NFL Awards: Tom Brady Is MVP on Bleacher Report's PFW/PFWA Ballot

Tom Brady and Michael Vick have been neck and neck in many people's minds all season for the NFL MVP Award. Other players have been good, but those two have been above the rest.

It's been an odd year in the NFL with a lot of surprising and disappointing teams and superstars as parity has reached an all-time high. So, some of the awards this year might not go to the usual suspects.

As a member of the Pro Football Writers of America, I have a chance to vote for their MVP and the rest of their awards. The results from the entire vote will be released in Jan. 23, 2011 issue of Pro Football Weekly and online.

My ballot follows with commentary on the selections.

NFL MVP: Tom Brady

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ORCHARD PARK, NY - DECEMBER 26: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots looks to pass against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium on December 26, 2010 in Orchard Park, New York. New England won 34-3. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Offensive (Overall) MVP: Tom Brady, New England Patriots

The voters were asked to pick an offensive and defensive MVP and then pick one of the two for an overall league MVP.

While Michael Vick was the more surprising player this season, Tom Brady was the better player. He's thrown 14 more touchdown passes and many more yards. However, that was mostly because Vick missed three games. Normally, that fact would be an equalizer in this equation, but since the Eagles won two of those three games is an indictment of just how much Vick meant to his team. 

Brady, however, meant a lot to the Patriots who struggled through some defensive immaturity and integrated new players into an offense that seemingly clicked along on all cylinders no matter who was placed alongside Brady.

Defensive MVP: James Harrison, Pittsburgh Steelers

The defensive MVP was just as difficult to pick as the offensive selection, but instead of two quality candidates, one could make an argument for many different defensive players. Cameron Wake is the league's sack leader. John Abraham has played extremely well for the playoff-bound Falcons. Clay Matthews has been a beast all over the field. Jerod Mayo has been a stalwart for the Patriots while other players struggled.

Harrison, however, has continued to be his dominant self for one of the league's top defensive units. He has double digit sacks, almost triple digit tackles, two interceptions and six forced fumbles.

Coach Of The Year: Todd Haley

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KANSAS CITY, MO - DECEMBER 05: Head coach Todd Haley of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on from the sidelines during the game against the Denver Broncos on December 5, 2010 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Has anyone done a better job than Todd Haley?

The 10-5 Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the playoffs and an AFC West Division title when few people gave them much of a chance prior to the season.

Bill Belichick, Mike Smith, Raheem Morris, Steve Spagnuolo and Mike Tomlin are all worthy candidates, but with the Buccaneers missing the playoffs and the rest of those teams simply meeting expectations, Haley is an easy choice.

Rookie Of The Year: Ndamukong Suh

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MIAMI - DECEMBER 26: Lineman Ndamukong Sue #90 celebrates a sack against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on December 26, 2010 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

Offensive Rookie Of The Year: Sam Bradford

From a pure offensive statistic standpoint, other players could merit this award. However, Sam Bradford has meant so much for a St. Louis Rams it is hard not to vote for the first overall pick. He certainly hasn't been the best QB in the league, but he's been better than the Rams could have hoped for.

Defensive (and Overall) Rookie Rookie of the Year: Ndamukong Suh

Again, statistically, other rookies are having better seasons than Suh, although nine sacks is nothing to shake a stick at. Suh led all defensive tackles in Pro Bowl voting and leads all NFL Rookies and Defensive tackles in sacks.

Comeback Player Of The Year: Mike Williams

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GLENDALE, AZ - NOVEMBER 14: Wide receiver Mike Williams #17 of the Seattle Seahawks carries the ball against Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on November 14, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona. Seattle won 36-18. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Im

It is hard to quantify exactly what "comeback" means.

Some people think Michael Vick is a shoe-in for this award. However, overcoming self-induced legal troubles isn't exactly awe inspiring, nor is becoming a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback after years of being voted into that very same Pro Bowl.

Mike Williams, on the other hand, overcame being one of the draft's all-time biggest busts. Although, that too was mostly self-induced, Williams was never a high caliber player. In fact, the Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans will both testify to that fact.

This year, the Seattle version of Mike Williams has been stellar. He's been the top target of Matt Hasselbeck and one of the few young bright spots on a sad offensive unit.

