American golfing legend Tiger Woods has been searching for a breakthrough since his career lost track about a decade ago.
Woods just won his fifth Master’s of his career and it happened to be his first major win since 2008.
Category: Sports
Rob Mendez: The Coach Who Beat The Odds.
Rob Mendez is a coach with a very unique style and approach to the game. Mendez was born with no arms or legs, stemming from a rare disease called “Tetra-Amelia Syndrome”. Since Mendez has no arms and legs, his approach to the game is through his mental, studying each and everything he can about football. Mendez took over the job as the JV head football coach at Prospect High. During his first season, the coach with no limbs took his JV team to a successful 8-2 season. The Head Coach was featured in ESPN’s 30 for 30 this past week! You can watch his interview and learn more about Coach Mendez Down Below.
Manny Pacquiao Vs. Lucas Matthysse
The Return Of Pacquaio Manny Pac-Man Pacquaio is making a return after a year of being away from the ring. His last fight Vs Jeff Horn was a very controversial bout. Many critiques believed the fight should have led Pacquaio into retiring. Some believe Pacquaio was cheated out of his fight Vs Horn. Others believe […]
The Return Of Pacquaio
Manny Pac-Man Pacquiao is making a return after a year of being away from the ring. His last fight Vs Jeff Horn was a very controversial bout. Many critiques believed the fight should have led Pacquiao into retiring. Some believe Pacquiao was cheated out of his fight Vs Horn. Others believe their should be a Manny Pacquiao Vs Jeff Horn 2. However, the facts are on Saturday July 14th, 2018, Manny Pac-Man Pacquiao will be returning to the ring against Lucas Matthysse. The fight will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Axiata Arena. The fight is still in the works of being broadcasted on ESPN.
What to know about the fighters
Lucas Matthysse
Lucas Matthysse comes into this fight off of two wins by KO and TKO. In his two last fights he attained the WBO welterwight title, WBO Inter-Continental and WBO international Welterweight titles as well. Matthysse is a veteran fighter who first debuted on June 4th, 2004. Matthysse is currently 44-4-1 with 36 of his wins coming by knockout. This big fight Versus Manny Pacquiao will not be his first time stepping on a huge platform. Matthysse has fought in 19 different title bouts in which he only lost 3 fights during these bouts. This fight will not be a breeze for Manny Pacquaio as Lucas Matthysse has been waiting for this opportunity for five years now.
Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao is coming off of a dreadful performance, or was it? Many critiques claim the veteran fighter was very sluggish in his bout against Jeff Horn. However, Manny Pacquiao landed double the amount of punches Horn did and at a higher percentage. This fight put Manny Pacquiao in a fighting drought because of how poorly scored the bout was. ESPN Commentator T.J. Quinn stated on twitter “A 117–111 card? Ridiculous. This is a hometown hit job. Manny looked old, but mostly in control”. Pacquiao was not the aggressor but certainly was the more experienced in this fight. Pacquiao landed 182 out of 573 punches, while Horn landed 92 out of 625 punches. The bout was fought in Australia, in which is Jeff Horn’s hometown. Ranked #4 by Boxing Rec as the best pound for pound fighter in history, Manny Pacquiao is ready to add to his already impressive legacy.
Tale Of The Tape
Manny PAC-Man Pacquiao | Record: 59-7-2 |(KO%) 56% | Weight: 146 lbs (66.22 kg) | Height: 5’5 | Reach: 67′ (170 cm) | Stance: Southpaw | Age: 39
Lucas Matthysse |Record: 39-4-0 | KO’s: 36 | (KO%) 82% | Weight: 147 lbs (66.67 kg) | Height: 5’6 | Reach: 69′ (175 Cm) | Stance: Orthodox | Age: 35
Advantages + Disadvantages
Manny Pacquiao has a huge chip on his shoulder when he comes into this fight. Having been cheated in what many believe to be 3 fights in his career, Pacquiao is ready to show up and dominate his opponent. Pacquiao will definitely have an advantage when it comes to landing more punches as well as throw more than Lucas Matthysse. As seen in many of his fights, win or lost, Pacquiao has always found a way to dominate his opponent with punches thrown and landed. However, as seen with his last fight Vs. Jeff Horn, Landing punches and throwing many does not matter at the end of the bout. Pacquiao will need to dominate early and throughout. If Pacquiao is able to last Matthysse’s dominate punches, than I feel he will have a huge change of winning. Disadvantages for the Pac-man however are his confidence. Does he have the confidence he once had coming into this fight? Out of his 4 last fights, Pacquiao has been defeated twice. His age is another big factor in this bout. Pacquiao will come into this bout 4 years older than Matthysse. Another factor will be PAC-man’s reach and height compared to Lucas Matthysse. Pacquiao will have a two-inch disadvantage in reach and a one-inch disadvantage in height. If Pacquiao can come out aggressive he will have a very good chance of competing and or beating Lucas Matthysse.
