After
Week 5 in the
NFL, there were only 2 undefeated teams (
Detroit, Green Bay) and 2 winless teams (
Colts, Rams) with teams all in between; There had been records set by rookie QB's (
Cam Newton) as well as veterans (
Tom Brady); and now that were a quarter through the league, its time to give out the
NFL 1st Quarter Awards, courtesy of
SELive....
MVP: Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Mega-tron (Calvin Johnson);
Pick: Im going with
ARod; Even though Brady set records early, Brees is having a record -like season, and
Mega-tron is leading the Lions resurgence tying records for TD's (9) while bringin
Motown back, Aaron Rodgers is on a
mission. He wants another ring, he wants a MVP, and he wants 16-0. Rodgers has been in
EVERY possible situation in his career, from being the next great behind a great (Favre) to playing with half a offensive roster, to fumbling away the chance 2 seasons ago, only to rise up. Seems like he's going for THAT
SPECIAL Season, that every GREAT QB has once or twice in his career. Like
Hulk Hogan said on SportsCenter, "He wears the championship belt well" and Im sure he'd like to do his signature belt grab one or two more times in his career.
ROOKIE of the Year: Cam Newton (Panthers), Andy Dalton (Bengals), A.J. Green (Bengals): Julio Jones (Falcons) Von Miller (Broncos)
Pick: Im going with
Newton. Andy Dalton has taken the Bengals where Carson Palmer hasn't in over 3 years; a winning record (3-2), a never say die mentality, and has shown remarkable presence and poise early in the year.
A.J Green has been in one word-
special. He makes all the catches, and has consistently given Dalton that outside threat, in which nobody has been able to guard him. He's averaging 80 yards a game and leads all rookies with 3 TD's;
Julio Jones has been good to the Falcons, but no TD's and a 2-3 record doesn't help.
Broncos LB Von Miller has started off amazingly fast, with 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and will be a lock for Def Rookie of Year; And even though Newton and the Panthers has only won 1 game, he has lost to the Patriots, Packers, and Saints, which has 3 of the top MVP QB's in the race. Newton has passed for 7 TD's and ran for 5 more, and has
reinvigorated the Carolina franchise. He will only get better, as crazy as that sounds; and when he does, watch out NFL.
Defensive Player of the Year: Ndamakong Suh (Lions), Jared Allen (Vikings), Rey Maualuaga (Bengals), Clay Matthews (Packers) , DeMarcus Ware (Cowboys)
Result:
Jared Allen looks like the front-runner right now, but watch out for Matthews, Suh, and Ware coming down the stretch. Allen has
8 sacks and a INT so far, but the Vikings are jus now winning their first game. If not for the anemic team play in the second half, he would be the clear favorite.
Suh doesnt have the numbers yet, but his play
sets the tone for the Lions D, which has been resurrected, to say the least;
Ware has been very good, with 5 sacks in four games, and has been all over the field for the much improved Cowboys D. And
Maualuaga has been the leader of the
#1 Defense in all of the NFL, which is something. All of these players except Allen are young studs, who can change the game and will ramp their games up. Should be a great finish.
Best Team: Lions, Packers, Pats, Bills, 49ers, Saints
Pick:
Packers right now are easily the top pick in this one. Although the
Lions are the feel-good story and the
Bills are the
Darlings of the East, The Packers are the most
COMPLETE team in the NFL. They have Arod, with a plethora of offensive weapons; their Defense is almost as good, with Matthews, Woodson, Raji, and more ready to make big plays. Add a level of calm after winning the Super Bowl? We got a 15-1 record on our hands, and a possible dynasty in the making. Dont sleep on the
Saints, who was a play or two away from beating the Champs in the first game of the season.
Worst Team: Rams, Colts
Pick: As much as I want to pick the
Colts (0-5), the Rams (0-4) haven't done anything this year to not merit this position. We all know why the Colts are in this position; Were not sure what the Rams can do to get out of this position. They have taken 2 steps back, when this was supposed to be a breakout year. Question really is, who will
win a game first?
Surprise Team; Lions, Bills, 49ers, Bengals
Pick:
The Lions (5-0) get the nod, although the Bills and 49ers have been playing as well as the Lions. Detroit has won 13 games straight (counting last season and preseason); The Bills (4-1) showed that they were forreal with a bounceback win against the Eagles, while the 49ers (4-1) wiped up the Bucs to prove that they are no fluke. Bengals have won more games already (3) than most experts picked they would win ALL SEASON. Question is, can all of these teams keep it up and get to the playoffs?
Biggest Dissapointment: Eagles, Colts, Vikings, Falcons
Pick: I gotta go with the
Eagles, with the Vikings and Falcons nipping on their heels. The Eagles looked amazing on paper; QB coming off great year, losing to the Champs, adding a shutdown corner,a good WR and a good DLine, but losing their Defensive Coordinator (Jim Johnson RIP) has really hurt the Eagles, along with the added pressure and silly mistakes. The
Vikings added McNabb, start fast but faded in the 1st 4 games, finally getting a W last week, while the
Falcons are 2-3, struggling, and was once the favorites to make it to the Super Bowl.
Coach on the Hot Seat: Andy Reid (Eagles), Jack Del Rio (Jags), Tony Sparano (Dolphins)
Pick: I have to go with
Sparano of the
Dolphins. Sparano was already flaming for parts of last year, and when you have to rest your job in the hands of Chad Henne, I'd assume that will stay hot. Now that he's hurt, what does he do? I say trade for Carson Palmer and try that. Hes got weapons, but has went from Wildcat to battlecry in less than one season.
Andy Reid is flaming on right now since he put together this team, not to mention his defensive coordiator promotion, but hes done too much to get axed (we think);
Del Rio is using Gabbert to save him another season. As Gabbert goes, so does Del Rio.
Who are your picks for the SELive Quarterly Report? COMMENTS are Welcome
www.sportseffectlive.com
Dayton showed again why even though they are considered a Cinderella, they have become a real force as Jordan Sibert dropped 18 to lead the Flyers to a 82-72 win over Stanford. Dayton gained a lead mid-1st half and controlled the tempo of the game. The funniest moments of the night were on the faces of the stars (Coach Johnny Dawkins, Seahawks CB Richard Sherman, and politician Condelezza Rice) who cant seem to figure out how Dayton was smacking their team down. But in irony, if Sherman was watching correctly, Im sure he seen some Seahawks in this Dayton team, as they took it to the Cardinals with grit, cool, and a desire that Stanford showed only in glimpses. .jpg)
