The Commissioner's MVPs

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Long-term readers will recall that at the end of every season, The Commissioner proposes special player recognition for Most Valuable Players on offense, defense and special teams, as well as Freshman Player of the Year.

This is a particularly enjoyable exercise for me. It's an opportunity to think back over the season and offer some words of encouragement to players who have been difference makers; "Game Changers" to borrow a phrase.

I think the consensus opinion of Subscribers and Correspondents to this blog is that the results of 2010 were less than the talent pool promised at the beginning of the season. Coach Saban was telling anyone who would listen, that this was going to be a challenging year, that as hard as it is to climb to the top, it is even harder to stay there. We heard Coach Saban say that if each player would play to a standard, then results would take care of themselves. Many fans and pundits wrote those comments off as so-much "coach speak" but if you reverse engineer the results of the season, you can see the standards of performance that were unmet. The players on my MVP list, however, not only met, but exceeded the those expected standards.

So here are The Commissioner's MVPs for 2010:

Offense:  There are several candidates for the Offensive MVP recognition.  Due to a pre-season injury that required surgery, Mark Ingram was only available for 10 games, yet he compiled 1087 yards of total offense [816 rushing, 252 receiving and 19 on kick returns]. Trent Richardson, also limited to only 10 games due to a mid-season injury led all players in total offense with 1528 yards [658 rushing, 254 receiving and 616 returning kicks]. Julio Jones, in my mind the best all-around football player on the team, accounted for 1356 yards of total offense [99 rushing, 1024 receiving, 129 returning kicks and 44 returning punts]. He is a fericious blocker, and in all 12 games in which he played, he never took a play off.

Between these top three all-purpose offensive contributors, I would name Number 8, Julio Jones as the MVP. But there award is for "Most Valuable Player." The key adjective is "valuable." Is there an offensive player that the 2010 Crimson Tide could not have done without?

The answer is "yes" and in my opinion that player is: Greg McElroy.  This young man epitomizes the finest qualities of character, skill, leadership and performance that Alabama fans expect in their players. He is a great ambassadore for not only the Univeristy of Alabama, but for the game of college football. His off-the-field accomplishments are well documented; while playing varsity football he earned his under graduate degree and started graduate school. His academic accomplishments have made him a Rhodes Scholarhsip finalist. GMac's play on the field, is just as stellar as his performance off of it. 

He completed 70.6% of his pass attempts [209-296] for 2767 yards and 19 TDs against only 5 interceptions for an efficiency rating of 166.9

The Commissioner's Offensive MVP for 2010 is Greg McElroy.

Defense:  The 2010 defense was very young and the challenge of replacing the many great contributors lost to graduation and the NFL was daunting. Perhaps the greatest hole to fill-literally and figuratively-was the space in the middle of the 3-4 vacated by the human heavy cruiser, Terrence Cody. Was the pass rush not as effective this year? Cody always occupied the attention of two offensive linemen. Since you only get to play 11 men on each side of the ball, having one defender account for two blockers creates opportunities for others to cause mischief in the offensive backfield. Cody's absence was also noticed on offense. Can you imagine Alabama not scoring a TD on Auburn with first and goal at the 3, and big Terrence leading the charge into the end zone? I would have paid extra to see Cody at full speed take on Nick Fairly.

The defense in 2010 was not as dominant as last year's group. Cecil Hurt wrote that the team as a whole was not as "tough" as the 2009 national champions. That does not mean, however, that the defense was without its Game Changers. I think there were three worthy of consideration.

Mark Barron  led the team in tackles with 75 [54 solo] including 3 for 19 yards of loss and he snagged 3 interceptions. He probably would have made it 4 picks in the third quarter of the Iron Bowl but for the fact that he was unable to raise his right arm in the second half due to an injury sustained before intermission.

Robert Lester also had an outstanding year with 47 tackles [25 solo] a team-high 7 interceptions, 3 break ups and 10 pass deflections. But my pick for defensive MVP is:

Courtney Upshaw.  Although limited all year with nagging injuries, Upshaw recorded 47 tackles [27 solo], 11.5 tackles for loss including 5 sacks, 2 breakups, 2 deflections 2 hurries and 2 forced fumbles. He seemed to have his best games in the biggest games. Who can forget him coming around the defensive right end to chase down the Florida quarterback for a loss at the far side line? Or his excellent play in the Auburn game that directly contributed to hold Cam Newton to only 39 yards rushing? Here's wishing Upshaw a speedy recovery from his injuries, and a stellar senior year in 2011.

Special Teams: At the inaugural "Nick at Noon" luncheon prior to the San Jose State game, Coach Saban told the assembled crowd that Alabama's best special teams player was Trent Richardson. It should surpirse no one that Coach Saban was proved right. A big question going into this season was how the Tide would replace Javier Arenas in the return game. Richardson was the answer. Trent is not Arenas. But he was incredibly reliable and productive returning kicks. In 10 games, Richardson accounted for 616 return yards. And this includes several games where the opposing team didn't have many opportunities to kick off. More importantly, Richardson never fumbled a kick return; 616 yards and no fumbles-that's a standard worthy of recognition.

Freshman of the Year:  My selection for the most valuable true freshman is: C. J. Mosley.  This 6-2, 225 lb freshman from Theodore made 66 tackles [30 solo], intercepted 2 passes, broke up 8, defelcted 10 and hurried opposing quarterbacks twice. He also scored 2 TDs on take-aways. That is an impressive performance by a new-comer and sets a standard for his teammates, and for himself as he takes his place in 2011 as a returning letterman.

A special shout-out is also due for rock-steady defensive back, Will Lowery. Number 29 is Alabama's nominee for the "Rudy Award," a recognition that takes into account character, work ethic, and leadership in addition to contributions on the field. Fan voting is a component of the award, and voting is going on now, so go to www.collegerudyawards.com and let your vote count.

Roll Tide

The Commissioner