Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs, the most dynamic player on the Ravens' staunch defense, has won the 2011 Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. On a team featuring longtime stars Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, Suggs stood out most for a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. He earned 21 votes, seven more than Minnesota end Jared Allen. Suggs had 70 tackles, including 14 sacks, and was a force all over the field from his hybrid linebacker-end position. He also forced seven fumbles and had two interceptions as the Ravens went 12-4 to win the AFC North. Source: Associated Press
Bullcrap??? Help your team go 12-4 and reach a Conference Championship Game is not bullcrap. 21 AP voters out of 50 thought so. No diss to Jared but the Vikings did not make the play-offs. If they did maybe the vote would have been different. Ball So Hard University!
MVP is for most valuable player to their team, defensive player of the year imo should not be judged on how the rest of the team did. Jared did everything he could.....
Playoffs should have nothing to do with that award. Suggs didn't get the Ravens to the playoffs by himself. Allen didn't fail at getting the Vikings to the playoffs...himself.
Whats the point of individual awards if team results are part of the criteria that determines who gets them? Allen was literally the only impact player the Vikings had on defense this year, can't imagine how ugly it would have been without him.
have to agree with the majority here .............. allen was the better defensive player this year than Suggs.
Allen racked up 66 total tackles, a team record 22 sacks (1/2 sack short of the NFL record), four forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, three defended passes, one interception and one safety. Suggs totaled 70 total tackles, 14 sacks, seven forced fumbles, six defensed passes and two interceptions. Wins and losses shouldn't impact the awards but that's the only thing I see that would tilt this in Suggs' favor. Allen was a man possessed this year and I think he simply ended up a sack short of being a shoe-in.
and it's almost as if very few people noticed what allen was doing this season up in minny (probably because they had such a horrid season) ............ it's really a shame because the guy was a monster all season.
