Dave Betancourt | Sports Section Manager

1/25/02

The NFL gives out its annual awards to its best players every year.  There's the league MVP, the AP offensive and defensive players of the year, offensive and defensive rookie of the year, coach of the year, and all that good stuff.  But there's always a debate as to who really deserves what.  Well, to put all the debating to bed, here's a list of who I think deserves what award.  Some of the picks I agreed with, some I didn't.  So here are my picks for the big time players in the NFL for 2001.

MVP:  Marshall Faulk (running back, St. Louis Rams)

The NFL decided to give the league MVP to Faulk's teammate Kurt Warner.  I disagree.  I'm not trying to say Warner isn't good.  He's very good and his accuracy is uncanny.  But if you put Warner on the Bengals, they still stink, put Faulk on the Bengals, they make the playoffs.  It's that simple. Warner could leave the Rams and they'd survive.  If Faulk left, they'd be in trouble.  

Faulk had another incredible year in which he amassed over 2000 yards from scrimmage for the fourth straight year.  He rushed for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns and caught an unreal 83 passes for 765 yards and 9 touchdowns. Those are pretty sick numbers for one person, and that's why Faulk is my MVP.

Offensive player of the year: David Boston (wide receiver, Arizona Cardinals)

The NFL gave this award to Faulk, and if you read the previous paragraph you know why.  But for the sake of parity I'm going to go with David Boston. Boston was the leagues leading receiver, putting up big numbers in receptions and yards.  That and he also put on a zillion pounds.  Boston bulked up big time and looked more like a linebacker than receiver, tipping the scales at close to 240 pounds and making opposing cornerbacks wish they played a different position.

Defensive player of the year:  LaVar Arrington (linebacker, Washington Redskins)

The AP went with Michael Strahan for this one, and that's understandable considering he broke the sack record with 22.5 sacks, but let's face it, that last sack was a joke, given to Strahan by Brett Favre and the Giants didn't make the playoffs.  Now the Skins didn't make the playoffs either but they made a strong push and a huge part of that was the play of Arrington. When he wasn't delivering the hardest hits in pro football, Arrington was keeping a team together that was on the verge of mutiny.  He's the next big star in the NFL and the Skins are lucky to have him.

Coach of the year:  The press went with the Bears Dick Jaron, but the Bears were way overrated this year if you ask me.  The real coach of the year is the Philadelphia Eagles Andy Reid.

Reid has turned the Eagles into a respectable franchise and has turned Donovan McNabb into one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL. McNabb is the sole reason for the Eagles success, and his mentoring process has been overlooked by Reid who has made sure the Eagles big monetary investment in McNabb is not a wasted one.

Offensive Rookie of the Year:  Anthony Thomas (running back, Chicago Bears)

No arguments here.  This is who the press picked and I can't argue.  Even though I think the Bears were overrated, "A-Train" was there only offensive player that showed consistency throughout the year.  This years draft class was pretty weak.  It might be another year before Michael Vick gets his chance to shine, so this year's rookie of the year was a tough one.

Defensive rookie of the year:  Fred Smoot (cornerback, Washington Redskins)

The press gave this prize to Kendrel Bell of the Steelers.  You know what though, the Steelers have talent everywhere, so Bell would look like an all-pro vet playing with those guys any day.  Smoot plays one of the toughest positions in sports, cornerback.  And he does it with confidence. This guy has proven he will be a franchise corner playing opposite one of the best corners in the game, Champ Bailey.  Throw at him at your own risk.