2011-12 MVP for Every AFC North Roster

Though it seems forever ago, we're not that far removed from the 2011-2012 season, and there's still lessons to be learned from that bygone era when Andy Dalton was a rookie quarterback and Terrell Suggs was earning his Defensive Player of the Year award.

Which players deserve to be named Most Valuable Player for their respective AFC North squads? Let's take a walk down memory lane and hand out a few more postseason awards.

Cincinnati Bengals: Quarterback Andy Dalton

The Bengals' MVP award could almost as easily have gone to wide receiver A.J. Green, also a rookie in 2011, especially considering Green's contributions to the team had much to do with Dalton's success as a first-year passer.

However, it was Dalton being named starter that had a number of analysts—myself included—predicting the Bengals would fall flat on their faces in 2011. Instead, the Bengals far exceeded expectations, ending the season with a 9-7 record and a Wild Card playoff berth.

Of all the rookie quarterbacks who saw playing time in 2011, Dalton fared better than most, going 300-for-516 for 3,398 yards, 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions and rushed 37 times for 152 yards and a score.

Though his 58.1 percent completion rate could have been better, it's not so terrible for a rookie quarterback with a truncated offseason to work with his new offense.

Everyone knew that Green could be a top-notch receiver right away, while there were considerably greater doubts about Dalton's chances to succeed in his rookie year. For this reason, Dalton is the Bengals' Most Valuable Player for the 2011-2012 season.

Cleveland Browns: Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson

Not many players on the Cleveland Browns roster played at a consistently high level throughout the 2011-2012 season in the way that middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson did, and that earns him the Cleveland Browns' team MVP award for the year.

Jackson missed 10 games in 2009 and the entirety of 2010 to a torn right pectoral muscle.

The team brought him back for 2011 and his return was nothing short of triumphant. Jackson was the team leader on defense in nearly every category, notching 158 tackles (116 solo), 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, three fumble recoveries and an interception while playing a full 16-game season.

Jackson was in a contract year in 2011 and it's clear that because of his performance that the team is doing all they can to lock him down to a long-term deal.

While Jackson may end up with the franchise tag if a deal is not reached, don't look for that to decrease his production in 2012 as long as he stays healthy.

Baltimore Ravens: Running Back Ray Rice

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice had the most total yards from scrimmage of any player in the 2011 season, with 2,068. He also had the second-most rushing and receiving yards for any running back, with 1,364 and 704, respectively.

Rice was quarterback Joe Flacco's most targeted receiver and was almost solely responsible for the Ravens' offensive successes throughout the season.

Clearly, no other player on the entire Ravens roster did as much for the team as Rice did, not even Joe Flacco or Terrell Suggs, who went on to win the Associated Press' Defensive Player of the Year award.

There's no question that Rice was the Ravens' Most Valuable Player in the 2011-2012 season, and he's hoping to get paid as such this offseason.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Wide Receiver Mike Wallace

There were three obvious options for Pittsburgh Steelers MVP this year, all on offense: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receivers Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown. In examining the numbers, I chose Wallace, despite the fact that the second half of his season wasn't as strong as the first.

Wallace and Brown were targeted 113 and 123 times, respectively, with Wallace catching 72 passes for 1,193 yards and Brown catching 69 for 1,108—fairly comparable numbers. However, the most glaring differences between their two seasons come in the touchdown and yards after catch numbers.

Brown had two touchdowns in the 2011 regular season and a total of 343 yards after catches to Wallace's eight scores and 493 yards after catch. Though Wallace was targeted 10 fewer times than Brown, he made more of his receptions and, more importantly, got in the end zone more often.

The reason why Roethlisberger didn't win the award is because of his overall performance—it was obviously hampered by injury. Roethlisberger threw 14 picks to his 21 touchdowns and was sacked 40 times—considering the type of quarterback Roethlisberger is, clearly not all of those sacks can be attributed to offensive line protection.

Roethlisberger was the man to get those passes out to Wallace and Brown, to be sure, but it's what the two receivers did with the ball that made the most difference for the Steelers in 2011-2012, with Wallace making the larger impact.

Thus Wallace—not Brown or Roethlisberger—deserves to be the Steelers' Most Valuable Player for the 2011-2012 season.

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