswriter Jim Jenkins bequeathed his vote to me.
The knee-jerk reaction by so many non-voters is to wait until after the Super Bowl to cast ballots. But these awards are for the regular season and should remain as such. Otherwise, you'd have an All-Pro team comprised mostly of the Super Bowl champs.
Another complaint heard this year - how could Colts QB Peyton Manning be the league MVP but not the Offensive Player of the Year, which went to Titans RB Chris Johnson? And how could Chris Johnson not receive a single MVP vote despite being a unanimous pick to the All-Pro team? Easy, "MVP" to me means exactly that - most VALUABLE. The Colts without Manning would not have been a playoff team, rather than the AFC's No. 1 seed. The Titans without Johnson and his record-breaking season? They still wouldn't have made the playoffs.
Following then, my ballot:
THE BALLOT:
The awards:
Most Valuable Player - Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning
(actual winner - Manning)
Comeback Player - New England Patriots QB Tom Brady
(actual winner - Brady)
Defensive Rookie - Houston Texans LB Brian Cushing
(actual winner - Cushing)
Offensive Rookie - Minnesota Vikings WR Percy Harvin
(actual winner - Harvin)
Defensive Player - Green Bay Packers CB Charles Woodson
(actual winner - Woodson)
Offensive Player - Tennessee Titans RB Chris Johnson
(actual winner - Johnson)
Coach - Cincinnati Bengals' Marvin Lewis
(actual winner - Lewis)
OFFENSE:
WR (2) - Houston Texans' Andre Johnson, New England Patriots' Wes Welker
(actual picks - Johnson and Welker)
TE (1) - Indianapolis Colts' Dallas Clark
(actual pick - Clark)
T (2) - Denver Broncos' Ryan Clady, New Orleans Saints' Jonathan Stinchcomb
(actual picks - Clady and Cleveland's Joe Thomas)
G (2) - Minnesota Vikings' Steve Hutchinson, New Orleans Saints' Jahri Evans
(actual picks - Hutchinson and Evans)
C (1) - New York Jets' Nick Mangold
(actual pick - Mangold)
QB (1) - Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning
(actual pick - Manning)
RBs (2) - Tennessee Titans' Chris Johnson, Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson
(actual picks - Johnson, Peterson)
FBs (1) - Baltimore Ravens' Le'Ron McClain
(actual pick - Philadelphia's Leonard Weaver)
Place Kicker (1) - Oakland Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski
(actual pick - San Diego's Nate Kaeding)
Kick Returner (1) - Cleveland Browns' Joshua Cribbs
(actual pick - Cribbs)
DEFENSE:
DE (2) - Minnesota Vikings' Jared Allen, Carolina Panthers' Julius Peppers
(actual picks - Allen and Indianapolis' Dwight Freeney)
DT (2) - Baltimore Ravens' Haloti Ngata, Arizona Cardinals' Darnell Dockett
(actual picks - Dallas' Jay Ratliff and Minnesota's Kevin Williams)
OLB (2) - Denver Broncos' Elvis Dumervil, Dallas Cowboys' DeMarcus Ware
(actual picks - Dumervil and Ware)
ILB (2) - San Francisco 49ers' Patrick Willis, Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis
(actual picks - Willis and Lewis)
CB (2) - Green Bay Packers' Charles Woodson; New York Jets' Darrelle Revis
(actual picks - Woodson and Revis)
S (2) - New Orleans Saints' Darren Sharper, Arizona Cardinals' Adrian Wilson
(actual picks - Sharper rand Wilson)
Punter (1) - Oakland Raiders' Shane Lechler
(actual pick - Lechler)
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