Seattle Seahawks Roundtable: Award leaders after 4 games

The season is one quarter of the way complete for the Seattle Seahawks and the rest of the NFL. That is as good of an excuse as any to get a feeling for which players are the frontrunners for the postseason awards.

That’s the pic for this week’s roundtable discussion. There’s some interesting picks. There’s lots of agreement about one ex-Seattle coordinator who is doing great things in Atlanta. There’s also lots of debate about the rest oft he awards.

Dan Viens

MVP – Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay. He’s only 12th in the NFL in overall passing, but numbers don’t tell the whole story. We may be seeing the most gifted overall QB in league history operating in his peak years. And no team relies more on one player than the Packers do with A-Rod. Isn’t that the very definition of MVP? He seems to be on a mission this year.

OPOY – Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta. Until a bump in the road in week #4, Jones was putting up video game numbers. 38 catches for 478 yards and 4 TD’s.

DPOY – Kam Chancellor, S, Seattle. Think I’m being a homer? I base this on two facts. Through 4 games so far there have been no truly dominant defensive performers (even J.J. Watt has been uncharacteristically mortal) or crazy numbers posted by anyone. Since Kam returned to the Seahawks in week #3 the defense has surrendered 3 points, and his play to seal the game against Calvin Johnson Monday night was one for the ages.

OROY – Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland. He’s built a quick rapport with QB Derek Carr and looks every bit as good as expected. 24 catches so far with 339 yards and 2 scores. Averaging over 14 yards per catch.

DROY – Remarkably, the top two candidates are former Washington Huskies. I’m going with OLB Hau’oli Kikaha over CB Marcus Peters. Kikaha, a 2nd round pick of the Saints, has 26 tackles and 3 sacks for far.

COACH OF THE YEAR – This one is a no-brainer, it’s former Seahawk DC Dan Quinn of the Falcons. His hire of Kyle Shanahan has the offense on track and the defense is playing with intensity and passion even though they still aren’t really that talented across the board. He benefits from playing in a weak division, but there’s no question that Quinn has the makings of a star.

COMEBACK POY – This might be the most hotly contested. Carson Palmer and Adrian Peterson are candidates, but I’m going with Larry Fitzgerald. Written off as old, slow, and past his prime, Fitz has bounced back with a great start to his 11th year. 30 catches, 432 yards, 5 TD’s. 10 catches of over 20 yards, and 80% of his catches have gone for first downs. Looks like the Cardinals were smart to give him that extension.

Thomas Oide

OPoY: Julio Jones—He’s been an absolute monster for Atlanta this year, and is a big reason why they’re off to a 4-0 start

DPoY: Kam Chancellor—Call me biased but when Chancellor’s gone, the Seahawks lose twice. When Chancellor returns from his holdout, the team goes 2-0 and continues it’s 17 quarter no touchdown streak at home. Coincidence?

MVP: Aaron Rodgers—No Jordy Nelson, no problem. Rodgers has been tearing it up, and is the primary reason for the Packers 4-0 start.

DRoY: Vic Beasley—I continue with my theme of Falcons players. Beasley has been to the Falcons what Bruce Irvin is to the Seattle Seahawks defense. For a player who was supposedly, “too raw” to play as rookie, Beasley has definitely silenced the critics.

ORoY: Amari Cooper—Derek Carr has led the Oakland Raiders to somewhat of a resurgence, but he couldn’t have done it without his star rookie wideout Amari Cooper. In his final season at Alabama, he showed that he had NFL-ready route-running ability and hands. He’s been putting those skills on display so far this season.

Coach of the Year: Dan Quinn—Let me be frank: when you take a 6-9 team to 4-0 the next year, you should be Coach of the year. Quinn has done an admirable job for the Falcons and has this team looking like real contenders in the NFC playoffs this season.

Comeback PoY: Larry Fitzgerald—Just when everyone doubted whether Larry Fitzgerald was capable of returning to his Pro Bowl form, he came back with a vengence. Fitzgerald trails only Antonio Brown and Julio Jones in receiving yards through the first four weeks of the year.

Alexis Bravo

OPoY: Matt Forte
At this point, without him, the Bears are nothing. He’s the only constant in a pool full of chaos.

DPoY: Aaron Donald.
I don’t even need to explain how amazing of a player he is. Just unstoppable.

ORoY: Amari Copper
Since being the 4th overall pick, he’s done nothing but impress. The future it bright in Oakland (maybe LA?) with Carr and Copper together.

DRoY: Marcus Peters
As far as I’ve seen, not many defensive rookies have shined to me. Overall, none have impressed me, but Marcus Peters. Marcus Peters is a better version of Patrick Peterson coming out of college. In a few years – he’ll be in contention for top corner.

CoY: Dan Quinn – just look at what he’s done in Atlanta. Took a terrible team into an unbeaten team as of right now.

Comeback Player: Adrian Peterson
You just have to give it to Adrian Peterson by default. He’s played great since coming off his suspension.

Mvp – Tom Brady.
He’s lit the NFL on fire since week one. No one else deserves it.

Keith Myers

MVP: Cam Newton – Newton is single-handedly carrying an offense with a shoddy offensive line and very poor weapons. As long as they keep winning there is no one more deserving.

OPoY: Julio Jones – Jones is dominating in Atlanta. He has completely taken over game in a way that we rarely see from a WR.

DPoY: Aaron Donald – Donald was the biggest reason the Rams beat Seattle in Week 1. He’s been practically unblockable all season.

ORoY: Amari Cooper – The Raiders struck gold when they selected Cooper. He’s big, fast and polished. Rookie WRs aren’t supposed to be that good.

DRoY: Marcus Peters – Peters has proven to be a fantastic physical corner. He looks like he belongs in Seattle. It is too bad that he’s in Kansas City.

Coach: Dan Quinn – Seattle’s former defensive coordinator has take a mediocre team and turned them into a powerhouse in his first year. Mostly this is because he’s taken their soft line play on both sides of the ball and replaced it with physical playmakers.

Comeback Player: Sam Bradford – Voting for Adrian Peterson feels like a complete violation of the spirit of the award. The same goes for guys who played all season but just simply weren’t good. Bradford has missed the last two seasons due to injuries, and has still played fairly well. No one else embodies what this award is about more than he does.

Dayna O’Gorman

MVP- Aaron Rodgers
Is there even a question on this one? Rodgers is once again dissecting every team they play. If he stays healthy, it should be a banner year for the QB.

OPoY- Julio Jones
Now that Jones is 100% healthy, we are finally seeing exactly what he can do.

DPoY – Demarcus Ware
Through ¼ of the season, Ware already has 12 QB hits-over half what he had all of last year. He is the cornerstone in a ferocious Denver defense.

ORoy – Amari Copper
As I’m not one to give too much credit rookie QBs, I had to go with the young wide receiver. With 2 TDs and 339 yards, if he continues this pace, he may be able to break Anquan Boldin’s rookie receiving record.

DRoy – Hau’oli Kikaha
Playing on a less than stellar defense, Kikaha is making a statement. In just 4 games he’s had 3 sacks and 26 tackles. He is a bright spot in New Orleans.

Coach of the year – Dan Quinn
I don’t think many would disagree with the fact that the hiring of Dan Quinn in Atlanta has changed the entire landscape of that team. He has not only ignited the players, who are playing at a much higher level, but the entire fan base.

Comeback player of the year – James Jones
You have to love this story. Jones left Green Bay, played an entire season in Oakland, then was back with the Pack just a week before the season started. He has been a life raft to a Jordy Nelson-less team.

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By Keith Myers | Oct 9, 2015