The Inaugural Dezzy Awards

In the spirit of the 2009 NFL Regular Season ending on January 3, 2010, I have have come up with my own version of an awards ceremony. These are awards given (not literally) to the player(s) who had outstanding seasons at their respective positions. Without further ado here are the winners for the 2009 Dezzy Awards.

Award For Best QB
This one was tough, but I went with Drew Brees. A year after falling short of breaking the NFL record for most passing yards in a season, he only came back rolled off 13 straight wins. I picked Drew Brees because of what he has to work with at the Wide Receiver position. He has not one person at the Wide Receiver position that is considered a star. This is not my words, this is the general consensus of the media. Brees posted a 109.6 Passer Rating, completed 70.6% of his passes (363-514), passed for 4,388 yards, had 11 Interceptions, and posted 36 Touchdowns (34 Passing, 2 Rushing). All while playing with Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Marques Colston and Robert Meachem. All four of these guys are good. For some strange reason, the media thinks otherwise. In my book Drew Brees had the best performance of any QB in the NFL given the amount of talent that "they" say he has around him.

Award For Best HB
This one was very easy. Chris Johnson, by far, was the best Running Back in the NFL this year. I was a little upset when Tennessee passed on a local product in University of Tennessee's Wide Receiver Robert Meachem, who now plays for the New Orleans Saints. I wondered, how in the blue hell, drafting a Running Back was going to help Vince Young in the passing game. Fast Forward 2 years. My question was answered and then some. Chris Johnson is probably the fastest player I have ever seen in a football uniform. Not only that, Johnson rushed for over 2,000 (2,006 yards [6th player in NFL history to do so]), 14 Rushing Touchdowns and set the NFL record for most yards from scrimmage (2,503 yards [2,006 yards rushing, and 503 yards receiving]). He also had 16 total Touchdowns (14 Rushing, 2 Receiving). Most players in the league expressed how much fear he struck in their hearts. This is one guy who can score on any play. I am happy that he is recognized for being a good guy as well. You don't hear about him in any trouble. He works hard and his teammates love him. Good job Chris.

Award For Best Fullback
So the Fullback position was almost abolished a few seasons ago. But with guys like Tony Richardson, Le'Rron McClain, Lorenzo Neal, Brad Hoover and Mike Sellers. You could make a case for why you need them. And Leonard Weaver was the next level of Fullback. All Weaver did was duplicate the efforts of Le'Ron McClain in 2008. Unfortunately, the Dezzy Awards were non-existant. If you need a big block to spring your Halfback, call Weaver. If you need a ten yard carry, call on Weaver. If you need a two yard carry, call on Weaver. You need some one to pick up a blitz, call on Weaver. And if you need another receiver out of the backfield, call on Weaver. He did it all. As if Donovan McNabb needed another weapon. Congrats Weaver.

Award For Best WR
There is really no surprise here. The new breed of Wide Receivers are here. Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Calvin Johnson Jr., and Brandon Marshall are what the new Wide Receivers are going to look like. But the guy that embodies all of their skills combined had a great year for a team that finally finished with a winning record (9-7). Andre Johnson had 101 catches, 1,569 receiving yards, and 9 touchdown catches. In my eyes, he has been overlooked time after time for being recognized as one of the best, if not, the best Wide Receiver in the NFL. He is another player in a long line of University of Miami Hurricanes, to just get it done at the NFL level. He is a true freak of nature at 6'3" 225 lbs., strong and fast. Congrats Dre'.

Award For Best TE
I love watching the new breed of Tight Ends in the NFL. Guys like Chris Cooley, Antonio Gates, Dustin Keller, (soon to be known) Cornelius Ingram, L.J. Smith, Todd Heap along with others are just flat out good. These guys cause so many match-up problems that I couldn't imagine how much sleep a Defensive Coordinator gets the night before a game against one of these guys. But my Best TE Award goes to Dallas Clark. Every time I watch him play, I ask myself. Where did the Colts find this guy? Clark had 100 catches, 1106 receiving yards, and 10 touchdown catches. I didn't think I would see 100 catches from a Tight End. Heck I didn't think I'd see 98 catches from a Tight End, but Jason Witten did is 2 years ago. Dallas Clark does play with one of the best QB's in the NFL, but when I watch Clark play he is very good at getting open. He is also good at getting off of the line of scrimmage, is faster than most give him credit for, and in a day and age where players, myself included, rely so much on those new age football gloves, Clark does it barehanded. He should also win the best hands award. LOL.. Please note that I did have two honorable mentions: Vernon Davis and Jason Witten. Two guys who are 1b. and 1c. in my opinion.