Lucas Matthysse will be coming into his bout off of two straight quality wins. He will be defending his Regular Welterweight title in which he won by defeating his last opponent Tewa Kiram. Matthysse, much like Pacquiao, is a very experience fighter, fighting in over 15+ Title bouts. Lucas is very familiar to the big stage and will not shy from the challenge. Matthysse will have a two-inch reach advantage as well as a one-inch height advantage. Another advantage for Matthysse is how powerful his punches are. In 36 of his 39 wins, he won by knockout. If Matthysse can keep the pressure on Pacquiao, he will have a very good chance of walking away victorious. Disadvantages for Matthysse is the experience Pacquiao will be bringing into the ring. Pacquiao has fought in 25 more fights than Matthysse and has earned 20 more wins. Matthysse also has proved to be a very powerful puncher, but can his speed keep up with Pacquiao’s? These will be key components that Matthysse will need to conquer if he wants to beat Pacquiao.
MEDIA
Training camp footage
Manny Pacquiao
Lucas Matthysse
College Football Power Rankings: Top 25 Going Into Week 13
Week 12 of the college football season gave us a little bit of everything. We received our share of blowout wins (Bama, Clemson, etc) to go along with some games that went down to the wire. We also saw the return of some players (Justin Herbert, Oregon QB) while some teams finally took a visit to the winning category (Georgia Southern). For the first time since the college football playoff first began in 2014, all of the top 10 teams from the previous rankings won their games this past weekend (Yeah, Alabama and Clemson played FCS schools but that’s besides the point).
Checkout our top 25 rankings heading into week 13.
1-5
1. Bama (11-0): What’s new for Nick Saban’s squad this season? The Alabama Crimson Tide are 11-0 this season with their last regular season loss coming to Ole Miss back in September of 2015. The one negative about this team is their strength of schedule. With two near losses coming at the hands of Texas A&M and Mississippi State (Two of the best squads they’ve played all season) I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tide struggle at Jordan-Hare Stadium when they visit Auburn.
2. Miami (10-0): The biggest surprise of the season has got to be emergence of the Miami Hurricanes. The Canes have won 15 straight dating back to last season behind a suffocating defense (Toledo has the most points of any opponent during that span) that has brought the swag back to Miami with their iconic ‘Turnover Chain.’ A date with Clemson awaits Miami in the ACC Championship with the winner punching their ticket to the college football playoff.
3. Clemson (10-1): No Deshaun? No problem. Dabo Swinney continues to prove his worth to the Clemson program as he’s engineered his young team to a 10-1 record with a chance to win the Palmetto Bowl over South Carolina before playing Miami for the ACC Championship.
4. Wisconsin (11-0): Wisconsin is one of the only undefeated teams in the country but they aren’t receiving much love from the polls. Why? Because many feel as if their strength of schedule is too weak to warrant a top three ranking. If Wisconsin continues to win behind the running of Heisman contender Jonathan Taylor, then there’s no way the committee will snub them. Especially if they have to meet Ohio State in the BIG Championship game.
5. Oklahoma (10-1): When you have the best player in the country, your team’s guaranteed to win more games than they’ll lose. That’s exactly the case with Oklahoma who’ve used their phenomenal offense (#1 Offense in the country) to offset their horrendous defense on their way to a 10-1 record. Their loss to Iowa State also didn’t look as bad after the Cyclones went on to beat TCU.
