NFL Awards Announced: Aaron Rodgers Wins MVP, Cam Newton Wins Offensive Rookie of Year & More

Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has won the 2011 Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award in a landslide.

Rodgers earned 48 votes to two for New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. The Packers star is the first Green Bay player honored since Brett Favre concluded a run of three straight seasons as MVP in 1997.

“It means a lot to be recognized as a consistent player and contributing on my team,” Rodgers said. “I think it’s an award that relies on a player having the support of his teammates, obviously, guys blocking, guys running, guys catching, guys making plays. But I’m very honored to receive the award.”

Rodgers received a standing ovation after his name was announced by Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, the league’s only four-time MVP. The award was presented on the “NFL Honors” primetime special Saturday night on NBC.

“We’re all really excited to see you back on the field next year,” Rodgers told Manning.

Rodgers led the NFL in passing with a 122.5 rating built on 45 touchdown passes, six interceptions and a 68.3 completion percentage as the Packers went 15-1 and won the NFC North. The Packers were beaten by the New York Giants at Lambeau Field in the divisional round.

“People really count on me to be consistent each week, to play well. Knowing that my performance, the fact that I touch the ball every play, I have a direct impact on the game, the way I play,” Rodgers said. “And if I’m playing consistent and doing things I know I’m supposed to do, we’ve been able to have some success because of it.”

He joins former Packers Bart Starr, Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung as MVPs.

Rodgers is the third consecutive quarterback voted MVP, joining New England’s Tom Brady (2007, 2010) and Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning (2008, 2009).

Brees’ record-setting season earned him the Offensive Player of the Year award.

San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh won the Coach of the Year award for leading the 49ers back to the playoffs.

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford won the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Brees shattered Dan Marino’s 27-year-old mark by passing for 5,476 yards, and his 468 completions broke Manning’s 2010 record of 450. Brees finished the season completing 71.6 percent of his passes, breaking his own 2009 NFL record (70.6). He also surpassed 300 yards passing for seven straight games and 13 times during the season, both beating league marks he already held.

“I obviously take a lot of pride in what I do on the football field, because that has the ability to influence a lot of people,” Brees said. “That puts smiles on people’s faces. That gives people a pep in their step on Monday morning when they go back to work. That does so much for the city. We have the greatest fans in the world. There’s no doubt about that. I think each and every day I think about what can I do to make my team better, make my city better, that’s my mentality.”

Brees, the 2008 top offensive player, received 43 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. Rodgers got the other seven votes.

Thanks to Brees’ brilliance, the Saints set several single-season records, including offensive yards with 7,474 and first downs with 416.

“Our best is yet to come, not just for our team, but the league,” Brees said.

Newton is the second straight No. 1 overall draft pick to take the honor. Rams QB Sam Bradford won it last year.

“I want to thank the man upstairs,” Newton said.

The first Panther to take the award, Newton received 47 votes to three for Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton.

Newton set an NFL record for touchdowns rushing in a season by a quarterback with 14 and became the first player in league history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 500. He helped Carolina improve from 2-14 to 6-10, throwing for 21 touchdowns.

No quarterback had won the award until Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. Since, Vince Young, Matt Ryan, Bradford and Newton have been chosen.

“He set a standard, a very high standard, for any rookie quarterback coming in, and he wants to improve,” Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. “He’s gotten better in so many different areas. … He’s really taken his game to next level, and there’s so much room for him to grow. He’s got such a high ceiling.”

Miller, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, sparked a defensive turnaround in Denver with his steady and sometimes spectacular play. He teamed with quarterback Tim Tebow to energize the Broncos, who rallied from a 2-5 record to the AFC West title and a playoff win over Pittsburgh.

“It’s special because you only get one rookie season,” Miller said. “You don’t get two tries at it. It’s really a one-and-done thing. That was probably the most special thing about it, you only get one shot to accomplish this feat.”

Miller received 39 votes out of 50. Smith, also a first-round choice, got the other 11.