Award For the Best Offensive Line
I love awards like this one because people often overlook the most important part of any Offense. It is your Offensive Line. If you don't have a good line, don't expect production from your Quarterback. Just ask Jason Campbell. I have a watched a few games this year, and by far, the Best Offensive Line Award goes to the Indianapolis Colts. I don't think I have seen Peyton Manning touched in the last two season. His uniform is always clean. So to Charlie Johnson, Ryan Lija, Jeff Saturday, Kyle DeVan, and Ryan Diem, great job. This award is let you know that you are very much appreciated for what you bring to the game of football. Your job is thankless and dirty at times, but you show what it means to be true professionals.

Award For the Best Defensive Line
Some may not like it. But the truth of the matter is, the New York Giants had the best Defensive Line in football in 2007. And then the injury to Osi Umenyiora changed everything. Umenyiora has since returned, and then was seeing his playing time disappear. But along the way came four guys who don't play in a big market. They only have one guy who is a media magnet, but they are flat out good and deserve more attention than they are getting. The Best Defensive Line award goes to the Minnesota Vikings. Ray Edwards, Kevin Williams, Pat Williams and Jared Allen are the best in the business. Just ask any team that had the luxury of playing against them. Jared Allen alone can cause headaches but Kevin and Pat Williams are the icing on the cake. It is almost like two Albert Haynesworth-type players on one line. Ray Edwards benefits from being around these other three guys. He may not be a top tier Defensive End, but with the other three guys to his right, does he need to be?

Award For the Best Linebackers
I am a bit biased, because everyone knows that I am a Washington Redskins-Pittsburgh Steelers fan. But one thing I am is fair. And in truth, there is only one team that replaces Linebackers like undergarments. And that is the Pittsburgh Steelers. That group of Linebackers is the absolute best I have ever seen. The Baltimore Ravens are very, very close. But when Bart Scott got away, they lost a little bit. Pittsburgh, is what I consider "Linebacker U." Going back to the days with Greg Lloyd, Kevin Greene, and for one year, Greg Little, and even as recent as Larry Foote and Joey Porter, the Steelers ALWAYS has a group of Linebackers who are considered the best on some level. So the award for Best Linebackers goes to Pittsburgh. Congrats to LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison, James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons. I have not seen a group of Linebackers that dominant in a very long time (New York Giants, 1985-1992 and Chicago Bears 1985).

Award For Best CB
I love this section. I love watching Defensive Backs. This is the area in which I am most interested. I've watched a lot of football. No secret that I love the younger players like Chris Houston, Cortland Finnegan, Antonio Cromartie, Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie, Darrelle Revis, Michael Jenkins and Malcolm Jenkins, along with others. But the Best Cornerback award goes to one of the older guys. Charles Woodson, in my opinion, had the best season of his 12 year career. Recording 74 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 forced fumbles 9 interceptions, and 3 Defensive Touchdowns, he seemed to always be on the Green Bay Packers' highlight films. I watched the guy at Michigan. We knew he was a talent. And usually Cornerbacks start to slow down near 30. But here Woodson is 33 years old and playing better than some of the younger guys. He certainly makes me feel good. Seeing as though 33 is around the corner for me. Congrats Woody.

Award For Best Safety
Again, everyone knows that I love Defensive Backs. If I could play any position in football, it would be the Safety position. I love rangy, ballhawks who, on occasion does not mind coming up and blasting a ball carrier. My pick for Best Safety may surprise you. It again is one of the older guys. Darren Sharper wins this award in a very close race. The young fella, Jarius Byrd for Buffalo was my favorite to win, until I watched Darren Sharper play. Sharper is one of the best Safety's in the NFL. Again, most Safety's start to slow a bit in their 30's. Sharper looks like he has actually gotten better at age 34. Greg Williams does a good job of getting the best out of his players, but, I watched Sharper do well for the Packers, Vikings and now the Saints. I think the player has a lot to do with that. Recording 75 tackles, 0.5 sack and 9 interceptions, Sharper had a season that would rival any Cornerback. Congrats "Pops."

Award For Most Improved Player
I am happy to give this one away. I love watching players improve. I also enjoy watching players work their tails off to get an opportunity. It is players like these that immediately earn my respect. I would have easily said Devin Thomas for the Washington Redskins, or Santonio Holmes for Pittsburgh, or Calvin Johnson for Detroit, or Ray Rice for the Ravens. But the award for Most Improved Player goes to Miles Austin. No shock there huh? Miles was only signed by the Cowboys to play Special Teams. And even on Special Teams, Austin made an impact returning a kickoff for a touchdown his rookie season. He got his opportunity when Terrell Owens got hurt, and then again when Roy Williams got hurt. This past season I watched Miles grow up in front of my eyes, recording 81 catches, 1320 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. From tiny Monmouth in New Jersey, to Joe DeFranco's garage gym in Wyckoff, NJ, to the NFL Scouting Combine and then to the Dallas Cowboys training camp via Free Agency, Miles worked his way into the spotlight. If you want to talk about production, take a Free Agent Wide Receiver, give him an opportunity to make your team, and watch him earn your #1 Wide Receiver spot. Do you think that you made a good investment? Congrats to you Miles. You have made a lot of people proud.