From out-of-the-league to a bright spot on a team in a divisional race, that's quite a comeback.

Most Improved Player Of The Year: Josh Freeman

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LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 12: Josh Freeman #5 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks for a receiver during the game against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on December 12, 2010 in Landover, Maryland. The Buccaneers defeated the Redskins 17-16. (Photo by

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been one of the league's best surprises this year.

Much of that has been because Josh Freeman has been such a bright spot. Rather than having a sophomore slump, Freeman has improved drastically this year to a top 10 passer rating, a 60 percent completion percentage, and a four-to-one touchdown to interception ratio.

John Kitna, Arian Foster, Peyton Hillis, and Brandon Lloyd are all top contenders for this award, but none of those players have meant the same to their team.

Executive of The Year: Martin Mayhew

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DETROIT - 2009: Martin Mayhew of the Detroit Lions poses for his 2009 NFL headshot at photo day in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by NFL Photos)

A lot of teams have overcome obstacles and overachieved in 2010.

Many executives have pulled big and impressive moves as well. In a year with unparalleled parity for the NFL, quite a few executives could take home this hardware. 

However, Martin Mayhew had quite the offseason and those moves kept the Lions competitive and helped wash off the stink from the Matt Millen era.

Mayhew traded for Shaun Hill, Alphonso Smith, Tony Scheffler, Rob Sims, Corey Williams, Lawrence Jackson and Chris Houston.

The Lions drafted Suh and Jahvid Best in the first round and ended up with a starting safety in the third round.

The team also struck gold with free agent acquisitions like Kyle Vanden Bosch, Nate Burleson, Stefan Logan, John Wendling and Nathan Vasher.

Assistant Coach of The Year: Marty Mornhinweg

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PHILADELPHIA - 2008: Marty Mornhinweg of the Philadelphia Eagles poses for his 2008 NFL headshot at photo day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Getty Images)

Once upon a time, Marty Mornhinweg was famous for "taking the wind" in overtime.

Now, years later, he's being credited for a high octane NFL offense and the QB development of Kevin Kolb and turning Michael Vick into a legitimate NFL passer.

The Eagles are a top ten offense, and people around the league are done laughing at Mornhinweg's one-time gaffe and starting to talk about him as a head coaching prospect once again.

All-NFL Team

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TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 10: The NFL Shield logo is shown on the field before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game against the Atlanta Falcons on December 10, 2006 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Falcons defeated the Bucs 17-6. (Photo by Doug Pensin

QB: Tom Brady

RB: Arian Foster, Maurice Jones Drew

Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson are more common and popular names in NFL circles, but two running backs have shouldered the load for their teams in the same way as Foster and Jones Drew who are first and fourth respectively in rushing and first and second in yards per game.

WR: Roddy White and Dwayne Bowe

These two receivers have vaulted themselves into the group of best young receivers in the NFL with spectacular years. White became the clear go to receiver for a Falcons offense that isn't so one-dimensional any more. Bowe leads the league with 15 touchdowns and has had five multi-touchdown games. 

TE: Jason Witten

Antonio Gates did more in less time that Witten, but Witten did more with less of a quarterback.

OL: Matt Birk, Ryan Lilja, Carl Nicks, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Jake Long

Matt Birk has been the focal point of a nice Ravens rushing attack and has only given up one sack. Lilja has been a large part of the Chiefs renewal. Nicks is the often overlooked member of the Saints offensive line but has been the most consistent performer. Ferguson and Long are longtime top performers and deserve to be on this list once again.

DT: Ndamukong Suh, Kyle Williams

The football grading site, Pro Football Focus, has given Kyle Williams the top grade of all interior defensive linemen. In fact, the grade they've given him is almost twice the next defensive tackle on their list.

DE: John Abraham, Julius Peppers

Abraham leads all defensive ends in sacks and Peppers has played the run better than anyone else this season. Both are leaders of reinvigorated defenses.

LB: Cameron Wake, James Harrison, Derrick Johnson

A lot of great players are being left off of this list. Longtime greats like Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher are having good seasons. Young players like Clay Matthews and Tamba Hali certainly deserve some recognition. However, it is hard to argue against Harrison (my pick for defensive MVP), Wake (the NFL's sack leader) and Johnson, having the best season of his career and helping lead the drastic turn around for the Chiefs.

