Stray Votes

When I heard that LB Jerod Mayo received 49 of 50 votes for Defensive Player of the Year, I asked two questions: 1. Who got the one vote, then later, 2. Who the hell voted for Keith Rivers?

I won't argue Rivers won't be a good player down the road. In limited playing time, he had 37 tackles with an interception. But to compare a player that only played seven games versus someone who started 16 is illogical. Even if Rivers' number were projected to 16 games he's far behind Mayo's production. Sorry Rivers that you got your jaw broke by Pittsburgh Steelers WR Hines Ward, but that's football.

Well someone tracked down the lone Rivers voter. He was asked why he voted for the Cincinnati Bengals linebacker instead New England's Mayo, and the writer said he made a mistake.

Huh? A mistake? I was thinking some crusty old writer that believes no one should be unanimous decided to do his part to hold up his standard. But a mistake? Maybe a hanging chad is the reason for the mistake. I'll give him a pass.

One singular vote that wasn't an error was a vote for head coach Bill Belichick as NFL as coach of the year. I agree the three coaches that finished ahead of Belichick deserved the honor that ultimately went to Atlanta's Mike Smith (If I had a vote, mine would had been for Miami's Tony Sparano). But I sure felt Belichick should be acknowledge for leading the Patriots to 11 wins with 14 players on injured reserve, including key players QB Tom Brady, S Rodney Harrison, and LB Adalius Thomas.

The journalist who made the statement was NBC's Bob Costas. His explanation, as printed in The Boston Globe:

 “I didn’t think he would win, but I thought he deserved a nod for what might have been the best, or certainly one of the best coaching jobs of his career,” Costas said. “He loses [Tom] Brady, and it’s not just losing Brady, but also that [Matt] Cassel basically never played. It’s not the same thing as losing Johnny Unitas and you have Earl Morrall. He brought the kid along.

“The winner is usually the guy whose team is the most surprising, and I wouldn’t argue against Smith, Sparano or [John] Harbaugh. You could make a good case for them, as well as others, like Jeff Fisher, Tony Dungy, John Fox and Tom Coughlin. I just thought Belichick did a phenomenal job, considering the emotional hangover that had to be there from coming so close to perfection [in 2007] and losing in such agonizing fashion, and then you lose Brady virtually from the opening kickoff of the first game. There is not just a strategic adjustment that has to be made, but you have to convince these guys not to say ‘to heck with it.’ There must be an incredible level of respect there for him to command that type of effort.”

Glad I'm not the only one who felt Belichick was worthy in possibly his most challenging season.