Albert Haynesworth

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NFL Week 11 Awards Watch

This is the weekly awards watch. These are the leading contenders for each of the major awards, as well as runners-up.

To view older articles, visit the archives.

Most Valuable Player
1. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings - Maybe it's a little premature to move him into the #1 slot, but in a one-point victory, his team needed every yard he got.
2. Kurt Warner, QB, Arizona Cardinals - In a tougher-than-expected home victory, Kurt Warner came through in the absence of the running game.
3. Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee Titans - Kerry Collins might have been the star Sunday, but there's still no one who means more to the league's only undefeated team.

Offensive Player of the Year
1. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings - Moves into the league lead in rushing with a nearly 200-yard performance and help from Clinton Portis's bye week.
2. Clinton Portis, RB, Washington Redskins - Wasn't it like yesterday that Portis led the league in rushing by like a million yards? So much for that.
3. Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans - Johnson has his second straight sub-100 yard game, but consider: he has more yards receiving than all but two players have on the ground. That's impressive.

Defensive Player of the Year
1. Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee Titans - The Bears were held to a respectable run total despite being determined to move the ball on the ground.
2. Kris Jenkins, DT, New York Jets - He doesn't show up much on the stat sheet, but it's no accident that the Jets took a 40-0 lead by halftime of their latest game.
3. Joey Porter, LB, Miami Dolphins - The Miami red-zone defense gets the game ball on Sunday, holding the Seahawks to field goals multiple times in a close game. Porter chipped in with a sack to remain the NFL's leader.

Offensive Rookie of the Year
1. Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons - With each passing week Ryan grows farther apart from the rest of the guys on this week. He made a couple risky but accurate throws to Michael Jenkins this week, showing he's developing trust in more than just his number one option.
2. Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans - The Bears did everything they could to stop Tennessee's run game while feeding Matt Forte the ball in all phases. Johnson is still the more dynamic rookie, but the two are a lot closer than a week ago.
3. Eddie Royal, WR, Denver Broncos - DeSean had a pretty quiet game for Philly, while Eddie Royal had 164 yards receiving, including a 93-yard catch where he deftly avoided tight single coverage. He is the new leader in rookie receiving.

Defensive Rookie of the Year
1. Jerod Mayo, LB, New England Patriots - The victory over the Bills was the Patriots' best defensive effort of the season, and Mayo finished second on the team in tackles.
2. Curtis Lofton, LB, Atlanta Falcons - Nice effort with six solo tackles against the Saints, though he did miss a tackle on Deuce McAllister's touchdown.
3. Chris Horton, S, Washington Redskins - Bye week this week for the rookie interceptions leader (along with Aqib Talib).

Comeback Player of the Year
Jake Delhomme, QB, Carolina Panthers - Still the leader, due to his resurgent year.
Other contenders for the award:
Chad Pennington, QB, New York Jets - Returning from a benching, but has already won the award before.
Julius Peppers, DE, Carolina Panthers - Returning from sucking last year.

Coach of the Year
1. Jeff Fisher, Tennessee Titans - The Bears were my predicted "first loss" for the Titans, and they did everything I thought they would: take away the run. It wasn't enough, though, as Kerry Collins posted a season high in passing yardage.
2. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons are only one game out of the division lead. The only part of that sentence anyone ever thought would be true prior to the season was the "one game" part.
3. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots - A team QB'd by Matt Cassel is currently tied for second place in the AFC. I still can't get over that.