“Aldon and me are good friends. If he got it, I wouldn’t have been mad. That’s still like my buddy,” Miller said. “If anybody else would have gotten him, I probably would have been sick. But knowing him and knowing what kind of guy he is and spending time with him, I know what type of player he is and he deserved it, too.”

The second Bronco to win the award — LB Mike Croel got it in 1991 — Miller made 64 tackles and had 11½ sacks despite missing one game and playing the last four contests with a cumbersome cast protecting his surgically repaired right thumb.

On a team featuring longtime stars Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, Suggs stood out most for voters. He earned 21 votes, seven more than Minnesota end Jared Allen.

“There is not a harder worker in football than Terrell Suggs,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, whose team went 12-4 to win the AFC North. “I don’t think people always understand and realize that because of his personality. This guy takes it very seriously — pass rush, run defense, studying the opposing offense, studying the particulars of the guys he’s going against. To me that’s what makes him great.”

Suggs had 70 tackles, including 14 sacks, and was a threat all over the field from his hybrid linebacker-end position. He also forced seven fumbles and had two interceptions.

Lewis, who won the award in 2000 and 2003, said Suggs understands that it’s one thing to be considered a pass rusher, and another to be considered the complete defensive player that he is today.

“That’s why when you sit back and watch him year after year, week after week, I am just proud to say that I love how he understands the game now,” Lewis said.

Linebackers coach Ted Monachino said the way Suggs plays is about more than just numbers.

“People see the sack totals and know he’s a special player, but it’s all the other parts of the game that prove, week in and week out, what a valuable player he is for our defense and for our team,” Monachino said.

Also receiving votes were DE-DT Justin Smith of San Francisco, DE Jason Pierre-Paul of the New York Giants, linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman of San Francisco, and Green Bay cornerback Charles Woodson.

San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh has won the 2011 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year award for leading the 49ers back to the playoffs.

In his first season as an NFL coach, Harbaugh guided the 49ers to a 13-3 mark and the NFC West title and the conference championship game. They beat New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs before losing the conference title game to the Giants.

“I think it was an amazing season,” Harbaugh said. “In a lot of ways, beyond description. Incredible.”

A former NFL quarterback and successful coach at Stanford, Harbaugh earned 45 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. He easily outdistanced Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy, who received three votes, and Denver’s John Fox, who got two.

“I’ve said so often how proud I was of this team. I thought they played their hearts out,” Harbaugh said. “I thought we were a well-coached team. They stand toe-to-toe and fight every time they go out onto the field.”

Harbaugh said his only regret about his rookie year in the NFL was how the season ended, in a 20-17 overtime loss to the New York Giants in the NFC title game.

“It didn’t have the ending that we wanted,” he said. “The football gods had a different ending in mind.”

Atlanta’s Mike Smith was the last man to win the award in his initial season as an NFL coach, in 2008.

Atlanta’s Mike Smith is the last man to win the award in his initial season as an NFL head coach, in 2008.

Stafford, who beat out six other candidates for Comeback Player of the Year, fought through injuries his first two seasons, then threw for more than 5,000 yards in 2011 to lead Detroit to its first playoff berth in 12 years.

He received 21 votes, six more than Cleveland linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith finished third, followed by Carolina receiver Steve Smith, Denver defensive end Elvis Dumervil, New England defensive end Andre Carter and Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Stafford is the first Lion and the ninth quarterback — four straight — to win the award since its inception in 1998.

Ravens center Matt Birk is the Walter Payton Man of the Year.

The award honors a player for his off-the-field work as well as for his playing excellence.

Birk, a 14-year NFL veteran, has made 96 consecutive starts and is one of the Ravens team leaders. He also supports youth literacy with a program called “Ready, Set, Read,” through his HIKE Foundation.

Birk also has agreed to donate his brain and spinal cord tissue to the Boston University’s Center for Traumatic Encephalopathy, which researches the effects of repetitive head trauma.

–ESPN