And the Winner is...

Andrew Luck, above, may be the front runner for Rookie of the Year. (Photo: PathosProject)

As the regular season draws to end and the playoffs begin, the award races are beginning to heat up. For today's post, I'll be taking a look at the Rookie of the Year race.

At the beginning of the season, there were three clear-cut front runners: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III (RG3), and Trent Richardson. Following the regular season, the number of players in the running increased to four...but two were not expected.

Andrew Luck and RG3 were essentially locks as finalists for the award. But, after a season that came up just short of 1,000 rush yards for Richardson, I am removing him from my final four. Instead, I am adding Russell Wilson and Alfred Morris.

As the season progressed, so did Wilson (and that's what landed him on this list). However, based off of his slow start and inconsistent season, you can eliminate him. Luck, RG3, and Morris were consistent in their performances throughout the whole season.

So that brings it down to three finalists: Andrew Luck, RG3, and Alfred Morris.

Let's start with the dynamic duo of RG3 and Alfred Morris. Washington's most loved players became the first rookie quarterback and running back tandem to rush for over 500 yards individually in a single season and led the Redskins to a 10-6 record and into the playoffs.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the award races, these are two are each others worst enemy. They rely on each other like blue cheese and buffalo wings. If you remove one, the other is awful. And if RG3 or Morris is removed from the offense, it is nowhere near as successful.

Who does Andrew Luck have? No one. The running game has been less then stable this season for the Colts and without Reggie Wayne the passing attack would have a hard time getting going. Simply put, Luck is doing this by himself. He's putting on an absolute display and has been doing so since the beginning of season. Plus, he's led his team to an 11-5 record, better than RG3s 10-6.

BUT, in the interest of fun, here are my final two for NFL Rookie of the Year....Andrew Luck and Alfred Morris.

OUTRAGE in the Nations capital as RG3 is left off my final two for a sixth round draft pick that just happens to also play for the Redskins...but, I have my reasons.

What happens when RG3 can't find the handle? Who do they rely on? Alfred Morris. Who is the "set-up" man for the offense? Alfred Morris. The Redskins rely on the run game of Alfred Morris to make the passing game go "BOOM". So, that's why he's my finalist.

As for Andrew Luck? Well, come on. Didn't I explain that above? He is the Colts sole source of offense and has filled some pretty big shoes (*cough* Manning *cough*) pretty well. In fact, Luck's rookie season has gone considerably better than Manning's AND Luck didn't even have a real head coach for most of it.

So...the winner of the 2012-2013 NFL Rookie of the Year Award is........Andrew Luck.

Luck has gone against all odds. The questions about whether he'll be like Manning, then his head coach  leaves after being diagnosed with cancer (#ChuckStrong), and he still lead his team to an 11-6 record and a playoff birth.

Read it and weep, ladies and gents.

Who do you think should be Rookie of the Year? Leave your answer in a comment below!

Morris Nominated for Award

In what could be looked at as a bit of a shock, Redskins running back Alfred Morris was nominated for Rookie of the Week for his performance this past weekend against the Giants.

Why is that somewhat of a shock? Well, Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns while also running for nearly 100 yards. Morris, however, totaled 120 yards on 22 carries.

According to the report, Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, Buccaneers running back Doug Martin, and Vikings safety Harrison Smith were also nominated for the award.

If he wins the award, Morris would join Robert Griffin III to win a weekly award this season. Griffin was awarded offensive player of the week in the first week of the season for his performance against the Saints.

Want to vote for Alfred Morris in the award race? Go here to cast your vote.

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Source: Football News Now

Redskins Fall to Falcons

In a very valiant and respectable effort today at FedEx Field, the Washington Redskins fell to the Atlanta Falcons 24-17. For the Redskins, however, that was one of two losses on the day...

Ryan Kerrigan made the play of the day for the Washington Redskins. In the beginning of the second quarter, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan looked to get the ball into the flats. However, defensive end Ryan Kerrigan stepped pawed the ball out of the air for the interception and ran it into the endzone for a touchdown.

