Tag: Comeback Player of The Year

Seahawks QB Geno Smith wins Comeback Player of the Year, Most Improved

Congrats!

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith started out the 2022 season playing at an MVP level – or at least good enough to be in the conversation. Smith’s game dropped off a bit after Week 5 due to issues with turnovers and he fell out of that race. However, he still performed well enough overall to win himself a couple of prestigious awards.

The team just announced that Smith has won the Comeback Player of the Year award. He also won the Most Improved Player award from the Pro Football Writers of America.

The other finalists for the Comeback Player of the Year award were  Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley, who were both deserving in their own ways, but Smith made a much bigger impact.

Smith ended the season with a career best 30 touchdown passes to go with a new Seahawks franchise record 4,282 passing yards and he led the league in completion rate at 69.8%.

Congrats!

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Geno Smith named among finalists for Comeback Player of the Year

According to the NFL, Smith is one of three finalists to win the award.

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith is coming off the best season of his career. After spending the previous six years as a backup, Smith got his first opportunity to start since 2014 – his second year in the league.

Now Smith is up for some hardware – including Comeback Player of the Year. According to the NFL, Smith is one of three finalists to win the award. The others are Giants running back Saquon Barkley and 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.

Barkley and McCaffrey both deserve credit for bouncing back from injury the way that they have this season. However, Smith’s overall impact was obviously greater given his production. He posted career highs in every stat that matters and helped turn a group that was projected to win just three games by some analysts into a playoff team.

The winner will be announced during the NFL Honors show on Thursday, February 9 at 6:00 p.m. PT.

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Raiders 2022 season awards: MVP, Rookie of the Year, Breakout player, more

Here are the #Raiders 2022 season awards including MVP, Rookie of the Year, Breakout player, and more.

There wasn’t a lot to crow about for the Raiders this season, but the awards must be given out, so that’s what I’m going to do. 

Seahawks’ Geno Smith delivered a powerful answer about his past struggles as a backup QB

How can you possibly not root for this guy?

In some ways, Geno Smith’s resurgence as a quality starting quarterback might be one of the best stories from the 2022 NFL season. (That and his penchant for wonderful quotes about life.)

Smith was once drafted by the New York Jets in the second round but instead spent years as a backup QB when that starting stint didn’t work out. He’s now at the helm of the Seattle Seahawks, enjoying his inarguable finest season as a pro while leading a current NFC playoff team.

On Thursday, with the Seahawks and Smith trying to cement their postseason status over the rest of 2022, the veteran was asked about what it was like to endure “tough times” as a backup.

He had an absolutely sublime answer in response:

Man. Talk about having a perspective on not only football but life. Not only that but how about genuine respect for his teammates? Even if they were the ones keeping him from seeing the field on a regular basis, he still clearly rooted for them.

Every time Smith speaks, every time he’s helping a teammate — he just sounds like a stand-up guy who’s got a wonderful head on his shoulders. And, from my vantage point, it’s quite easy to root for a person like that.

This Florida defender named semi-finalist for end of season award

Ventrell Miller has been named to the Comeback Player of the Year Award semifinal list. He is one of two SEC players to make the list.

Florida Gators Senior linebacker [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] has been named one of 15 semifinalists for the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year award. The award recognizes college football student-athletes from all divisions of college football for overcoming injury, illness, or other circumstances.

Three players will be given the award at the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl in Pheonix, Arizona. The award is voted on by a panel of AP writers, editors, sports information directors, and Fiesta Bowl Organization representatives. Miller joins Vanderbilt running back Ray Davis as the only SEC players on the 15-player semifinal list.

Miller suffered a torn bicep in the second game of the 2021 season, forcing him to sit out for the rest of the year. This season, he was the Gators’ best player on both sides of the ball. The defense was completely different with Miller on the sidelines, as he missed some time this season with foot injuries.

Miller is expected to declare for the 2023 NFL draft. He has not made a decision on if he will play in the Gators’ upcoming bowl game, per 247 Sports. 

Florida will find out their opponent on Sunday, at the earliest. The College Football Playoff Selection Show will announce the four playoff teams and the New Year’s Six participants. After that has been announced, the individual bowl games will announce their participants throughout the afternoon.

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Best NFL midseason value bets, including Tyreek Hill for MVP

A little midseason bargain betting.

Week 9 is in the books, which means we’re officially past the halfway mark of the new-ish 17-week NFL season.

That’s enough a sample size of games to have a good idea on which players have the best chances to win different awards, but it leaves just enough time for all of that to change.

If you’re a bettor inclined to throw more money at the favorites and their shorter odds, that’s completely understandable given what they’ve shown already this year. This post isn’t for you.

This is all about the players with longer odds that could potentially make a greater case down the stretch of the season. Let’s get into who those players are.

Odds are from BetMGM

Two Notre Dame players make first Comeback Player of the Year list

Nice honor for both players.

Not only has Notre Dame come back to win three in a row after an 0-2 start, but two of its players are being recognized for comebacks. The first watch list for the Comeback Player of the Year has been released, and two of the 61 players on the list play for the Irish. Specifically, right tackle [autotag]Blake Fisher[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Marist Liufau[/autotag] do.

Both players have yet to miss a game this season, and that’s a big deal for them. Fisher was injured early in last year’s season opener at Florida State and didn’t play against until the Fiesta Bowl. Liufau was expected to start in 2021, but he broke his ankle in practice before the season even began and didn’t play at all.