6-10
6. UGA (10-1): I believe that Georgia is the best one-loss team in the country. They’re only down at #6 because they lost horribly a week ago at Auburn after being the #1 team in the country for a couple of weeks. Kirby Smart’s team will still have a chance to make the CFB playoff if they can beat either Alabama or Auburn in the SEC championship.
7. Auburn (9-2): Auburn is such a hard team to figure out. In their 9 wins they’ve looked as dominant as any other team in the country behind the running of Kerryon Johnson complimented by a suffocating defense. This is the best Auburn team that Gus Malzahn has had in town since the 2013 team that almost defeated Florida State for a national championship.
8. Notre Dame (9-2): Notre Dame has the most difficult road of any title contender because they don’t play a conference championship game meaning they’ll need a load of help from teams dreaming of last week upsets (South Carolina, Pittsburgh).
9. USC (10-2): Sam Darnold and the USC Trojans were media darlings all summer long after finishing last season as the hottest team in college football. After 2 losses they’re possibly out of the playoff race unless something crazy happens, but it’s college football.. anything can happen.
10. Ohio State (9-2): In the past twelve months, college football fans have experienced some stunning losses from Urban Meyer’s Ohio State team. They were shut out in the playoff last year against Clemson, then followed that up with horrible losses to Oklahoma and Iowa this season. In all, they still have a chance to win the BIG 10 and if they were to do so against an undefeated Wisconsin team, the Buckeyes could squeak into the college football playoff conversation.
11-15
11. TCU (9-2): As great as a coach as Gary Patterson is, his TCU team’s just have never quite gotten over the hump with this team being no different. They looked very impressive early on especially following a win against Oklahoma State but then they fell to Big 12 frontrunner Oklahoma and the Big 12’s temporary cinderella team, the Iowa State Cyclones.
12. Penn State (9-2): Saquon Barkley is still a top Heisman candidate due to his performance on the ground this season. However, his team has underperformed in a few contests which have caused them to lose twice (They also narrowly escaped Iowa). When this team is behind Barkley and their ferocious defense they are still one of the nation’s best and can prove that come bowl season.
13. UCF (10-0): The UCF Golden Knights are the one undefeated team in the country that nobody seems to even know about. QB McKenzie Milton has 31 total touchdowns on the season and they’ll need him to play bigger than ever when they play USF this weekend. With a win they’ll clinch a spot in the AAC conference championship game with a chance to go to a New Year’s Six bowl game.
14. Washington St. (9-2): Outside of one disappointing loss to Cal, Washington State has quietly built one of the best resumes in college football behind the arm of Luke Falk. With only one rusher over 500 yards on the season, it’s easy to see why they have two losses on the season as defenses simply just have to focus on stopping the Cougars passing attack. Nonetheless, they have a date with Washington coming up that has Pac 12 championship game implications on the line.
15. Washington (9-2): The 2017 Washington Huskies can be viewed as a disappointment due to the fact that they will miss the playoffs unlike the 2016 team. However, their two losses came by a combined 14 points so they could easily be undefeated. The Huskies still have a chance to win the Pac 12, but first they’ll need to defeat Washington State at home.
16-20
16. Mississippi St. (8-3): Dan Mullen continues to work his offensive magic behind the strong play of quarterback Nick Fitzgerald who has 29 total touchdowns on the season. The bulldogs have proved to be a steady force in the SEC west behind Alabama and Auburn with their only losses coming to the aforementioned pair along with Georgia.
17. LSU (8-3): Ed Orgeron and his staff have done a great job in his first season as head coach by putting the Tigers in position to win football games and fans can see that his future should be bright. That is as longs he can defeat teams like Troy and hopefully get a win against Alabama (Yeah right).
18. Michigan St (8-3): The Michigan State Spartans have tallied huge wins against Iowa and Michigan this season but they lost they marque matchups in Notre Dame and Ohio State. They didn’t just lose those games they lost big as they were outscored 86-21 in those two losses alone. This squad is still young and could be a force come bowl season and in the 2018 season.
