The voting has ended and the votes have been tallied. On behalf of the GIF staff I would like to once again thank everyone who participated in this awards process. The turnout has been phenomenal. So without further delay, it's my pleasure to announce the 2012 NFL Award winners as selected by GridironFans.com! Executive of the Year: John Elway - Denver Broncos John Elway took a 2011 fringe playoff team and turned them into an AFC powerhouse this year. Let's be honest, he won this award based on 1 move. But what a move it was. He managed to land the biggest free agent in recent or distant memory and that led to the Broncos securing the #1 seed in the AFC. Coach of the Year: Bruce Arians - Indianapolis Colts Bruce Arians faced an incredible amount of adversity this year. He wasn't even supposed to be the head coach. But when Head Coach Cuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia, Pagano was thrust into the driver's seat, and steered his team directly to the playoffs. This is impressive enough, but factor in the fact that is was the worst team in the league last year, and it was led by a rookie QB, and you have a resume for the Coach of the Year. Defensive Rookie of the Year: Janoris Jenkins 64 solo tackles 1 Fumble Recovery 4 Interceptions(3 returned for a touchdown) 14 passes defended 1 Blocked kick Offensive Rookie of the Year: Robert Griffin III 65.6% completion percentage(258-393) 3,200 passing yards 20 touchdowns, 5 Interceptions 102.4 Passer Rating 815 rushing yards 7 rushing touchdowns Comeback Player of the Year: Peyton Manning(won by 1 vote) 68.6 completion percentage(400-583) 4,659 passing yards 37 touchdowns, 11 interceptions 105.8 Passer Rating Defensive Player of the Year: JJ Watt 20.5 sacks 69 solo tackles 4 Forced Fumbles 16 passes defended Offensive Player of the Year: Adrian Peterson 2,097 rushing yards 12 rushing touchdowns 40 Receptions, 217 Receiving Yards 1 Receiving touchdown NFL Most Valuable Players: Peyton Manning and Adrian Peterson That's right, it was a tie. Co-MVP's. How perfect is this? Neither of these guys were supposed to be this good this year. Adrian Peterson was well under a year removed from a torn ACL. Peyton Manning was coming off of multiple neck surgeries and a season where he didn't take a single snap. It was supposed to be a year for both of them to just get back into the groove. They got back into their groove, alright. Manning orchestrated his offense to perfection for most of the year. But honestly, how could any of us expect anything less? He's almost too good. People aren't supposed to just be able to miss a year with a screwed up neck and come back from it like nothing ever happened. Hell, he might have come back better than ever. My respect for him as a football player has grown immensely in this past season, and I didn't even think that was possible. I hope he keeps this up for years to come. Meanwhile, in the NFC, Adrian Peterson is proving to everyone that we are not the only intelligent life in the universe, because there is no way he is human. He finished 9 yards short of the all time single season rushing record. 9 yards! This is coming off of serious knee surgery. That just doesn't happen. Not to mention all the extra weight on that knee from carrying his team on his back to the playoffs. He single handedly made the Vikings relevant. I've never seen anyone look like he does when he runs. Seriously, look up some highlights. He looks so violent and out of control, yet graceful and controlled. Not possible, you say? Well maybe not for us humans. So there you have it GIF. Your 2012 NFL season award winners. It was a hell of a regular season, and I can't wait for the official NFL winners to be announced to see how they compare to ours. Be sure to check back to find out!
I only disagree with the co- MVP's. Without Peterson, the Vikings are not even in the playoffs... who knows if they would have won even 5 games. Bronco's were in the playoffs last year without Manning - so I say AP is the sole MVP :icon_wink:
Can't really argue with that. But to play devil's advocate... Where are the Broncos without Manning this year? Certainly not the #1 seed. Would they have made the playoffs? I think Manning is worth at least as many wins to the Broncos as Peterson is to the Vikings.
Only one I have a problem with is Elway being executive of the year. I think there are others more deserving. Good write up [MENTION=3600]Steve12[/MENTION]. The annual GIF awards! Love it. We'll have to add play of the year and a few others in the future. Screw the ESPYs.
The people who voted for AP agree with you 100%. The exact same number of people who voted for Manning don't. :shrug: Great job here, [MENTION=3600]Steve12[/MENTION].
I'm glad Arians got voted coach of the year after the way he was excused out of Pittsburgh and had to install a new system in Indy. He was very instrumental to Luck's success this year and the success of that team. Deserves a lot of the credit, and will probably be doing it for himself next year somewhere. I still think Luck deserved the OROY award over Griffin though. Griffin was great, no doubt about that. The Skins have Alfred Morris for the defense to worry about though.
