NFL Award Predictions

Well unlike the NBA season, the NFL season is coming to a close and while there are some unanswered questions about the playoff picture, I'm pretty clear about my award predictions and here they are:
MVP: Adrian Peterson - I narrowed it down to Peterson and Peyton Manning, both having incredible seasons and both also leading candidates after brutal injuries, but I ultimately went with AP. The reason behind that is [amazing stats aside] the meaning of the word valuable. In football, the most valuable player is a player that his team wouldn't possibly be able to do with this. Don't get me wrong, Peyton means a lot to Denver but Tebow's Broncos were a playoff team. But, Adrian Peterson means the world to the Minnesota Vikings. Adrian is he leader of this team and without him the Vikings would be the worst team in the NFL because they don't have a good passing game, secondary and the only thing that makes their pass-rush decent is Jared Allen. Oh yeah, he's also 200 yards away from breaking the single season rushing record.

Defensive Player of the Year: J.J. Watt - I've been going back and forth between Watt, Aldon Smith and Von Miller but I went with J.J. because of the dimension he brings which the others don't, pass deflections. Watt has 15 pass deflections, better than any non-cornerback in the league. Watt [along with Aldon] is also challenging for Michael Strahan's single season sack record of 22.5. Watt also leads the trio with 74 sacks.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Andrew Luck - In a season STACKED with record-breaking offensive rookie performances I also narrowed this award down to 3 front runners; Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. Griffin III [who was born in Japan for those who didn't know] turned a hapless Washington team into the NFC East division leaders with his arm and his feet throwing for over 3,000 yards and rushing for over 750 [a new rookie record] leading Washington in a great position to win the NFC East. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson is one passing touchdown shy of breaking Peyton Manning's rookie rushing record [26]. Russell has led his Seahawks to an automatic playoff spot after routing the division leading 49ers. However this isn't his first blowout victory, in fact it's his 3rd consecutive blowout also beating Arizona 58-0 and then Buffalo 50-17. But Luck has completely transformed this Indianapolis franchise, from going 2-14 to a 10 win team a week before the season ends with a guaranteed playoff spot. Luck has also broken Cam Newton's record for rookie passing yards in a season Luck has accumulated  4183 passing yards heading into week 17 and will likely eclipse the 4200 yard mark. Luck has also done this without a stellar running game [22nd in the league in yards per game] or defense [19th in the league in yards allowed per game] so he's carried this team by himself leading them to multiple fourth quarter comebacks including one against the Green Bay Packers the first game since head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with treatable leukemia, and a touchdown pass as time expired against the Detroit Lions.
Other notable rookie performances:
Alfred Morris - 4th in the NFL with 1413 yards and tied for third with 10 td's
Doug Martin - 6th in the NFL with 1312 yards and tied with Morris for third with 10 td's and a mind blowing fantasy performance in week 9 scoring 51 points [standard-scoring, not PPR]
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Casey Hayward - In what [I've considered to be] an underwhelming season in terms of defensive rookies, there are only 2 particular standouts for me, Casey Hampton the cornerback out of Vanderbilt and Luke Kuechly; tackling machine. Before I explain my decision, I have one question, why is Luke Kuechly not getting any attention at all for DRoY? I mean, he leads the league in tackles and he's done everything the Panthers asked of him, to tackle. He doesn't do much else but he's really good at tackling. But, Casey is going to win this award. Hayward is tied for second in the NFL with 19 passes defended and tied for third in interceptions with 6. In an underwhelming draft class, that's all he needs to take home the award.