19. Memphis (9-1):
20. Stanford (8-3)
21-25
21. Northwestern (8-3)
22. Boise St (9-2)
23. Oklahoma State (8-3)
24. USF (9-1)
25. VT (8-3)
Watch Some CFB Highlights from Week 12.
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Interview: Jalen Holston, College Football’s Next Great Back
Be on the lookout for Virginia Tech’s true-freshman running back, Jalen Holston. Jalen has seen a considerable amount of playing time through Virginia Tech’s first 10 games with his two biggest games coming against East Carolina and Georgia Tech. With two games remaining to the regular season, we sat down with Jalen Holston to learn more about his journey to where he is now.
Exxedera: What is your background playing football, how long have you been playing?
Jalen Holston: “I’ve Been playing since I was 9 years old. I began playing youth football for the Gresham Park Rattlers. From there since I moved to North Henry, where I played for the Tiger at “Henry County Recreation and Department”. From there on I played middle and high school football in the same area.”
Exxedera: Who inspired you to play, and who do you look at as your idol?
Jalen Holston: “I’d Say my family influenced me to play, because I really wanted to find my own way out, and wanted to pursue something I felt I was good at. It was my way of making a living or myself.”
Exxedera: Where did you go to high school?
Jalen Holston: “Stockbridge High School.”
Exxedera: What were you ranked as in high school, and how good do you feel you were during your high school career?
Jalen Holston: “I was ranked as a 4-star recruit, but honestly it was only in the beginning of my high school career that I cared about how many stars I had or didn’t have. Once I saw my first stars I really quit worrying about how many I had. When it comes to my high school career, I feel I was one of the best athletes in the state of GA.”
Exxedera: What back do you envision yourself to be, or you feel you coincide with?
Jalen Holston: “I’m trying to be like Le’Veon Bell, he’s a play-maker. I’m trying to be all over the field, receiving the ball and rushing.
Exxedera: What was your first college offer?
Jalen Holston: “Florida Gators”
Exxedera: What was your dream offer?
Jalen Holston: “University of South Carolina”
Exxedera: What drew you into committing to Virginia Tech?
Jalen Holston: “Family-like culture, and the atmosphere. My number one thing was whatever school I chose, I wanted my mother to be comfortable with it. Virginia Tech was one of the first visits that my actually communicated with the coaches a lot, gave them feedback, and actually talked to me and told me how much she liked them a lot. The fans make up for a crazy atmosphere, so that’s what really drew me.”
Exxedera: How do the older guys on the team make sure you keep up to speed?
Jalen Holston: “That’s the one thing I really love about Virginia Tech, no matter what year they are, they look out for me. My first week of practice I went in thinking it was going to be nothing but hard-nose competition, but I had a lot of the older guys asking me questions after practice and staying in tune with me. Many of the older guys would text me after practice to come to their dorm so I could learn more about the plays and what I needed to do to keep up to speed. I meet with somebody on the team every week in which we also go out to eat to make sure we are all on the same page. We all actually watch film together just to make sure we are in position to meet our common goal of winning.”
Exxedera: How does it feel to be tied on the team for the most touchdowns for a running back through the first 10 games?
Jalen Holston: “I mean it feels good, but to me it also feels like I can’t stop there. My goal is to be the best running back to ever play the game. My touchdowns just pushes me to go farther, because I already know there will be backs behind me, trying to get what I got.”
Exxedera: What are your expectations for yourself and the team for the rest of the year?
Jalen Holston: “My expectations for the rest of year is to win-out and dominate. We have been slacking these last few games, but I feel we have been practicing harder now to where we should blow teams out and win. For myself personally through the rest of the season, I expect myself to finish out strong and try to lead the team in rushing yards.”
Exxedera: How good do you feel Virginia Tech football will be in the years to come?
Jalen Holston: “I feel for the next couple of years we will be extremely good. We are still a very young team. In the future I expect us to be a top 10 team every year. A lot of our young guys are playing now, so come our sophomore and junior years we will have a lot of experience to compete at that level. I see us as being a very good team and one of the best Virginia Tech teams that have ever came through.”
