Players of the Year - Part One

As an exciting regular season comes towards it close, its time to look at the players who made big contributions to their teams and why they should be in the running for player of the year.

Today, I'll run through the two West Divisions from the AFC and NFC and look at their players. I'll then follow up with other teams as and when I feel like it :)

The two divisions I start with are possibly the poorest two divisions in the NFL with the lowest winning percentages outside their own division in the league.

This morning I start with the AFC West and the NFC West will be posted later.

AFC West:
Denver Broncos - Onto their 7th Running back of the season after Peyton Hillis succombed to the curse after a productive few weeks as the number one back. But they are a throwing team and have Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall picking up the majority of yards for the team. The rookie WR Eddie Royal has contributed more as the season has worn on and had a 93yd TD reception in one game. He has also returned Kicks and Punts including a 95yd return but was stopped at the 5. He is 7th/8th in Punt Return average of the consistent returners. Tony Scheffler provided another option for Cutler but his season has been affected by injuries but has been a consistent option when needed.
There isn't much to shout about on the Defensive side with 5 Interceptions all year. Jamie Winbourn leads the team in tackles, while Elvis Dumervil has 5 sacks to lead the team.

Pro-bowl Candidates - Cutler, Marshall.
Team MVP - Cutler.

San Diego Chargers - Their usual key players of Shawne Merriman and LaDainian Tomlinson have not contributed as well this year due to Merriman being on Injury Reserve and LT just having a bad season with few big games throughout. Tomlinson does lead the Chargers in Rushing yards and has 7 TDs on the ground and one receiving. But, on the floor he has averaged 3.7 YPC which is less than his rushing partner Darren Sproles, who average an extra yard with every carry. He has also provided 3 receiving Touchdowns, as well as a 103 yard KR touchdown. Philip Rivers has used all his options through the air and spread out the passes between his 3 key options. Antonio Gates, Vincent Jackson and Tomlinson. Gates has been the key player for the Chargers with 46 receptions and 6 Touchdowns and is always there when the Receivers have been shut down, Jackson also has 6 Touchdowns from his 44 receptions.
On the defensive side as with the Broncos, the Chargers have a very bad defense especially on the passing side. The key point being that 4 of the top 5 tacklers on the team are in the Secondary with Eric Weddle leading, Quentin Jammer, Antonio Cromartie and rookie Antoine Cason. All of whom have at least one interception as well.
Shaun Phillips has 6 sacks and Jyles Tucker has 4 sacks, Jammer also has 3 Forced Fumbles to go with his 2 Interceptions and 2nd leading tackler.

Pro-bowl Candidates - Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates
Team MVP - Antonio Gates

Oakland Raiders - The less said about this teams offense the better really. Veteran Justin Fargas and Rookie Darren McFadden have carried the teams running load. After a bright start, McFadden had a toe injury which held him out for a few weeks and he has only just come back from that. Fargas has done well but with no threat through the air, teams are able to stop the, running relatively easily. The only Receiver with over 20 receptions is Tight-end Zach Miller who has been a popular option for JaMarcus Russell.
The only other 3 options to consider are all on the Special Teams side of the offense. Sebastian Janikowski, Shane Lechler and Johnnie Lee Higgins are all close to being the best at their positions. Janikowski has the biggest leg in football which is needed with the Raiders unable to venture a long way into opposition territory the majority of the time. Lechler gives good field position on almost every punt and he has been needed a lot as well. Higgins has returned 2 Punts to the house.
I'm not going to pretend to know a lot about the Raiders defense despite them being on the field the majority of the time. Nnamdi Asomugha is one of the best Cornerbacks and the most underrated one in the NFL. He doesn't have many Interceptions or Tackles, this being as no Quarterback will throw at him unless they have to. He doesn't have the stats of a ProBowler but probably would deserve to be one. Kalimba Edwards leads the team in Sacks and Chris Johnson leads the team with 2 Interceptions. Kirk Morrison leads the team with tackles and also has 2 Forced Fumbles.

Pro-bowl Candidates - Janikowski, Lechler, Higgins, Asomugha
Team MVP - Who knows? I'll give it to Lechler.

Kansas City Chiefs - A team that started the season with 14 rookies starting I think. They threw in the towel early and have used 4 Quarterbacks, 2 of whom went on IR. They have found a Quarterback of the future in Tyler Thigpen who has shown he is athletic and capable. He also has a Receiving Touchdown out of their version of the Wildcat. Their top receivers are Tony Gonzalez who is the top Tightend in football right now and has a big game every week and Dwayne Bowe who has almost treble the receptions of the next Wide Receiver.
Larry Johnson has had off-field problems all year but has nice but unspectacular rushing stats for the season. Average Special Teams from the Kicking, Punting and Returning means that they havent had great field position either.
Like with the Raiders I don't know a whole lot about their defense. But the one player I know about for various reasons is Bernard Pollard who leads the team in Tackles, has an Interception and two Forced Fumbles.
Derrick Johnson has 4 Forced Fumbles and is the team leader, Jarred Page has 3 Interceptions, rookie Brandon Flowers has 2 including a 91yarder for a Touchdown.

Pro-bowl Candidates - Tony Gonzalez, Dwayne Bowe

Team MVP - Tony Gonzalez.

Thats all for now anyway.

patrioteagle