Award For Comeback Player Of The Year
I really wish that I could handed a real award to this next player. We watched him fall. He wasn't used to losing on any level. He was used to being love by all. But in the NFL, none of that matters. You have to produce now. I wasn't happy about him being criticized, but he recovered well this season winning 6 straight games this season and leading an 0-6 team back into playoff contention. Although his team missed the playoffs by one game, he finished with an 8-2 record and won back not only his starting job, but the respect of a lot of people. My Comeback Player of The Year Award goes to Vince Young. No need in going overboard explaining what he did. Go look at the Tennessee Titans' first 6 games, and then the last 10 games. You do the math. Good job VY.

The Diamonds In The Rough Award
I love watching these guys play. One has already established himself as a Prime Time player. The others are getting started. My Diamonds in the Rough Awards go to Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers, Brian Cushing of the Houston Texans, Mike Jenkins of the Dallas Cowboys, Brian Orakpo of the Washington Redskins, Calvin Johnson Jr. of the Detroit Lions, and Jarius Byrd of the Buffalo Bills. The only guy on this list that is established is Patrick Willis, ranking the in the top 3 for the past 3 years in tackles. The others haven't even scratched the surface as to how good they can be, and they are pretty good already.

Award For NFL MVP
Well this is the award for which we have all been waiting. The NFL MVP award is usually given to the player who has performed head and shoulders above the rest of the league. This player has influenced their team to the point that some may consider him irreplaceable. But in a surprise twist. I have chosen two players, and they both are well deserving. My NFL MVP Award goes to Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. It should be stated, that I am not a fan of either of these guys. I think the media tries to shove them down our throats and builds them up as the Great White Hope. Not to say that they are not good, I just think that the media makes them out to be Gods. The love affair with these two are sickening. But I call it like I see it, and these two had outstanding seasons.

Brett Favre worked the West Coast Offense, with the Minnesota Vikings, to perfection. Sidney Rice was the beneficiary of some good ol' Southern love. And when Brett likes a Receiver, you will know it. When Brett is in a bind, that guy gets the ball a lot. Rice had a career year and it was because Brett made up in his mind, Sidney Rice is his guy. Favre posted a 107.2 Passer Rating (Career High), 68.4% completion percentage (Career High) (363 completions - 531 attempts), 4,202 yards, 7 Interceptions (Career Low) and 33 Touchdowns. And the Vikings finished 12-4 and the #2 seed in the NFC Playoffs. Good job Brett.

Peyton Manning also had a great year. Starting 14-0 (finished 14-2), and finding ways to win games, Manning had a year that I actually had to give him credit for. One of his star players, Anthony Gonzalez, went down with a knee injury, and was replaced by a standout Division 3 college player in Pierre Garcon. And all Peyton did was post a 99.9 Passer Rating, 68.8% completion percentage (393-571), 4,500 passing yards, and 33 touchdowns. I know this sounds like a typical year for Manning, but his team was staring down a perfect season all the way up until Week 16. And that counts for a lot. Good job Peyton.

Hopefully next year we will have a new crop of players winning awards. But for now, I can't wait until the NFL Playoffs start. Enjoy the Postseason folks.

Evaluating Jason Campbell

It is amazing to me how Jason Campbell has been treated, not only by the organization, but by our own fans. Here is a former 1st Round draft pick out of Auburn, who is a Balanced QB (can both run and pass), although he sits in the pocket more often than not. He is super intelligent (he has to be to learn like 5 Offenses in the last 9 years), has a big arm, can make any and every throw. But he doesn’t have the “it” factor. Now for a long time I couldn’t figure out what the “it” factor was. I mean I watch/record the NFL Scouting Combine, now and I hear the reference to the “it” factor a lot. I watch other teams in the NFL and some other QB’s like, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco (Flacco is nice) and more recently, Mark Sanchez and all are said to have the “it” factor. But after doing some searching, I finally figured out what the “it” factor is, and Jason Campbell needs “it.”