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Heisman Trophy Predictions after Week 11: Baker Mayfield leads the pack
Heisman hopefuls and College Football Playoff hopefuls work hand in hand. This week #1 Georgia was victim to it’s first loss of the season, as #10 Auburn pummeled them 40-17 behind Kerryon Johnson’s 233 yards from scrimmage. Just a few weeks ago, the huge question was would Alabama and UGA meet In the SEC championship? And also would they meet undefeated? With a stain on their resume now, Georgia is just hoping to climb back into the College Football Playoff picture. Miami has looked like the best team in the country the past two week following wins against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. Penn State finally got back to it’s winning ways behind a decent performance by Heisman hopeful Saquon Barkley after beating Rutgers 35-6. Khalil Tate looked like a Georgia Tech quarterback after rushing for 206 yards while only attempting eight passes in a 49-28 win over Oregon State.
Let’s look at this weeks top three Heisman candidate
1. Baker Mayfield, QB (Oklahoma)
Stats: 71.2% Comp/ 3559 Yards Passing + 231 Yards Rushing/ 36 Total TD’s
Last week, Baker Mayfield came in at #1 on our list of Heisman candidates following week 10 after he shredded Oklahoma State’s defense for 598 passing yards. He followed that display with a 333 passing yard performance that featured three touchdowns. All of this came against TCU, the Big 12’s best defense. With only Kansas and West Virginia left on the schedule before a rematch with TCU or OSU, Baker has a huge chance to pad his stats before going into New York where he should coast to a Heisman trophy.
2. Jonathan Taylor, RB (Wisconsin)
Stats: 1525 Rushing Yards, 12 TD’s
Coming in at #2 this week once again is Wisconsin RB, Jonathan Taylor. Taylor took on the high powered Iowa defense this past Saturday which yielded 157 rushing yards to the true freshman. He has toted the rock for at least 150 yards on five occasions this season including 200 yard performances against Big 10 foes, Purdue and Nebraska. With Wisconsin now 10-0 on the season and moving into the top 5 of the College Football Playoff race, Taylor has a great chance to make a Heisman statement if he can continue running through defenses while his team keeps winning.
3. Lamar Jackson, QB (Louisville)
Stats: 60.2% Comp/ 3003 Yards Passing + 1176 Yards Rushing/ 36 Total TD’s
What has happened to the incumbent Heisman trophy winner? After one of the most prolific seasons ever in college football, Lamar Jackson has been off the radar this season. The reason being is because Louisville is currently 6-4 included losses to Wake Forest and Boston College. He’s only thrown interceptions in five games this season and only one of those was a win, so if he can take care of the football, Louisville will always have a great chance to win. Against North Carolina he looked like he was coming back for the Heisman when he churned out three passing and three rushing touchdowns while adding 525 total yards to his annual repertoire. Whether he leaves school early or returns for the 2018 season one thing is for certain: Lamar Jackson will perform like a created Madden player wherever he plays.
NEW NBA POWER RANKINGS 1-10 🤔🤭👀
Has anyone been keeping up with the NBA? 👀Do not worry we are about to inform you on the New NBA power ranking.
1.
Golden State Warriors
Week 10 NFL Power Rankings: Unexpected Teams In The Playoff Race
Following week 9 of the NFL season, we’re getting to the point of the season where the playoff race is going to begin to take off. The AFC Playoff race includes the usually nonexistent Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills. The ladder of the three haven’t made the playoff since the 90s, while either Jacksonville or Tennessee should cruise into the playoffs with AFC South quarterbacks Deshaun Jackson and Andrew Luck both sidelined for the year.
As for the NFC, The Philadelphia Eagles lead the pack with The Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints all leading their divisions after the nine week mark. Without a doubt, the four aforementioned NFC division leaders should come as a surprise to most as The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers were expected to be the cream of the crop in the NFC this season.
Hint: Teams are ranked based on their body of work as opposed to team record.
1. Philadelphia Eagles (8-1)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
3. Minnesota Vikings (6-2)
4. New Orleans Saints (6-2)
5. New England Patiots (6-2)
6. Los Angeles Rams (6-2)
7. Buffalo Bills (5-3)
8. Carolina Panthers (6-3)
As impressive as Minnesota has looked, could they be the first team to play the Super Bowl on their home field?
