The Envelope, Please...My 2008 NFL Year-End Awards

Most Valuable Player: Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta Falcons

Michael Turner was a hot free agent this summer and looked to make his money after years of backing up LaDainian Tomlinson. He was going to command a hefty contract and would be looking at carrying the load for the first time in his career.

Turner did not disappoint.

In what was supposed to be an obvious rebuilding year, Michael Turner was pivotal to his team's success. Upon the selection of Matt Ryan, the Falcons showed the league they were ready to go in a different direction. That direction would be to change focus from the quarterback to the running back.

In a sense, Turner was a rookie because he had never been counted upon by a team to take the lion's share of the carries and put a team on his back. With 1,700 yards rushing (second in the NFL) Michael "The Burner" Turner put a team on his back and carried them right into the playoffs.

Offensive Player of the Year: Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers

Phillip Rivers lead the Chargers on a late-season surge to overcome the Broncos three-game lead in the last three weeks of the season and earn a playoff spot as the AFC West champions.

Without much help from LT, who had the first average year of his career, Rivers threw for over 4,000 yards, 34 touchdowns, only 11 interceptions and led the league in quarterback rating with 105.5.

Without Rivers, the Chargers would not be in the position they're in now. He should receive some MVP consideration and should now be mentioned in the same breath as Drew Brees.

Defensive Player of the Year: Ed Reed, FS, Baltimore Ravens

DeMarcus Ware, James Harrison, Joey Porter, John Abraham, and Troy Polamalu could also take home this award without much contention. With so many fantastic defensive seasons put together by so many fantastic players, this was really a toss-up and came down to the finish.

Ed Reed finished the year with two defensive touchdowns on a league-leading nine interceptions to go along with one forced fumble. He also set an NFL record with the longest interception return for a touchdown (109 yards).

Ed Reed is the most exciting defensive player week in and week out, and finds a way to stand out amongst the rest on a top-ranked defense.

Comeback Player of the Year: Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts

While this award is usually given to a player who made a comeback from one year to the next, Peyton Manning earns this award because of his mid-season comeback.

With the Colts sitting at 3-4 and Manning's numbers looking very mediocre, he single-handedly turned this team around by winning nine consecutive games to close out the season.

During the team's 3-4 start, Manning had an unimpressive 10 touchdowns to go with eight interceptions. In the last nine games, Manning threw for 17 touchdowns and a mere four interceptions.

A team that looked left for dead after seven games was rejuvenated by a player who caught a second wind to show his offseason knee surgery would not hold him back.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons

There's no words to describe Matt Ryan's first year other than phenomenal. Ryan, along with Michael Turner, helped to turn around a team just striving to stay out of the cellar of the NFL. Winning 11 games and a playoff appearance was unexpected and an incredible thing to watch.

Matt Ryan's numbers were not extremely impressive. He finished the year with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but what impressed everyone was his poise. He could throw an interception one play, but come out the next like nothing ever happened.

He plays like a seasoned veteran and is finding success that rookies usually do not have. His rookie counterpart, Joe Flacco, would be a close second for this award.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Jerod Mayo, LB, New England Patriots

In a year where injuries decimated the linebacking core of the New England Patriots, Jerod Mayo shown bright. He played so well throughout the season that most forgot this kid was actually a rookie.

First off, a rookie playing in a Bill Belichick defense is impressive enough, but to find success is nothing short of incredible. Belichick has one of the most complicated defenses in the league, but it proved to be no obstacle for Mayo who finished the year with 128 tackles, 100 of them solo, and a forced fumble.

Breakout Player of the Year: DeAngelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers

Roddy White and Calvin Johnson were close competitors for this award, but in the end none were as impressive as DeAngelo Williams.

Williams came out as a very talented, but raw back. He found success while teamed with DeShaun Foster, but never had to carry the load. After they saw his performance slipping, the Panthers cut ties with Foster and were left to rely on Williams, who had many skeptics.

The scouting reports said he was too small to go between the tackles and too fragile to carry the load. The scouting reports were wrong.

Williams finished the season with 1,515 rushing yards and 20 overall touchdowns which led the entire league. His yardage is made more impressive by the fact that his previous season-high was 717.

Coach of the Year: Tony Sparano, Miami/Mike Smith, Atlanta

This was too much of a toss-up to choose between these two men who both did fantastic jobs turning around the bad fortunes of their respective teams. Another man who deserves great admiration is Jon Harbaugh of Baltimore, a former special teams coordinator.

Sparano became the first coach to ever take a one-win team to the playoffs and the first since Jim Mora in 1999 with the Colts to take a team to a 10-plus-win turnaround. His success is overshadowed by the presence of Bill Parcells, but make no mistake, even though Parcells was buying the bargain groceries, Sparano made it into a masterpiece entree.

Mike Smith took over a team that few coaches would have wanted. Following a season in which they saw the face of their franchise incarcerated and their head coach quit on them for the college ranks, Smith took a young team and has them rolling into the playoffs.

There's a first, and second time for everything...

The 2008 season saw two quarterbacks do something none before them had ever done. Up until the '08 season, no rookie quarterback had ever started all 16 games and took their team to the playoffs. This year, two quarterbacks (Flacco in Baltimore, Ryan in Atlanta) accomplished that feat.

Rookies run the league, on the field and the sidelines...

2008 was one of the best years in recent memory for rookies. Rookies like Ryan, Flacco, Matt Forte, Jonathan Stewart, Donnie Avery, Jordy Nelson, Ryan Clady, Jeff Otah, Kenny Phillips, DeSean Jackson, and others really made an impact on the NFL more than any other rookie class in recent years.

Of the four rookie coaches to take over the reigns this year, none of them had losing seasons. The worst record of the four was 8-8 by Jim Zorn in Washington, with the other three (Smith in Atlanta, Harbaugh in Baltimore and Sparano in Miami) tying for the best at 11-5.

The four rookie coaches were a combined 41-23, with three of them making the playoffs. Two of which using rookie quarterbacks.

Two rookies to the front office also found ways to shine. Tom Dimitroff of Atlanta and Bill Parcells of Miami were vital to their teams' successes.