NFL Rookie of the Year. Who should get it?
Lets take a look at each candidate for the NFL Rookie of the Year. - Joe Flacco, QB Ravens - Matt Ryan, QB Falcons - Mike Forte, RB Bears - Steve Slaton, RB Texans - Chris Johnson, RB Titans
Lets compare each player's Passer Rating or Rusher Rating to the NFL average and see who excelled the most beyond the league average.
First, lets check out the QB's. Ryan and Flacco were very good this year... For Rookies, but not really across the league.
Joe Flacco, QB Ravens: 297 for 428 (69.4%) for 2971 yards. 14 TD's and 12 interceptions. Joe Flacco's numbers were very average. His Interception %, TD % and yards per completion were average... as compared to the league. He excelled in his completion %. He is a very accurate passer.
Matt Ryan, QB Falcons: 265 for 434 (61.1%) for 3440 yards. 16 TD's and 11 interceptions. Matt Ryan was similar except his strength was yards per completion. He was able to succeed on the long ball, but still average.
Now on to the running backs.
Mike Forte, RB Bears: 316 carries for 1238 yards. With 8 TD's and 1 fumble. Mike Forte was good but only slightly better than league average. His TD's were down a little from the league average and his yards per carry were down but as with the other two running backs below, he rarely fumbled the ball.
Steve Slaton, RB Texans: 268 carries for 1282 yards. With 9 TD's and 2 fumbles. Steve Slaton had a great season and really helped the Texans. He had average TD% but superior yards per carry and fumble %. He finished 17.4 points above the league average.
Now on to the Rookie of the Year... Chris Johnson. Chris Johnson, RB Titans: 251 carries for 1228 yards. With 9 TD's and 1 fumbles. He had basically the same yardage as the other two guys but did it in fewer carries. His TD's were above league average, his fumble were way below league average and his yards per carry were great. He finished 24.1 points above the league average Rusher Rating.
I know the QB position is much more noteworthy than the RB position across the league but this award should go to Chris Johnson. He was better than all 32 NFL teams except the Panthers 102.1 Rusher Rating. And he's ranked 6th in the league.
Those are veteran numbers for a rookie back.