In the 2012 season, Lu Ke, the best offensive player of the year, and Watt, the best defensive player of the year, entered the 2013 season, the two players went head-to-head in a game, but unfortunately, Watt faced an overall decline in the strength of the entire team. Dilemma, which also made this "last season's best" matchup one-sided, and ultimately failed to spark.
In the 2013 season, Lu Ke, the best offensive player of the year, and Kickley, the best defensive player of the year, faced each other once in the regular season and playoffs, and both duels ended with Lu Ke winning. So enter In the 2014 season, will the confrontation between the two sides take on a new look? Will the duel then produce exciting sparks?
In addition to the Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year, other awards also showed a flourishing situation. The most interesting thing is undoubtedly the selection of rookie players. The overall performance is far from expectations.
The Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Rookie of the Year were awarded to three different rookies. In particular, the Rookie of the Year was unexpectedly won by San Diego Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, which really surprised everyone. .
The 2013 draft is known as the "Little Year of Quarterbacks". All eyes of the entire league are focused on forward players. The first seven draft positions are all occupied by offensive linemen and defensive linemen. At the same time, the proportion of defensive players It also has an absolute advantage. A total of 18 players were selected in the first round. It can be said that this is a relatively rare draft in recent years, but it also makes the league full of more expectations for the forwards and defense throughout the season.
According to common sense, players on the defensive team tend to have stronger immediate combat capabilities, and the tactical manual is slightly less important than the offensive team - after all, it is the offensive team that has the initiative; however, when the season ended, the performance of the first-round pick was It's hugely disappointing, especially since the top three rookies failed to live up to expectations.
I can’t say whether it’s a parallel import or not. After all, it’s only one season now, and more time is needed to verify the strength; but after experiencing the collective explosion of rookies in 2011 and 2012, those sophomores and juniors have become the main players in the league. ——The Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the past two years all come from here. The performance of the rookies will inevitably be compared, and naturally it will pale in comparison.
Offensive Rookie of the Year Eddie Lacey, the 61st pick in the second round.
Defensive Rookie of the Year Sheldon Richardson, the 13th pick in the first round.
Rookie of the Year Keenan Allen, the 76th pick in the third round.
First of all, the Rookie of the Year was awarded to the wide receivers of the offensive team, not the defensive players, nor the forward players. This is far from the overall expectations of the draft. Take a look at the draft picks of the two offensive team members of the year. You know, the overall picks are generally lower than in previous years, but the final performance brought unexpected surprises and successfully occupied the league's main attention. This once again proved that the draft is just the beginning.
Secondly, the Defensive Rookie of the Year is a defensive end, which also proves that this is a great year for the forward, but Sheldon Richardson was not selected by the New York Jets until the 13th overall pick in the first round - in The New York Jets, who have repeatedly made neurotic decisions in the draft, have also made the previous twelve forwards selected interesting. People can't help but wonder what happened during last year's draft.
Of course, Keenan Allen's successful counterattack has also become a boon to countless rookies - after Lu Ke and Russell Wilson, the rise of another low-ranked rookie is a blessing for young players who are about to enter the league. For people, this is undoubtedly good and encouraging news.
In addition, the honor of Team Manager of the Year was awarded to John Dorsey of the Kansas City Chiefs. After he successfully unearthed Alex Smith to Kansas City, he began to rebuild the team around Alex. It also allowed the Kansas Chiefs to complete an amazing season.
Halfway through the season, they overtook the Denver Broncos and topped the league with a complete victory record. After entering the playoffs, they almost defeated the Indianapolis Colts. Unfortunately, they fell short at the last moment and stopped. In the wild card round. Despite this, their performance and strength are still obvious to all, and John Dorset can be said to be the number one contributor.
Three months later, it is another new year's draft, and the performance of team managers is worth looking forward to.
In addition, all major awards for the highlights of the regular season were also announced.
The first offense and defense of the year, Calvin Johnson, wide receiver, Detroit Lions.
The best never-say-die moment of the year, Aaron Rodgers, quarterback, Green Bay Packers.
Fantasy Game Player of the Year, Jamaal Charles, running back, Kansas Chiefs.
The most anticipated player of the year, Nick Foles, quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles.
FedEx Air Offensive Player of the Year, Peyton Manning, quarterback, Denver Broncos.