CB: Champ Bailey, Tramon Williams

Interceptions mean a lot to a football team, but aren't always the best indicator for how great a cornerback is playing. Bailey and Williams both excel in every facet of the game, able to stop the run, lock down half the field, and keep top receivers shut down. Brandon Carr, Asante Samuel, Joe Haden, Brent Grimes, and Antoine Winfield were all worthy considerations. 

Safeties: Quintin Mikell, Troy Polumalu

Polumalu is a perennial worthy addition to this list, and this season is no exception. His ability to play run and pass, both at an extremely high level, puts him above the rest of the competition. Mikell may be a surprise addition to the list for some, but not if you've paid attention to any Eagles besides Michael Vick. Mikell plays the run better that almost anyone and is playing the pass better than he has in his entire career.

ST: Rob Bironas, Sam Koch, Leon Washington, Devin Hester, John Wendling

Not much to say here except this amount of kicking, returning, and covering kicks might be able to win a game all by itself.

All-Rookie Team

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NEW YORK - APRIL 22: Quarterback Sam Bradford (R) from the Oklahoma Sooners poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as they hold up a St. Louis Rams jersey after the Rams selected Bradford numer 1 overall during the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft at

QB: Sam Bradford

RB: Jahvid Best, Legarrette Blount

Best missed time and was hampered for much of the season with dual turf toe injuries but is still fifth in rookie rushing and second in rookie receiving. Meanwhile Blount has been the season's biggest rookie surprise, going from UDFA to starter. He leads all rookies in rushing even though he gave them a six week head start.

WR: Mike Williams (TB), Jordan Shipley

We can all (probably) agree that Dez Bryant would be here if he'd finished the season healthy. Instead, Williams, whom many teams just wouldn't take a chance on, and Shipley get the chance to be here. They are first and second in receiving among rookie receivers and are looking forward to being their teams' focal points in the coming year.

Tight End: Rob Gronkowski

This turned out to be a great rookie TE class with Moeaki, Hernandez and Gresham all in consideration for this award. At the next tier, Jimmy Graham had a late season push and plenty of others look ready to take that step. But "Gronk" is first among the class in TDs and receptions over 20yards and among the leaders in receptions, yards and first downs. He is also the best blocker of the group. 

Offensive Line: Mark Pouncey, Mike Iupati, Zane Beadles, Rodger Saffold, Russell Okung

Not a ton to say here besides these are the five guys who are logging serious snaps for their teams and doing so at a high level. Trent Williams is the notable omission, but he's been credited with nine sacks this year and has a ways to go. 

Defensive Linemen: Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Lamarr Houston, Tyson Alualu

(Note: The ballot asked for four lineman, not ends and tackles)

Sometimes scouting works. Suh has gaudy numbers for a rookie defensive tackle but some would argue McCoy actually played better (especially against the run) before he went down with an injury. Both of these guys are captaining their fronts in their first year.

Alualu is a pick-gone-right for the Jaguars who have gotten a lot of vindication after being roundly mocked for taking the California prospect so high. The same could be said for the Raiders and Houston.

Linebackers: Rolando McClain, Koa Misi, Daryl Washington

These three have been young bright spots for their respective defenses in otherwise disappointing seasons. McClain is everything he was billed as, and has been a staunch run defender for the Raiders. Misi has been remarkable rushing the passer. Washington does a little of everything and supplanted older (higher paid) Arizona linebackers this year. 

Cornerbacks: Joe Haden, Devin McCourty

Again, its nice when your scouting department works for you. Haden and McCourty lead all rookie defensive backs with six interceptions a piece over 20 passes defensed. Moreover, they have done it covering top receivers.

Safeties: Eric Berry, Nate Allen

Berry has been good, very good, this year. But Allen (a surprising second rounder for some) had his side of the field locked down for much of the year. Both of these guys have extremely bright futures. TJ Ward was also a consideration.

ST: Aaron Pettrey, Zoltan Mesko, Marc Mariani, Dez Bryant, TJ Ward

Two guys "passed over" earlier get the nod here in Bryant and Ward. Pettrey was a choice I had to make over Stitser. I just can't award a guy with some chip shot field goals and two missed extra points. Neither is great at kickoffs. Both of those guys should be looking for work next year. Mesko has been brilliant.