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BY BRETT FOOTE
JANUARY 16, 2015
Pro Football Focus recently concluded their awards week, a time in which they choose the NFL’s best players based on their ratings from the season as a whole. This season proved to be a tough one for picking consensus winners in almost every category, as several players had stand out campaigns.
Several Baltimore Ravens players were recognized in the process, and rightfully so. Marshal Yanda, for one, had an amazing season that is worthy of much more attention than he is currently getting. But as they say, trench work ain’t glorious. The best we can do is keep beating the drum and hope others jump on the bandwagon.
Here is a rundown of Ravens who were recognized by Pro Football Focus. Make sure and let us know in the comments whether or not you agree with the results!
Defensive Rookie of the Year: C.J. Mosley, 3rd runner up
Mosley finishes behind Chris Borland, Khalil Mack, and the overall winner, Aaron Donald. Mosley had, by any account, a great year. Mosley’s grades in run defense secured the rookie’s finish as the top inside linebacker in PFF’s rankings, but his struggles in coverage over the second half of the season ultimately cost him here.
Bruce Matthews Award for Best Offensive Lineman: Marshal Yanda
Yanda beat out Jason Peters, Andrew Whitworth, Joe Thomas, and Nick Mangold to take home the honors. It was a well deserved win for a guy who dominated the entire season in the trenches, showing up particularly well in run blocking, where he was the catalyst for Justin Forsett’s career year.
Overall Offensive Line Ranking: Baltimore Ravens, 3rd
Finishing behind only the Cowboys and Eagles, the Ravens’ offensive line rebounded in a big way from last year’s 23rd place finish. Marshal Yanda, Kelechi Osemele, and Rick Wagner were the leaders of this unit, but the line didn’t get similarly great results out of Eugene Monroe or James Hurst.
Dwight Stephenson Award for Best Player: Marshal Yanda, 4th runner up
Yanda finishes behind Chris Harris, Justin Houston, Aaron Rogers, and J.J. Watt. That’s some elite company for a guy who is vastly underrated following his All-Pro type season.
Offensive Player of the Year: Marshal Yanda, 1st runner up
Again, gotta love the appreciation of a special season here. Yanda finished behind only Aaron Rogers, and ahead of Le’Veon Bell, Rob Gronkowski, and Antonio Brown.
All-Pro Special Teams: Albert McClellan (kick return unit)
Justin Tucker and Sam Koch get snubbed in favor of Matt Bryant and Johnny Hekker.
All-Pro Team: Marshal Yanda (1st team), Kelechi Osemele (2nd team)
The Ravens’ two best linemen are recognized, but Rick Wagner is snubbed after spending most of the season as the top rated right tackle in the NFL.
The Ravens were snubbed in the following categories: Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year (no surprise), and the defensive side of the All-Pro team. No love for the likes of Justin Forsett or Elvis Dumervil on any list.
Forsett had to deal with the all-world performance of Le’Veon Bell this season, while Dumervil lingered in the shadow of J.J. Watt and Justin Houston’s special seasons. It’s hard to argue with that, even as unfair as it may seem.
C.J. Mosley is an interesting case, and we’ll have to wait and see how things pan out in the real world. It will be tough for him to beat out Khalil Mack, even if he does garner more votes than Aaron Donald. Mosley has been the consensus favorite for most of the season and he filled the stat sheet all year, unlike Donald.
