NFL Nfl Awards

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

NFL star Terrell Owens is always in the spotlight, so why not give him his own reality show? That's exactly what VH1 is doing. In advance of his show's premiere, T.O. tells us how fans will get to see a different side of him. We also hear from former NFL lineman and ESPN analyst Marcellus Wiley as well as Giants rookie receiver Ramses Barden.

Check out the video after the jump.

The Falcons' Matt Ryan was the Associated Press' NFL offensive rookie of the year last season. It was well deserved after completing 61.1 percent of his passes and throwing 16 touchdowns with a quarterback rating of 87.7.

But for the first three weeks of the season, Cowboys running back Felix Jones was the leader. In fact, he won all the primaries. Jones scored a touchdowns in the first three weeks of the season, including the first carry of his career at Cleveland. Jones scored on an 11-yard run, a 60-yard run, 33-yard scamper and how could we forget his 98-yard kickoff return for a score?

There's not much magic to the Pro Bowl anymore, despite the presence of the best players from the NFC and AFC facing off against each other ... well, the best players that felt like playing an extra, meaningless exhibition after the season ended.

Still, Sunday's rosters host an impressive list of talent. But not every NFL player enjoyed the success that those in Hawaii did. For every Peyton Manning, there was a Dan Orlovsky. For every Adrian Peterson, there was a Chris Perry. So which players suffered through the most miserable 2008 seasons? Find out after the jump, as FanHouse reveals its Anti-Pro Bowl starters and backups.

The MVP of the Super Bowl traditionally receives the Cadillac of their choice. It's a grand, post-game spectacle, really, because General Motors loves the attention and PR.

This year, however, there was no such pomp for Santonio Holmes. Was it because the car company needed several billion dollars from taxpayers to stay afloat and decided giving away free cars to rich athletes was a bad idea? Or was it because the company simply didn't want anyone to know that's exactly how they were spending their money?

I'll admit it: I'm shocked. James Harrison has been named the NFL's 2008 Defensive Player of the Year. I certainly thought he deserved to be in the conversation, and since I'm a Steelers fan, I'm obviously happy for him. But I also fully expect the Ed Reed and DeMarcus Ware supporters to make a spirited case for why their guy got hosed.

Fair enough.

It's hard to dispute Reed's ability to blow your mind on a weekly basis, but he got off to a slow start (only one pick in the first 10 games, which, when you consider that he wasn't supposed to be playing -- maybe ever again -- is impressive in its own right), but the eight interceptions over the final six weeks of the season puts him in the mix. That he had a lot to do with the Ravens' making it to the postseason further strengthens his case.

Ware, on the other hand, recorded 20 sacks, but the Cowboys, like the rest of us, watched the playoffs from the couch last weekend. I know, I know, playing on a team not coached by Wade Phillips doesn't automatically disqualify you for Player of the Year, but there's no way Ware gets it over Harrison or Reed, two guys still playing.

I'm sure it comes as no consolation today -- following a playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals -- but Mike Smith of the Atlanta Falcons has won NFL Coach of the Year honors in his first season. Smith took on an unenviable task, as the Falcons appeared to be in shambles following the Michael Vick debacle and Bobby Petrino leaving during his first season, but he came through with an incredible performance. They finished 11-5 and made the playoffs after a 4-12 2007 season.

Smith won the award by the narrowest of margins, taking down Miami Dolphins' rookie coach, Tony Sparano, by one vote, 23.5 to 22.5. Yeah, someone voted a half-vote for each coach. I don't quite understand that. Just make a decision. Either way, that only leaves four more votes from the 50 total. Jeff Fisher of the Titans received three, and Bill Belichick garnered one.

Sparano took over a 1-15 Dolphins team and improved on that record by 10, getting them back into the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

Despite having their first-round pick taken away for their top-secret advanced scouting techniques, the New England Patriots still had a first-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft, thanks to a shrewd deal during the 2007 NFL draft that landed them San Francisco's pick in '08. And because the 49ers were pretty lousy in 2007, the Patriots ended up with the No. 10 overall selection following a 16-0 regular season, and a trip to the Super Bowl.

With the No. 10 pick, the Patriots selected linebacker Jerod Mayo from the University of Tennessee, and he became an instant star in the New England defense, starting every game for the Patriots and recording 128 tackles (five for loss), four pass defenses, and a forced fumble. For his efforts, Mayo was named the NFL's defensive rookie of the year on Wednesday, picking up 49 of a possible 50 votes.

According to Pro Football Talk, the 50th vote went to Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers for the seven games he played during the season. I'm going to take a wild guess and say Rivers' vote came from someone who happens to work in Cincinnati. If you're not going to vote for Mayo, who was pretty obviously the best rookie on the defensive side of the ball, the No. 2 choice probably should have been Arizona's Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for his 19 pass defenses, four interceptions, blocked kick and one touchdown.

As the regular season concluded, the FanHouse football writers all got together in a secret meeting in Will Brinson's mother's basement to discuss the players of the year. Who was the best coach? Which rookie stood out? Who was the most valuable player?

After much deliberation (and tons of meatloaf), here are the FanHouse NFL Award Winners. Only players/coaches who got votes were included in the final results.

Defensive Player of the Year

Justin Tuck, NY Giants -- 10 percent
Shaun Rogers, Cleveland -- 10 percent
Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee -- 15 percent
Jared Allen, Minnesota -- 20 percent
DeMarcus Ware, Dallas -- 45 percent

His last game not withstanding, can you really argue with 20 sacks? The Cowboys' linebacker was also involved in 84 tackles and six forced fumbles in 2008.

It doesn't matter your affiliation to a certain team, we can all admit that, during a sports year, athletes make just as many idiotic decisions on the field as they do off it. You have backward passes, premature celebrations, and rare "I'm not even sure what was supposed to be happening there" plays that can make you go bald from all the head scratching. This year was no different in the NFL, and here is what we came up with as the NFL's dumbest plays of 2008.

Dan Orlovsky's Phantom Safety -- Do you want to know how bad this play actually was? When bringing this idea up to the FanHouse football group, all I had to say about this play was, "Dan Orlovsky." Everyone knew which play I was talking about. The poor guy was thrown into a terrible situation in Detroit, and decided his legacy was going to be "running out of the back of the end zone without ever really knowing what went on." Running out of the end zone as a quarterback is one thing ... not knowing you did so and continuing the play is quite another. I can guarantee Orlovsky one thing -- his video will be shown by high-school coaches all around the nation as what not to do when stuffed back by your own end zone.

The Free Kick Attempt by Neil Rackers -- It sure wasn't the dumbest play of the year, but it was definitely the most confusing. With five seconds left in the first half against the Giants, Ken Whisenhunt actually made the decision to opt for a "free kick," even though nobody knew what in the world a free kick was. Rackers set the ball up on a tee, rared back his heavy leg and ... muffed it. Not only was it unsuccessful, but it gave the Giants a chance to return it. I guess the good news was that we learned what a free kick was and that Rackers has no 68-yard leg.

The AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers were announced a short while ago, and why make some pointless comment you are sure not to laugh at when we can just give you the rosters instead? Here goes.