FedEx Ground Offensive Player of the Year, LeSean McCoy, running back, Philadelphia Eagles.
The above-mentioned awards reward players who performed outstandingly during the season. Although they were unable to win the regular season MVP, they still lit up the entire season with their outstanding performance. Their efforts should be recognized and praised, and they also deserve to stand. Moments in the spotlight.
However, a very, very interesting detail is that they are all members of the offensive team - except for the quarterback, the running backs have exploded, from Eddie Lacy to Jamaal Charles to LeSean McCaw Yes, there are also brothers Marshawn Lynch and Marcus Lynch who cannot be forgotten, Adrian Peterson, etc.; so, what about the defensive players?
Objectively speaking, in terms of award selection, the offensive team players do have more advantages than the defensive team, and can often easily attract more applause; but the situation this season is a little special, and the defensive team is very popular and has truly become the key to dominating the game:
Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, Kansas Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, etc., including the San Francisco 49ers, defense has become an important cornerstone of the entire team and has become the decisive factor in victory or defeat. key. Among them, the Seattle Seahawks, ranked first in the league, have changed the league's defensive system. The rise of the "Legion of Boom" has become a landscape that cannot be ignored.
If the San Francisco 49ers hadn't "killed" the Seattle Seahawks in their explosive state, it would not have been impossible for the latter to take advantage of the situation and reach the Super Bowl.
But now, there are no names of defensive players among all the awards, which is indeed a bit strange.
Industry insiders came to the conclusion after in-depth analysis, taking the Seattle Seahawks defensive team as an example:
Although every player in the Bombing Legion has outstanding individual strength, Richard Sherman leads the league's interception rankings with eight interceptions, and the top individual strength is also difficult for other teams to copy. The fundamental reason for "Eagle Mode"; but the team's defensive strategy can really reach such a height comes from the contribution of the entire defensive tactical system. The defensive team that Pete Carroll spent four years building is based on the cornerstone of retro tactics. Building a technical framework for the new era finally enabled the defensive team to complete a transformation.
In other words, group contribution is the core reason - compared with the offensive team, more emphasis is placed on the cooperation between players to form a three-dimensional defensive system. This also prevents the individual performance of defensive players from being fully outstanding, even if Even Sherman failed to stand out.
"Offense wins games, defense wins championships." The first half of this sentence is vividly reflected in the selection of major awards. It is undoubtedly more difficult for the defensive team to win the award; as for the second half, it can only be said that the San Francisco 49ers have won the championship. He gave a perfect performance in the National League finals, breaking the rules and turning the situation around.
At this point, all the major awards have been announced!
Compared with last season's undefeated season with perfect performance, the San Francisco 49ers this season have been much more low-key. They were not able to sweep away the major awards. Only Lu Ke won the Offensive of the Year. They are just players, but this situation is not surprising at all. Just like the Seattle Seahawks are even behind the Carolina Panthers in the award selection, winning the award still requires some luck.
Even the Pro Bowl, All-American first team, and All-American second team are no exception.
However, in the Pro Bowl voting, the San Francisco 49ers still showed strong appeal - remember? This year, the San Francisco 49ers' jersey sales surpassed the Dallas Cowboys for the first time, firmly holding the league's number one spot, and becoming the most popular team in the league today.
This is also reflected in the number of Pro Bowl seats: the San Francisco 49ers lead the way for the second consecutive year with eleven seats, followed by the Kansas City Chiefs with ten seats, and in third place are the Carolina Panthers, with a total of Seven players were selected. Neither the Denver Broncos, which has the league's No. 1 offense, nor the Seattle Seahawks, which have the No. 1 defense, have been able to reach the top.
It can be seen that voting for the Pro Bowl is more about popularity and appeal. Strength is part of the factor, but shining moments and Internet popularity are the real keys.
A total of five players from the offensive team were selected, including quarterback Lu Ke, tight end Logan Newman, running back Frank Gall, offensive tackle Joe Stanley and offensive guard Mike Lupati.
The defensive team has a total of six players, defensive tackle Justin Smith, outside linebacker Ahmed Brooks, inside linebackers Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman, safeties Donte Witler and Eric - Rhett.
Among them, Marcus Lynch was lost and Frank Gall was selected. This is also a very important change in the offensive team, and the wide receivers were all ignored. This once again made people feel that the San Francisco 49ers' receiving team is stretched thin this season. .