Jason Campbell is the most recent in a long line of Black QB’s who just doesn’t have “it.” I mean he’s in his 5th year for crying out loud. He has had to work with Coach Joe Gibbs, Al Saunders, Jim Zorn, Sherman Smith and now Sherman Lewis. He is a professional QB, so change is something that he should be used to, right??!! He is a professional football player making a lot of money he should just suck it up, and get going. It shouldn’t matter that his Right Guard Randy Thomas got hurt, and that his “bread and butter” blindside protector Chris Samuels may have to retire because of his injury. Jason Campbell is the QB and his job is to run the offense, move the ball down the field and score, and he has not been doing a good job, right??!! We need to see progress from him and we need to see it right now. He is in his 5th and final year of his contract and he needs to put up or shut up, right??!! I mean he is in the ideal situation right now. He has a great run game, viable players at WR and the best Offensive Line in football so he should be 6-0 right now, right?!!! If you have said yes to everything I just wrote, you are not very bright. There I said it. And the worse part of it all, some of you are “die hard Redskins fans.”

Learn how to evaluate the QB position before you criticize Jason Campbell. First of all, he is not, nor will he ever be, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. Remember he does not have the “it” factor. But I will say this, Jason can do what they can do plus some. Ask them to run when the play breaks down. The last time that I checked, running for a first down, gets you the same thing as throwing it… A FIRST DOWN!!! And before you get your feathers ruffled, I love Tom Brady, and I am just getting around to liking Peyton Manning. Tom Brady for a 5 year stretch, in my opinion, was the best QB in the NFL. And Jason Campbell does not block for himself, nor does he catch his own passes, and he does not have the responsibility of running the football. But I digress.

When you are evaluating Jason Campbell ask yourself some key questions:

1. Does he have adequate arm Strength?
2. Does he set up quick?
3. Is he balanced when he is set?
4. How is his body positioning?
5. Is he accurate? (Before you jump out of your seats, remember this is the same guy that threw only 6 INT’s in 16 games last year. There are players who have thrown 20 INT’s and have kept their jobs. Also keep in mind how many drops has he had this year.)
6. Does he have the ability to throw the deep ball and the touch to throw the short ball?
7. Does he throw a catchable ball?
8. Does he have the ability to fit the ball in where only their receivers can catch it or where their receivers can make a play?
9. Does he have good field vision? (Does he see the entire field?)
10. Is he quick enough to go through his progressions and locate the second or third receiver? (I hear a lot of people getting mad at Jason Campbell for making the dump off pass, but if you understand our offense, the dump off is usually his 3rd, 4th and on some occasions, the 5th read.)
11. Does he have adequate running ability? (Is he a threat to run out of the pocket?)
12. Can he make plays on the run?
13. Can he avoid the rush?
14. Does he have quick feet and can he make people miss?
15. How is his delivery?
16. Does he have a quick release or is there a windup?
17. Does he do a good job of securing the ball?
18. Are his ball fakes good enough to freeze linebackers?
19. Does he have the ability to look off defenders, or does he zone in on one receiver and force it?
20. Does he have good leadership? (Keep in mind, not all leaders are yellers and screamers. Do you want that from your QB?)
21. Does he possess the ability to move the team when the chips are down? (Think of how efficient he is in the 2 minute drill when he is calling his own plays.)
22. Does he have poise under pressure?
23. Do his teammates believe in them?
24. How does he play after an interception?
25. Does he get rattled?

How do some people get that Jason Campbell is the worse QB in the league? If you ask me, he is the QB in the worse situation. But if he does not check out with you after reviewing my 25 questions, I will personally apologize and drop the subject. But please come at me with logic and not emotions. I can have an intelligent discussion all day when it comes to logic and facts, but I cannot talk to your emotions. Again I digress.

With me Jason Campbell checks out just fine. No QB in the NFL checks out perfectly. There is a flaw in everyone’s game. But I will again admit that Jason Campbell does not have the “it” factor. So no matter what happens this year, his career is pretty much written in stone. He is going to be labeled an underachiever, a bust, a disappointment. He would have to finish this 2009 campaign winning at least 8 of the remaining 10 games. Currently the Redskins are 2-4, so that would put them at 10-6. The fact of the matter is, the chances are slim, but very achievable. But when you do not have the “it” factor, going on an 8-10 game winning streak is very hard.

But again, I finally figured out what the “it” factor is. It is something that you cannot put your finger on. “It” is immeasurable. “It” is very elusive. “It” can make or break your career. Do you want to know what is the “it” factor?

“IT” IS CALLED THE SUPPORT OF YOUR ORGANIZATION!!!

It is either you have “it” or you don’t. And Jason Campbell does not. So Jason if you ever read my post, I hope you go to another team, win the starting QB job, win regular season MVP, win the Super Bowl and then win the Super Bowl MVP. I will bet that the other 31 NFL clubs will say that you have the “it” factor.