Sports Illustrated had their writers vote on several award categories today, and one of the categories featured a member of the Cleveland Browns: linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. Jackson was voted as the Comeback Player of the Year by Peter King, Don Banks, and Tom Mantzouranis.
Most of the categories that were voted on had a clear-cut winner. Aaron Rodgers was the unanimous MVP, and Drew Brees was almost the unanimous Offensive Player of the Year. Cam Newton was the unanimous Offensive Rookie of the Year, and John Harbaugh was the unanimous Coach of the Year. Both defensive awards had a mix of several players, as did the Comeback Player of the Year award. The players who received votes were:
LB D'Qwell Jackson: 3 votes
QB Matthew Stafford: 3 votes
QB Alex Smith: 1 vote
RB Willis McGahee: 1 vote
This award is tough to define sometimes. Do you give it to someone who made a remarkable return from injury, or do you give it to someone who finally did good after pretty much..."sucking" their entire career? I almost forgot about Stafford as a candidate for the award, as I originally thought it might come down to being between Jackson and Smith. Stafford played only 13 games in his first two seasons before lighting it up this year. If it matters, I think there was more of a certainty that Stafford would get back on the field than knowing if Jackson would be able to return, let alone as one of the league's better linebackers for a whole season. McGahee isn't a bad choice for discussion either.
If we had to narrow the field down to Jackson and one other player for this award, who would you nominate?