Although neither player deserved what happened to them, it appears those experiences only made them stronger, and they’re showing that on the field this season. Here’s hoping their efforts continue to pay off.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

USA TODAY Sports NFL predictions aren’t high on the Saints, Jameis Winston

USA TODAY Sports NFL predictions aren’t high on the Saints or Jameis Winston in 2022:

We’ve talked before about how volatile expectations are for the New Orleans Saints this year. Some media outlets see a legitimate Super Bowl contender. A lot of others view New Orleans as a team that would be lucky to reach the postseason. Whether questions are focused on the Saints quarterback situation or first-year head coach Dennis Allen (whose tenure with the Raiders a decade ago didn’t exactly go well), there are a lot of doubts circling this Saints team.

That’s reflected in the 2022 NFL season predictions from USA TODAY Sports. None of the seven ballots see the Saints winning their division — or advancing to Super Bowl LVII. Three panelists don’t have New Orleans in the playoffs at all, while the other four predict the Saints to squeeze in as the final NFC wild card team. Just two of the seven panelists (Nate Davis and Lorenzo Reyes) like Winston to win Comeback Player of the Year recognition.

As our own Ross Jackson has explored before, Winston would need to meet benchmarks of at least 4,600 passing yards with 36 touchdown passes against 14 interceptions to match the thresholds set by past Comeback Player of the Year performances. We know Winston can move the ball downfield and score a lot of points, but it comes back to the same question with him: whether or not he can keep the football out of harm’s way. He improved in that area last year on an admittedly small sample size. Now he’s expected to take a big step forward. If he can do that, Winston should prove the doubters wrong — and vindicate his supporters. Let’s see if he has it in him.

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CBS Sports predicts Jameis Winston for Comeback Player of the Year

CBS Sports HQ believes Jameis Winston could be Comeback Player of the Year. Here’s why they’re right. – via @RossJacksonNOLA

The last four NFL Comeback Player of the Year winners have been quarterbacks. According to CBS Sports HQ’s Ryan Harris, New Orleans Saints signal caller Jameis Winston could be the fifth in a row. Winston is considered the odds-on favorite to win the award this year as he returns from a season-ending ACL injury in last year’s Week 7 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Harris, a former NFL offensive tackle who has protected the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Alex Smith and Peyton Manning recently shared why he’s “fired up” about Winston’s return:

“I’ve got Jameis Winston as the Comeback Player of the Year. Last season, the Saints had over nine starters at different times on the (injured reserve list), and two of them were quarterbacks. So this was a championship-now team. They have a championship focus this year. Plus, they (add Jarvis Landry). They secure Michael Thomas long-term. I think Jameis Winston could be playing in that NFC Championship, they could even be hosting that game. So, look for Jameis Winston to have an amazing season after that surgery and the talent that’s around him. Plus a defense that even got improved. I really like the Saints and what Jameis Winston has as an opportunity.”

Winston certainly has the cast of characters around him to help support his revenge tour throughout the 2022 season. The Saints invested a lot to make sure they snagged wideout Chris Olave in this year’s draft in addition to the return of Thomas and addition of Landry. The question will be whether or not the absence of Sean Payton will factor in negatively to Winston’s progress.

He certainly looked good with his 14 touchdown passes to only 3 interceptions last year while not lacking in any big time throws. Last year, Winston ranked second in the NFL amongst qualifying passers (more than 100 dropbacks) in Pro Football Focus’ “Big Time Throw” metric. The rate measures accurately thrown passes downfield and in tight windows. Sure, Winston did not get to throw a ton of passes last year, but the quality of those he did let loose speak in his favor. Not to mention a defense that looks ready to put the ball back in his hands as often as possible.

The next level will be to see if Winston’s 2022 success translates in additional awards across the team. A great year by the former first-overall selection could translate into end-of-year recognition for receivers like Olave and Thomas. The last five quarterbacks to play a full season and win the comeback player award averaged over 4,600 passing yards, 36 touchdowns thrown and fewer than 14 interceptions surrendered. If Winston is able to hit around those marks, it’s not out of the question to assume he won’t be the one accepting an award at next year’s awards ceremony.

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What are Travis Etienne’s current odds to win Comeback Player of the Year?

Travis Etienne has the eighth-highest odds to win Comeback Player of the Year, according to Tipico Sportsbook.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had big-time expectations for 2021 first-round selection Travis Etienne, but unfortunately a Lisfranc injury in the preseason caused him to miss his rookie season. As a result, the Jags’ offense was in a bad predicament to start off the regular season as Etienne brought speed and potentially versatility to the unit.

With his potential impact being missed in 2021, it appears many haven’t forgotten about what Etienne can bring to the table and he’s received a significant amount of attention in the football community, even outside of local reports. A big reason for that is because fantasy football analysts seem high on the former Clemson running back as he returned to the field during organized team activities and was a standout.

The oddsmakers in Vegas also seem to be watching Etienne carefully as he could be a contender for Comeback Player of the Year. As of this moment Tipico Sportsbook has him down with a +3,000 figure (with eight others) to win the award, which are the eighth highest odds in the category. Of course, this means that a $100 wager on Etienne would return a profit of $3,000.

Leading the way with the best odds is a familiar face to the Jags in Tennessee running back Derrick Henry, who has a +300 figure currently. Some other notables in front of Etienne include New Orleans quarterback Jameis Winston and receiver Michael Thomas, and Carolina running back Christian McCaffrey, to name a few.

When looking at the roster, Etienne could be up for a solid season as there is some uncertainty surrounding the Jags’ top running back James Robinson, who is coming off an Achilles tear that he sustained in December. That will put Etienne in a situation where he should get a good amount of reps when training camp starts, as it seems Robinson won’t be ready at the start of it.

Some other factors that could help Etienne’s case to make a push for Comeback Player of the Year is that he might see some snaps as a receiver, though that’s not known yet. Additionally, he could be a favorite target of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, as the two were teammates in Clemson.