9. Kansas City Chiefs (6-3)
10. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3)
11. Dallas Cowboys (5-3)
12. Seattle Seahawks (5-3)
13. Tennessee Titans (5-3)
14. Detroit Lions (4-4)
15. Washington Redskins (4-4)
16. Atlanta Falcons (4-4)
The Atlanta Falcons at 4-4 are in danger of missing the playoffs just a season after reaching the Super Bowl. Anyone miss Kyle Shanahan?
17. Baltimore Ravens (4-5)
18. Oakland Raiders (4-5)
19. Miami Dolphins (4-4)
20. New York Jets (4-5)
21. Los Angeles Chargers (3-5)
22. Chicago Bears (3-5)
23. Green Bay Packers (4-4)
24. Houston Texans (3-5)
The Packers & Texans were both in playoff position until season-ending injuries to their QB’s hindered their hopes.
25. Denver Broncos (3-5)
26. Indianapolis Colts (3-6)
27. Arizona Cardinals (4-4)
28. Cincinnati Bengals (3-5)
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-6)
30. New York Giants (1-7)
31. San Francisco 49ers (0-9)
32. Cleveland Browns (0-8)
No matter how dominant the Denver Broncos defense is, their inability to develop a QB is holding this team back for the second season in a row.
Watch Some Week 9 NFL Highlights Below!
College Football Week 10 Heisman Rankings
Week 10 of the college football season delivered some excellent football games. In the 112 edition of the Bedlam series, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State combined for 1,446 yards and 114 points in a game that saw Baker Mayfield throw for a school record 598 yards. Iowa romped Heisman hopeful J.T. Barrett and the Ohio State Buckeyes at home in a 55-24 ripping of Ohio State’s playoff hopes while another Big 10 giant fell as Penn State lost to Michigan State to bring their loss total to two on the season as Saquon Barkley finished with less than 100 yards from scrimmage and without a touchdown for the first time this season. Magic Man Khalil Tate played a solid game, but after two turnovers and a loss which knocked his team out of the top 25, there’s not a way to sneak into the top three of this week’s list for the Arizona Quarterback. Let’s check out the top three Heisman trophy award hopeful’s following week 10.
1. Baker Mayfield, QB (Oklahoma)
Stats: 71.7% Comp/ 3226 Yards Passing + 181 Rushing/ 33 Total TD’s
Baker Mayfield’s list of accomplishments at Oklahoma got a tad bit longer as he scooted into the No. 1 spot for passing yardage in a game when he threw for 598 yards against Oklahoma State. No he wasn’t playing NCAA Football ’14 (EA needs to bring these games back) and no he wasn’t playing some sunbelt or FCS opponent. After slicing up rival Oklahoma State at their home, he has to face Gary Patterson’s aggressive TCU defense. If he can survive that test and carry Oklahoma to another Big 12 title, he might just add a Heisman to that long list of accomplishments.
2. Jonathan Taylor, RB (Wisconsin)
Stats: 1368 Rushing Yards, 12 TD’s
For all the talk about how weak Wisconsin’s schedule is, one thing is undeniable: Jonathan Taylor can run absolutely run the football. Behind an imposing offensive line, the true freshman has rushed for 150+ yards in four contests this season which includes his outburst against Nebraska in which he ran for 249 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Wisconsin is 9-0 and has a great chance to end the season 12-0 or 13-0 if they can hang on to win the suddenly reeling Big 10. If they can do that and Taylor can play a huge role in each of their showings, there’s no reason why he can’t be the first true freshman to win the award.
3. Saquon Barkley, RB (Penn State)
Stats: 864 Yards Rushing + 504 Yards Receiving/ 12 Total TD’s
Saquon Barkley is undoubtedly one of the most talented players in college football. However, following a couple of down performances and back to back losses for Penn State, Barkley’s Heisman resume has taken a small hit. He still has a chance to bolster it if his team can sneak into the Big 10 championship game or even back into the College Football Playoff picture. With a game against Rutgers coming up, Saquon has a chance to extend his season rushing total over 1,000 yards. Will he make it happen?
