Category: Awards

Jack Fox named Week 3 NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Jack Fox named Week 3 NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

Jack Fox wrapped up a strong week by taking home some hardware. The Lions’ punter was named Week 3’s Special Teams Player of the Week.

Fox was a key piece in Detroit’s 20-13 win Sunday over the Arizona Cardinals. Four of his five punts were inside the 20 and he averaged 49.4 yards per punt.

For the season, he has eight punts inside the 20 and is averaging 49.5 yards per punt with a net average of 44.0. Fox’s 68-yard punt Sunday currently marks as the second longest of the season. Ryan Rehkow of the Bengals had an 80-yard punt in Week 1 against the Patriots.

 

NFL Media sees Kevin O’Connell as a Coach of the Year candidate

NFL analyst Peter Schrager named Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell a Coach of the Year candidate Monday morning on Good Morning Football.

The 2024 Minnesota Vikings are easily one of the most surprising teams in the NFL through three weeks, due in large part to the play of quarterback Sam Darnold and the coaching of Kevin O’Connell. On Monday, Good Morning Football, NFL analyst Peter Schrager called the Vikings “the story of the NFL through three weeks” and dubbed O’Connell a Coach of the Year candidate.

The Vikings entered the season with little to no expectation of success from most outlets. They were coming into the season with a rookie quarterback waiting in the wings and a re-tread quarterback who was a draft bust and had bounced around the league, serving as the “bridge” to the rookie whenever his inevitable ascent to the starting position would occur.

Whatever expectations there might have been for the team were further dashed when that rookie quarterback suffered a knee injury and was lost for the year. The knowledge that the Vikings would have to spend the entire season with Darnold at the helm meant, to most, that 2024 was going to be a lost season. Except for the 53 men in the locker room and the head coach Kevin O’Connell.

O’Connell saw something in Darnold, dating back to his days at USC, and was convinced that Darnold would do well in his system. It was a gamble and one that, at least through the first three weeks of the season, is paying huge dividends.

Not only is Sam Darnold playing well, he’s making a case for Comeback Player of the Year with the turnaround he’s made under O’Connell in the Vikings offense. And for that turnaround, along with the 3-0 start, O’Connell himself has begun to receive some high praise.

If the Vikings keep winning — especially like they have the past two weeks — it’s only a matter of time before more join the bandwagon with Schrager.

Who else but Aidan Hutchinson for Week 2 Player of the Game?

Who else but Aidan Hutchinson for Week 2 Player of the Game?

Time to think long and hard about who the Player of the Game award goes to for Week 2? Ok, that’s long enough. It’s Aidan Hutchinson. No need for a dramatic pause. The dude had 4.5 sacks against the Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield — one of his sacks was credited as a half-sack to him and defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike.

The only unfortunate part is that this came in a losing effort. Despite the five sacks and holding Mayfield under 200 yards passing, the Lions somehow found a way to lose at home to fall to 1-1 and are now looking up at the 2-0 Minnesota Vikings. Regardless, that shouldn’t take away from what was an incredible day for the former second overall pick in the draft.

Hutchinson is already almost halfway to his sack total from last season (11.5). And with the emergence along the rest of the defensive line, it’s becoming tougher for offensive lines to single out Hutchinson, which will only mean more chances for opposing quarterbacks to be looking up at the sky because of Hutchinson.

It may be a gloomy day overall in Detroit, but Hutchinson helped clear the skies a little bit Sunday.

NBA awards: Which players have received votes the most times?

You may already know LeBron James holds the record for most times receiving votes for Most Valuable Player with 19. But what if, instead of focusing on MVP, we look at the record for votes across all end-of-season individual awards combined? Well, …

You may already know LeBron James holds the record for most times receiving votes for Most Valuable Player with 19. But what if, instead of focusing on MVP, we look at the record for votes across all end-of-season individual awards combined?

Well, that would still leave LeBron at No. 1 with 34 different times receiving votes for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, or Most Improved Player.

Unlike other LeBron records, though, this one has a chance of being broken, with Giannis Antetokounmpo having the best shot at it if he continues his superstar two-way play and keeps racking up MVP and DPOY votes in the process.

You can check the all-time ranking below, but keep in mind that players from earlier eras are at a disadvantage here since there were fewer awards back then.

Dallas Turner named to preseason All-Rookie team by CBS Sports analyst

Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports unveiled his 2024 preseason All-Rookie team, and it features Vikings EDGE Dallas Turner as a first-team choice.

It went down to the wire, but the Minnesota Vikings and first-round pick Dallas Turner got a deal done before training camp. Now, the rookie can get in, get his feet wet, and start adjusting to life in the NFL. This is an adjustment that some don’t think will take too long for Turner.

Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports has unveiled his preseason All-Rookie team for the 2024 NFL season and has named Turner as one of his two first-team rookie EDGE players, along with Colts EDGE Laiatu Latu. Trapasso had a pretty glowing review of Turner, saying:

Turner is barely 21-years-old, wins with magnificent explosiveness and bend around the corner and is only scratching the surface with his hand work. He’ll be a weapon in Brian Flores’ ultra-aggressive defense in 2024.

Explosiveness and bend are two traits that, more often than not, equate to success at the position, and Turner has both in tremendous amounts. He still has some development to go as far as his hand usage and his pass-rush plan, but when he gets it all figured out, the sky is the limit.

If Turner can make that adjustment quickly, he could have a major impact on the Vikings’ defense. Minnesota is going to be looking for someone to step up in the absence of Danielle Hunter, and Turner was taken to be that guy.

If he can provide the kind of pass rush that many think he’s capable of, it can take some of the pressure off a suspect group of defensive backs, helping the defense as a whole improve upon their 2023 performance.

Vikings pass-rusher Dallas Turner named to NFL.com All-Rookie team

Minnesota Vikings rookie EDGE Dallas Turner has been named to NFL.com’s all-rookie team by NFL Draft analyst Chad Reuter.

The 2024 crop of rookies has yet to step on the field and make their mark in the NFL, but that hasn’t stopped the class from racking up preseason accolades. Chad Reuter of NFL.com has released his 2024 All-Rookie team, and the Minnesota Vikings first-round pick, Dallas Turner, has made the cut.

During his time in Tuscaloosa, Turner was a standout defensive end for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Last year alone, the star EDGE product stacked the box score with 53 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, and ten sacks, adding one pass defended and two forced fumbles.

But Turner was far from a one-year-wonder for the Tide, amassing 120 tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss, and 22.5 sacks over three years. That production made Thomas the 17th-overall selection by the Vikings in this year’s draft, and it’s that kind of production that Reuter expects to (eventually) see from Turner at the pro level:

I suspect Turner will be a defensive force for the Vikings by the midway point of his rookie campaign, possibly starting the year as a designated pass rusher (and ultimately approaching a double-digit sack total) but eventually proving he’s able to drop into zones and fight tackles playing the run.

Turner has some big shoes to fill, taking over for former All-Pro edge rusher Danielle Hunter, who left in free agency for the Houston Texans. Turner likely won’t replicate Hunter’s production right away, but if he can come close, that should be enough for the defense to not miss a beat from the 2023 team. It was a vast improvement over the previous season.

Photos: NBA legends receiving their Finals MVP trophies

The Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award is one of the most prestigious in the sport of basketball. As such, when a player receives the distinction, it’s a huge honor, one that takes their legacy to another level. Check out the NBA stars throughout the …

The Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP award is one of the most prestigious in the sport of basketball. As such, when a player receives the distinction, it’s a huge honor, one that takes their legacy to another level.

Check out the NBA stars throughout the years receiving their Finals MVP trophies below.

Playoff MVPs: Choosing the best player in each postseason in NBA history

HoopsHype chooses an NBA Playoffs MVP for every postseason, including LeBron James, Michael Jordan and many more all-timers.

In the NBA, there is a regular season MVP and a Finals MVP, but no award for the best player of the postseason, which is odd if you think about it. Hell, we even had a bubble MVP that one time.

No worries, though, because we are here to right that wrong by naming a Playoff MVP for every postseason dating back all the way to the BAA days. There’s a bit of overlap between Finals MVP and our pick for Playoff MVP but there are also many years in which our Playoff MVP pick didn’t even see his team win the championship.

With so many players to discuss and so many Playoff MVP awards to hand out, let’s get right to it.

(You can go to the bottom of the page to see how many times each legend is selected).

MVP award: The biggest gaps between first and last time receiving votes

It was a disappointing season team-wise for Kevin Durant, but a brilliant one individually that earned him a vote for MVP in the NBA ballots. With that vote, there’s now a 14-year gap since he appeared in the MVP rankings for the first time in 2010. …

It was a disappointing season team-wise for Kevin Durant, but a brilliant one individually that earned him a vote for MVP in the NBA ballots. With that vote, there’s now a 14-year gap since he appeared in the MVP rankings for the first time in 2010.

Only five NBA legends have had a wider gap between their first and last MVP vote, which speaks to Durant’s longevity at the highest level.

You can check the full ranking below.

Players who received MVP votes but were never All-Stars

HoopsHype presents the players who received MVP votes but were never All-Stars.

What do Stephen Jackson, Jalen Rose and Arvydas Sabonis have in common? Well, they are among a short list of NBA players who were never named All-Stars but received MVP votes during their careers in the league – something Kyrie Irving or Pau Gasol, for example, never did.

Here’s the list of other players who accomplished this feat: