See our other Cold, Hard Football Facts year-end awards:
There's no doubt that Tennessee quarterback Vince Young can run with the best of 'em. He ran past defenses throughout his rookie campaign, and he ran away with the Offensive Rookie of the Year award yesterday.
He's a great talent – but clearly the wrong choice for the honor in the eyes of the Cold, Hard Football Facts. In some years, when the rookie class has been so-so, Young could be the pick – but in this Year of the Rookie?
Hell no.
Young got an awful lot of credit for Tennessee's unexpected 8-8 finish, but the Cold, Hard Football Facts tell us much of this credit was undue.
Cold, Hard Football Fact: Young had a terrible season as a passer. His final passer rating of 66.7 was 30th in the league – worse than Brad Johnson, worse than Charlie Frye, worse than Joey Harrington. This alone should disqualify him from contention for any postseason honor, regardless of his wonderful running ability (552 yards, 6.7 YPA).
Cold, Hard Football Fact: The Tennessee offense was not very good. The Titans finished 16th in the NFL in scoring, which sounds decent until you consider their eight touchdowns on returns. They ranked 27th in yards (300.6), 26th in offensive TDs (28) and 31st in TD passes (13). Only the historically inept Raiders scored fewer TDs through the air.
Cold, Hard Football Fact: Tennessee's six-game win streak would not have been so impressive without a historic performance by the Titans defense. Remember, it was the defense that scored three TDs in a 24-17 mid-December win over Jacksonville. The Tennessee offense that day accounted for just five first downs, 98 total yards and held the ball for 15 minutes and 38 seconds.
Were the Titans a surprise 8-8? Sure. Was Young exciting? Yes. If there's an Offensive Rookie Who Surprised You and Excited You Award, Young is our pick.
But there isn't, and he's not.
So who is the Offensive Rookie of the Year? Here's a hint: He was the best rookie on the best team in the league.
It's Marcus McNeill, the beefy (336 pounds) offensive tackle out of Auburn who anchored the all-important "blind side" of the San Diego offensive line.
McNeill is no ordinary offensive linemen: He's the starting left tackle for the best offensive line in football (
No. 1 in our Hog Index), for the best offense in football (30.75 PPG), and for the record-setting best running back in football (San Diego Superman LaDainian Tomlinson).
You'll see no highlights for our OT, unless you break down game film in your spare time. But he got plenty of results.
Cold, Hard Football Facts Top 5 Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates:
1. McNeill.
2. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville. He led all running backs with an average of 6.5 yards every time he touched the ball on offense, averaged 5.7 YPA on the ground and scored 15 touchdowns. That's excellence, folks. Oh, and for good measure, he averaged 27.7 yards per kick return.
3. Marques Colston, New Orleans. He was the early runaway candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year before losing time to injury. Still, he finished with 70 catches, 1,038 yards and 8 TDs in what amounted to 12 games.
4. Young, Tennessee.
5. Reggie Bush, New Orleans. He didn't have spectacular numbers, but his presence on the field made a huge impact for one of the surprise teams of the year.