Unlike the rest of the season up to this point, it wasn't the Redskins lack of defense that lost them this game. The Falcons offense more than doubled the offense when it came to first downs (28-12) and nearly doubled the Redskins in total plays run (81-48). The Redskins defense was on the field for a total of 37:01.

While the defense had troubles keeping the Falcons to short drives, the offense had troubles sustaining drives. On third down, the Redskins were 1-9 and started the game 0-8. They only had the ball for 22:59 which meant the defense didn't have much time rest and, in the end, that's what cost them this game.

Twice, however, the Redskins were well within field goal range for Billy Cundiff and had him in position to put six total points on the board. However, they only managed to collect three of them. Cundiff was one-for-two today with a missed field goal from 31 yards away.

Cundiffs second field goal attempt came in the third quarter and it put the Redskins ahead 10-7. However, the drive was in vain as the Redskins leader, Robert Griffin III was knocked out of the game due to a concussion after taking a hard hit to the head from Falcons player Sean Weatherspoon.

Following the injury to Griffin, enter the Redskins fourth round draft pick Kirk Cousins. This is exactly the reason the Redskins drafted him behind Robert Griffin III.

To start off his stint in the game, Cousins didn't do too badly. In fact, according to the stats Cousin's had a better game than Griffin. Cousin's finished with 111 yards passing to Griffin's 91.

Following the Falcons touchdown drive to open the fourth quarter, the Redskins found themselves down by four points. On the ensuing Redskins drive, Cousin's found Santana Moss wide open behind the safeties for a 77 yard touchdown to put the Redskins back up 17-14.

The next Falcons lasted nine plays and the Redskins defense was beginning to show signs of fatigue. They were on the field for 4:21 game minutes, but the drive seemed to last an eternity for the men on the field. It ended with a game tying 53 yard field goal from Matt Bryant.

After the Redskins went three and out on their next drive, the tired and battered defense was back at it again. The Falcons used a heavy dose of running back Michael Turner to lead them to the endzone to take the lead 24-17.

Much like Robert Griffin III against the Buccaneers, Kirk Cousins had his shot at a dramatic fourth quarter victory.

It was not meant to be, however, as Cousins final two passes were intercepted by the Falcons secondary. His final interception was one that you would expect from a rookie. He was fooled by the secondary and threw in tight coverage.

It was a very admirable effort from the Redskins as much off the football world didn't even expect this game to be close. Many were calling for this game to be a blowout and the Redskins kept it close.

While the Redskins didn't give up their usual 30+ points a game today, they did employ a very bendable, but not breakable, defense. Matt Ryan finished 34/52 with 345 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Tony Gonzalez shredded the Redskins linebackers for 13 catches and 123 yards and a touchdown. Julio Jones finished with 10 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown, as well.

The run defense was solid again, today. Michael Turner only managed 67 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. The front seven did an excellent job stopping the run including a three-and-out with under two minutes to the give the Redskins offense one last chance.

One place where the offense had an advantage was in the running game. The Falcons statistically don't have that solid of a run defense and Alfred Morris exploited that today. Morris took the handoff 18 times for 115 yards including and long 29 run.

Ironically, the game in which Griffin ran the least was the game that he got hurt, and sustained a mild concussion on, on his just his second rushing attempt of the game. It went down as a sack, but that is only because it occurred behind the line of scrimmage.

For the second consecutive week, Fred Davis led the team in receptions with five for 54 yards. Pierre Garcon spoiled what could have been a sensational game for him with four drops. He still managed for 4 3 receptions for 24 yards. Moss finished with 80 yards and a touchdown catch.

The Washington defense forced two turnovers today. One was the pick-six from Kerrigan and the other was a fumble recovery by Perry Riley. London Fletcher led the game in tackles yesterday with 20 total tackles including eight solo tackles. The Redskins front seven did an excellent job getting their hands in the passing lanes as the defense deflected eight passes.

Following the loss, the Redskins dropped to a strong 2-3 team. Each of the Redskins game this season have been close and they have a had a chance to win each and every one of them. The Redskins front seven will be tested as they take on Adrian Peterson at home next Sunday at 4:25. The Vikings have won the past two games against the Redskins.

