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Surprise pack From Dolphins' rise to Favre's return, it was no ordinary season
by RICK GOSSELIN , THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Favre retired in the off-season, then unretired, prompting the Green Bay Packers to trade him into the AFC. Before Favre had broken in his new jersey, NFL MVP Brady was done for the season with a knee injury suffered in the first quarter of the season opener.
Kurt Warner's arm delivered Arizona its first division title since 1975, but Tony Romo's arm couldn't extend the Cowboys' season into January. Miami went from worst (1-15) in 2007 to first (11-5) in the AFC East in 2008 - and the Detroit Lions simply went from worst to worst ever in finishing 0-16.
So let's take a look back at the 2008 regular season. Here are the annual awards from The Dallas Morning News honoring players, coaches and executives for their achievements.
rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Most valuable player
QB, Miami
The Dolphins shed the two faces of the franchise (Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas), then used a first-round pick on a blocker (Jake Long) and traded for a tight end (Anthony Fasano). The only real impact addition was Pennington - yet Miami charted a 10-win improvement from 2007 and won its first division title since 2000. Pennington finished second in the NFL in passing, throwing only seven interceptions.
2. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis
3. DeAngelo Williams, HB, Carolina
Rookie
of the year
QB, Atlanta
Ryan's first NFL pass carried 62 yards for a touchdown in the season opener against Detroit. He also had TDs of 70, 67 and 55 yards in passing for 3,444 yards. Only Peyton Manning threw for more yards (3,739), and only Ben Roethlisberger won more games (13) than Ryan (11) as a rookie quarterback.
2.
3. Jerod Mayo, MLB, New England
Offensive player
of the year
QB, New Orleans
Quarterbacks pass for 5,000 yards in the NFL about every quarter of a century. Dan Marino did it in 1984 and Brees joined him in that exclusive fraternity in 2008. Brees passed for 400 yards in two games and 300 yards in eight others in an attempt to keep the injury-riddled Saints in playoff contention. He threw for 5,069 yards and 34 TDs.
2. Adrian Peterson, HB, Minnesota
3. Andre Johnson, WR, Houston
Defensive player of the year
FS, Baltimore
Reed led the NFL with nine interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns. "When the game was on the line, Ed Reed makes plays," Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome said. "You can watch Ed for a full game and not see him. But all of a sudden when you need an interception at the end of the game, Ed Reed is there to make the play."
2. DeMarcus Ware, OLB, Dallas
3. Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee
Free agent
HB, Atlanta
The NFL knew Turner had talent as LaDainian Tomlinson's caddie at San Diego - but no one except the Falcons knew he had this much talent. Atlanta gave him a six-year, $34 million contract to be their feature back, and he gave them an NFL runner-up 1,699 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Falcons were 8-0 when he rushed for 100 yards in a game.
2. Bernard Berrian, WR, Minnesota
3. Gibril Wilson, SS, Oakland
Comeback player
WR, Tampa Bay
Bryant caught six TD passes as a rookie with Dallas in 2002, gained 1,009 yards with Cleveland in 2005 and averaged 18.3 yards per catch with San Francisco in 2006. But he spent 2007 out of Football growing up as a person. The Bucs signed him in 2008, and he rewarded them with a team-leading 83 catches for 1,248 yards and seven TDs.
2. Joey Porter, OLB, Miami
3. Julius Peppers, DE, Carolina
Coach
of the year
Mike Smith, Atlanta
The soft-spoken, easygoing Smith turned out to be the perfect hire to restore calm to a franchise turned upside down the previous year by the departures of Mike Vick from the field and Bobby Petrino from the sideline. The Falcons, one of only five teams to avoid back-to-back losses in 2008, finished 11-5 for a playoff berth.
2. John Harbaugh, Baltimore
3. Tony Sparano, Miami
Assistant coach
Dick LeBeau
DC, Pittsburgh
The 2008 Steelers came within 53 rushing yards of becoming the first team to lead the league across the board in defense since the 1969 Kansas City Chiefs. Pittsburgh led the NFL in total defense, pass defense and scoring defense and finished second to Minnesota in run defense. LeBeau has coordinated three No. 1 defenses in the last five years.
2. Howard Mudd, OL, Indianapolis
3. Al Roberts, ST, St. Louis
Executive
Bill Parcells
VP, Miami
The Dolphins hired Parcells to change the team's culture. He believes in physical Football so he drafted a blocker in the first round (Jake Long), signed another in free agency (Justin Smiley) and traded for a nose tackle (Jason Ferguson). The Dolphins became mentally and physically tougher, improved by 10 games and won the AFC East.
2. Thomas Dimitroff, GM, Atlanta
3. Marty Hurney, GM, Carolina
RICK GOSSELIN'S free newsletter, Inside the NFL, is available every Tuesday. dallasnews.com/newsletters
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