Enjoy College Football Highlights Below!
NFL Midseason Awards (MVP, OPOY, Etc.)
The 2017 NFL season is halfway through and like any other season this season is full of commonalities and surprises. As for commonalities, the Cleveland Browns are still the worst team in the league and they’ve already started multiple players at quarterback. In other news, the Patriots and Steelers are still very dominant and an Andy Reid coached team (The Chiefs) looks great throughout the first half of the season. As for surprises, Deshaun Watson looked like he easily could’ve won MVP, Rookie of the Year and even Offensive Player of the Year, but an unfortunate ACL tear will sideline the rookie sensation for the rest of the season. Tom Coughlin has Jacksonville looking like a contender minus Blake Bortles, while the Colts are amongst the NFL’s worst teams as Andrew Luck has been sidelined all season.
All in all, let’s take a look at what we believe the NFL awards would be if they were given out today.
Most Valuable Player (MVP): Carson Wentz
With his team sitting atop the NFL at 7-1, Carson Wentz has his team in prime position to lock up one of the top two spots in the NFC playoff race behind his stellar play and a defense that is playing as well as any unit in the league. Through 8 games Wentz has 19 touchdowns (Best in the league) to go along with 2,063 yards (3rd in the league) which has his looking like the early MVP front runner. The huge question will be can he carry this momentum into the playoffs?
Runner-Up: Alex Smith
Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY): Kareem Hunt
Before Spencer Ware’s injury, many thought that Kareem Hunt would be either RB2 or RB3 in Kansas City. With Ware sidelined for the year, Kareem Hunt got his opportunity to shine and has clearly made the most of it in every showing. After fumbling his first NFL carry, Hunt exploded for 246 all-purpose yards and 3 touchdowns on opening night against the defending NFL champions, the New England Patriots. Hunt has gone on to lead all running back’s in rushing this season with 763 yards while maintaining an impressive 5.2 yards per carry. Look for him to continue to trend upward each week as his aggressive yet patient rushing style fit Andy Reid’s west coast offense perfectly.
Runner-Up: Tom Brady
Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY): Demarcus Lawrence
Demarcus Lawrence was basically an afterthought coming into the 2017 season. Last season, he posted 1 sacks in 9 games. So far this season he already has an NFL high 10.5 sacks, 3 fumble forced and 2 fumble recoveries.
Runner-Up: Ryan Shazier
Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY): Kareem Hunt
Offensive player of the year and offensive rookie of the year for Kareem Hunt? Yeah it’s a stretch, but the way he’s been playing it certainly isn’t impossible. Also if the Chiefs keep winning that would help his case.
Runner-Up: Leonard Fournette
Defensive Rookie of the Year (DROY): T.J. Watt
Many wondered how T.J. Watt would handle being the younger brother of a three time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He’s faired pretty well in his first 7 NFL games as he has four sacks and an interception while constantly wreaking havoc in opposing offenses backfields. He is actually on pace to have a better rookie season than his older brother had. However, J.J. has been a dominant force ever since. Can T.J. do the same thing?
Runner-Up: Marshon Lattimore
Comeback Player of the Year: Rob Gronkowski
Guess who has the most touchdown receptions in the NFL since 2010? Rob Gronkowski. That’s amazing considering how much time he misses due to injury. In 2016, he missed basically the entire season (He only played 6 games) while his team went on to win the Super Bowl without him. In 2017 he’s already posted 34 receptions for 509 yards to go along with 5 touchdowns while the Patriots are a quiet 6-2. While there are concerns about the defensive effort this season, there’s no concern over Gronk’s health and his connection with Tom Brady.
Runner-Up: DeAndre Hopkins
Coach of the Year: Sean McVay
First time head coach Sean McVay has the Rams looking like actual contenders for the first time since Marshall Faulk last wore Navy and Gold. McVay’s best work has been the development of second year QB Jared Goff, who has limited turnovers which hurt his rookie campaign. Behind Goff, a re-renergized Todd Gurley and an underrated defense, McVay has the Rams at 5-2 and looking good in the playoff race.
Runner-Up: Sean Payton