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Redskins defeate Bucs 24-22

In the words of the great Bill Cowher, "so what if we won ugly?" That's exactly what the Redskins did yesterday in their 24-22 win over the Bucs...they won ugly.

It was tale of two halfs for both teams. The Redskins came out fast and hard in the first half and rang up 21 points on a Buccaneers defense that prides itself in run defense. Alfred Morris had already surpasses the most yards allowed on the ground by the Buccaneers before we even got to half time.

With about five minutes to go in the first half, Redskins rookie running back Alfred Morris had what is possibly his best run of the season. He took the hand-off to the left side and found the hole early and exploded through it. Once he got to the second level he made two more Buccaneers miss before dashing 39 yards to the endzone for a touchdown.

Morris finished with 29 carries for 113 and one touchdown. Morris gained nearly 90 yards in the first half.

Check that stat one more time: he gained nearly 90 of his 113 yards in the first half. So what happened in the second half?

The Redskins offense simply came apar t in the second half. Robert Griffin III had a sensational first half that even included a five yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw play. In the second half, however, the Redskins offense was hard pressed to get anything going.

What made things worse that the Buccaneers offense finally found their spark. Receivers Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson came to life and, with the help of quarterback Josh Freeman, led the way for the late third quarter/fourth quarter comeback.

It was all setup late in the third quarter when Freeman connected with Williams deep down the right side for a 65 yard pass play. Just a few plays later, Freeman then found Jackson for a seven yard touchdown pass and the rally was on.

Going back to a Connor Barth field goal just before the half, the Buccaneers scored 20 unanswered points against the Redskins. Two of the scores were touchdown passes. Following the 65 yard pitch and catch to Williams, Freeman started to find his groove.

With 1:42 left in the game, the Redskins found themselves down by one after Barth hit a field goal to put the Buccaneers in the lead. It was time for Robert Griffin III to have his first two minute drill comeback.

Griffin started it off with a 15 yard pass to Santana Moss. It was Moss' second catch of the day. He then follow that when he found Fred Davis for a team high fourth time on the day for 20 yards. Griffin then kicked off the hurry up and found Evan Royster for four yards and then Griffin himself scrambled for 15 yards all the way down the Tampa Bay 26 yard line.

Griffin the connected with Moss for a third time for a seven yard completion to the Buccaneers 24 yard line. In just over a minute and a half, Robert Griffin III had directed the offense down the field and had set-up Billy Cundiff for the game winning 41 yard field goal.

Now, that field goal was by no means automatic. Cundiff had already missed three kicks from 47, 57, and 31 yards away. This one from 41 yards had everyone on pins and needles.

Cundiff booted the ball and sailed from right to left across the upright and just barely squeaked inside the left upright and through. With three second left, the Redskins were winning 24-22.

Tampa Bay would try a little trickery on the kickoff return, but ended up fumbling the ball out of bounds. It was official. Robert Griffin III had successfully completed his first two minute drill comeback.

Robert Griffin III finish the game 26/35 with 323 yards passing. He also carried the ball seven times for 43 yards and a touchdown. Alfred Morris was the games leading rusher with 113 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. His mom was in attendance at the game.

Fred Davis led the way for the receivers. The Pro Bowl tight end finished with four receptions for 70 yards. Josh Morgan also had four receptions for 62 yards. Leonard Hankerson had the most catches with seven to go along with 57 yards receiving. In his first game since week one, Pierre Garcon had one catch for 20 yards and he recovered a fumble in the endzone for the Redskins first touchdown.

Safety Madieu Williams led the defense in tackles with seven. Reed Doughty followed with six tackles. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall had the defenses only takeaway of the day when he intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter.

Next week, the Redskins take their 2-2 record and head home to take on the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are 4-0 with wins against the Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, and Panthers. The secondary will once again be tested by the precision of Matt Ryan and his weapons of Julio Jones and Roddy White. Kickoff is at 1 PM EST.

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