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In a sometimes bewildering season, many Falcons still stood out.
Matt Ryan had a crisp year marred by unlucky interceptions, Devonta Freeman was hot early and late in the year, Julio Jones dominated, and Alex Mack was perhaps the best center in football yet again. Defensively, the team saw huge performances from rookie Takk McKinley, the dominant defensive tackle that is Grady Jarrett, Deion Jones, Keanu Neal, and others. It was, when you ignore all the dumb mistakes, a very fine year.
So of course we had to weigh in on awards here at the end of the season. We mulled our choices and came up with our selections for MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year. I don’t think any of these are hugely controversial, even though some picked a kicker as their MVP. Cough.
Here are our votes for season awards for these Falcons. We welcome your ballots in the comments, of course!
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| Writer | MVP | OPOY | DPOY | ROY | Coach of the Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer | MVP | OPOY | DPOY | ROY | Coach of the Year |
| Dave Choate | Matt Ryan | Julio Jones | Grady Jarrett | Takk McKinley | Marquand Manuel |
| DW | Matt Ryan | Julio Jones | Deion Jones | Takk McKinley | Dan Quinn |
| Matt Chanbers | Matt Bryant | Matt Ryan | Grady Jarrett | Takk McKinley | Marquand Manuel |
| Caleb Rutherford | Matt Ryan | Julio Jones | Grady Jarrett | Takk McKinley | Marquand Manuel |
| Cory Woodroof | Matt Bryant | Matt Ryan | Keanu Neal | Takk McKinley | Dan Quinn |
| Kevin Knight | Matt Ryan | Julio Jones | Grady Jarrett | Takk McKinley | Marquand Manuel |
Again, not a lot of sharp disagreement here. It’s tough to argue against Ryan for MVP, as great as he has been even in a relative down year, and for Offensive Player of the Year Ryan, Jones, or Mack are all safe selections. Defensive Player of the Year came down to one of the league’s best linebackers (Jones), one of the league’s best defensive tackles (Jarrett), or one of the league’s best safeties (Neal). And Rookie of the Year was, of course, pretty damn unanimous.
Coach of the Year came down to Dan Quinn and Marquand Manuel, and I guess it depends on how much you credit Quinn for the team’s success.
Again, now that you’ve seen our ballots, do share yours!