GameDay Glory 2012-13 NFL Awards

Written by kesleypro

Two of the league's award candidates hug it out after a Redskins win

Most Valuable Player

Adrian Peterson - MIN

348 rushes, 2097 yards, 6.0 YPC, 12 touchdowns

If you had asked me Sunday morning who the Most Valuable Player was, I would have said Peyton Manning with Peterson being the close second. It is now flipped after Peterson's great performance against Green Bay. His big run late in the fourth quarter to hand Minnesota the win and into the playoffs is as MVP as it gets. At this point, both Manning and Peterson deserve it but AP's value to his team gives him the upper hand. Especially with team's stacking the box, expecting him to run and still allowing him to rush for the second most yards in NFL history.

Offensive Player of the Year 

Calvin Johnson - DET

122 receptions, 1964 yards, 5 touchdowns

I had three candidates in mind for this award; Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson and Calvin Johnson. Despite scoring just five touchdowns, I ultimately gave Megatron the nod. Whenever you're breaking records set by guys like Jerry Rice, you deserve some hardware. Despite the Lions record, Calvin has been incredible this year and with him often getting double, tripled team at times; he still found ways to get the ball and make big plays. 

Defensive Player of the Year

J.J. Watt - HOU

69 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 20 pass deflections, 2 fumble recoveries

Aldon Smith and Von Miller kept it close for most of the season but Watt ran away with this award with Smith getting hurt and Miller slowing down. Watt, despite being a 3-4 defensive end, has more tackles, pass deflections and sacks then both Smith and Miller. Watt is disrupting quarterbacks by either pressuring them, taking them down or putting his hands up and batting their passes down. He's also a three down lineman unlike Smith; who mostly comes on during passing downs.

Offensive Rookie of the Year

Robert Griffin III - WAS

3,200 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 815 rushing yards, 7 touchdowns

I was real close to picking Andrew Luck but I just can't shake his eighteen interceptions and low completion percentage as well as his quarterback rating, which is considerably lower then Griffin's. Luck has thrown almost 200 more passes then Griffin yet has only completed eighty one more. For taking so much shots down field and playing in more games then Griffin; he has just three more touchdowns then Griffin. Griffin's rushing stats also separates him from the pack as well as winning his division.

Defensive Rookie of the Year

Bobby Wagner - SEA

85 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions

My two finalists were players that you probably didn't know until around week eight, when they started to garner some attention. It came down to Green Bay's Casey Hayward and Seattle's Bobby Wagner. I ultimately chose Wagner -- barely. Hayward has been great as a sub package corner but only comes on during certain dime and nickel formations. Wagner, on the other hand, is a three down inside linebacker that rarely comes off the field and for a rookie, that's impressive. Carolina's Luke Kuechly is a tackle machine but Wagner's impact has been greater.