NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

[Bankston]

This season has seen several rookie defensive players make a big impact. The race for defensive rookie of the year is going to be close.

The candidates:

Jarius Byrd, S, Buffalo: Leads the league lead in interceptions with 9.

Brian Orakpo, DE/OLB, Washington: 11 sacks so far (5th in the NFL), 45 tackles.

James Laurinitis, MLB, St. Louis: Second among rookies in tackles (104), 1 sack, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery

Clay Matthews, OLB, Green Bay: 8 sacks, 40 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries and a TD

Brian Cushing, OLB, Houston: Leads all rookies in tackles (112), 2.5 sacks, 3 INTs, 12 passes defended, 2 forced fumbles and a safety.

Obviously, I'm pulling for Cushing to win. Hey, Houston needs to win something!

[MightyGuru]

Gotta go with Byrd. Dude stepped in and has tore it up. He has more interceptions than the entire Steeler team. Cushing and Mathews are also excellent.

[YoungAmerican]

Cushing or Byrd.

[dzo]

Cushing then Byrd.

[derekd]

Originally Posted by YoungAmerican

Cushing or Byrd.

Agreed. Both are deserving. Will see what the last few games bring.

[GovernorSilver]

Orakpo may benefit from fortunate timing - he's NFC Defensive Player of the Week this week. And he plays for an East Coast team - on this latter point, he's only got Byrd to compete with.

[Mudder]

Add Mauluga in Cincy and that's a solid class, just from USC.

[sfarnell]

with the way he's playing, if Michael Crabtree had not held out for 1/2 the season he'd be my choice.

[Bankston]

Originally Posted by sfarnell

with the way he's playing, if Michael Crabtree had not held out for 1/2 the season he'd be my choice.

Uh, Crabtree plays offense.

[c94123]

Cushing's stats are outrageous. Don't know how to top that. While Matthews' stats aren't near Cushing's I've seen him play several times this year and he is really good. Don't know if you could go wrong with any of those guys.

[Bankston]

Cushing has had, arguably, the biggest impact on his team.

He missed all of the preseason games and the Texans' D was at the bottom of the league after the first 3 games.

Texans' overall defense currently ranks 13th. That's a huge improvement over 10 games.

Cushing has said he's still not grasping everything and mostly playing on instinct. Once he figures everything out, he's going to be scary good.

Btw, the 12 passes defended leads all NFL linebackers. In his first season, he has established himself as one of the premier outside linebackers in the league.

Orakpo may end up with the award, though, because sacks are sexy and there hasn't really been a rookie pass rusher to collect double digits in his first year since Peppers.

[Bankston]

Originally Posted by Mudder

Add Mauluga in Cincy and that's a solid class, just from USC.

Mauluga (55 tackles, 1 sack, 3 forced fumbles) and Curry (60 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles) have had solid, but not great rookie seasons.

Honorable mention for both.

Don Banks from NFL.com did a mock re-draft this week and had Cushing going 4th to the Seahawks if they could do it all over again.

[sfarnell]

Originally Posted by Bankston

Uh, Crabtree plays offense.

Oops, I didn't catch that it was limited to rookie defensive player of the year.

[Jon Silberman]

The dipshit 'Skins brass has not allowed Orakpo even to play his natural position most of the year. I'm telling you, that kid is the real deal.

[partytrain]

Buffalo=5-8
Washington=4-9
St Louis=1-12
Houston=6-7

All will be enjoying the playoffs from their couches.

Clay Matthews is the sack leader on the NFL's 2nd ranked Defense, on a team that is 1 win away from locking up a wildcard spot. That's the Defensive rookie of the year right there.