Charles Woodson wins NFL Defensive Player of the Year

[Stormtrooper]

I guess that it is better to be the best defensive player on the 2nd best defense, then it is to be the best defensive player on the 1st best defense, and asked to do the hardest thing a player at his position has to do (cover #1 receivers) and do it better then anyone not named Deion Sanders. And how the hell did he win the vote 28-14? I know I'm a Jet fan, and there may be some bias here, but how Darelle Revis didn't win this award is absolutely astounding to me. Here is a list of receivers whom Revis shut down.

Receivers Darelle Revis shut down:
Andre Johnson (4 catches, 35 yards)
Randy Moss (4 catches, 24 yards) 1 interception
Marques Colston (2 catches, 33 yards)
Terrell Owens (3 catches 13 yards)
Randy Moss again (5 catches 34 yards, 1 yard TD pass)
Steve Smith (1 catch, 5 yards) 2 interceptions
Terrell Owens again (3 catches, 31 yards)1 interception
Roddy White (4 catches, 33 yards)
Reggie Wayne (3 catches, 33 yards) left game in 3rd quarter
Chad Ochocinco (0 catches, 0 yards) left game at halftime
-------------------playoffs (voting already happened, so it doesn't matter)
Chad Ochocinco (2 catches, 28 yards) 1 interception

All of those receivers are pro bowl caliber (Colston is the only one not to be in a pro bowl), and some of them could be Hall-Of-Famers (Moss, TO, Reggie Wayne). the only one to get a TD was Randy Moss, and that was a 1 yard TD. Overall, Revis had 6 interceptions (1 in Oakland and 1 in Tampa Bay, plus the 4 in the list) in the regular season, and he plays the run well.

Woodson had a tremendous year, no doubt. He should have been in the running for the award. But how did he win it in a landslide, when Revis had this type of year? If Woodson was gonna win it anyway, the voting at least should have been a lot closer.

 

[Big Sexy]

Woodson had a tremendous year, no doubt. He should have been in the running for the award. But how did he win it in a landslide, when Revis had this type of year? If Woodson was gonna win it anyway, the voting at least should have been a lot closer.

Woodson won because of his versatility and the fact that he is the best overall corner in the league.

While Revis may be the best cover corner in the league, I'd say Woodson is the best overall. He can cover the other teams top wideout one and one, he can come in on blitzes and get pressure, and he is a sure tackler stopping the run.

Looking at the numbers Revis had 54 tackles and 6 picks. Meanwhile Charles Woodson had 74 tackles, 9 picks, 2 sacks, and 4 forced fumbles. He also had 3 defensive touchdowns to Revis's 1. There is no doubt that Revis is the best cover corner currently in the NFL, but as an overall player Charles Woodson is better and he had the better year.

 

[Stormtrooper]

Woodson won because of his versatility and the fact that he is the best overall corner in the league.

So what you're saying is that because the Packers use their corners differently then the Jets, Woodson won?

While Revis may be the best cover corner in the league, I'd say Woodson is the best overall. He can cover the other teams top wideout one and one, he can come in on blitzes and get pressure, and he is a sure tackler stopping the run.

Woodson does do everything else you mentioned, but Revis plays the run well, and if they sent him on blitzes he would do that too, but since they need the #1 corner on the #1 wideout, they don't so that. And Revis covers the #1 receiver better then Woodson.

Looking at the numbers Revis had 54 tackles and 6 picks. Meanwhile Charles Woodson had 74 tackles, 9 picks, 2 sacks, and 4 forced fumbles. He also had 3 defensive touchdowns to Revis's 1. There is no doubt that Revis is the best cover corner currently in the NFL, but as an overall player Charles Woodson is better and he had the better year.

1. Woodson's 2 sacks don't mean anything. As I said whose to say that Revis wouldn't have 10 sacks if they blitzed him 10 times. I would bet that I could count the number of times Revis blitzed on 1 hand (it probably is 0).

2. I would rather have pass deflections then tackles, since a tackle means the receiver caught the ball (or a run got to the outside and he made a tackle).
Pass Deflections: Revis: 31, Woodson: 18.

3. take a look at the following (from This espn.com AFC East blog post):

Stats Inc. records what it calls "burns," the number of times a defender allows a reception to the man he's covering. Stats Inc. then divides that by the number of times the defender is targeted to compute a "burn percentage," a stat in which Revis led the NFL.

Revis: 40 receptions on 108 targets (37.0 percent) for 439 yards and two touchdowns.

Woodson: 40 receptions on 84 targets (47.6 percent) for 560 yards and six touchdowns.

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Lets look at those. Woodson allowed the same number of catches on 24 less receptions. He also gave up 121 more yards on those receptions, and 4 more TDs. Woodson had 3 defensive touchdowns, but allowed 6 scores. That's a plus-minus of -3. Revis had 1 defensive TD, but allowed only 2 TDs (a better plus-minus of -1).


At the end of the day, Revis did his job better then any defensive player in the league, and got NO respect from the voters. Shame on the AP.

 

[Super Hans]

also woodson has all the highlight reel plays so that would have swung a few votes,while i think 28-14 is a bit outlandish i do think the right choice was made.also revis aint shutting out gates and jackson this week

 

[Theo Mays]

Woodson won because of his flashiness. Revis falls in the category of Nnamdi Asomugha. Nnamdi was easily the best defensive player in football the last year or so. The guy was rarely targeted and when he was he usually didn't allow the catch. He was the definition of a shutdown CB. Revis gets targeted more than Nnamdi, so that definitely helped his case as he was able to manage a handful of INT. Woodson had a bunch of INT (not sure how many, but I know he was towards the top) and he scored some TD and just made some highlight reel plays. Again the flashiness paid off. Where as the dirty work that Revis and a guy like Asomugha goes unnoticed.

 

[Big Sexy]

So what you're saying is that because the Packers use their corners differently then the Jets, Woodson won?

No, I'm saying Woodson won because he is the better football player.

Woodson does do everything else you mentioned, but Revis plays the run well, and if they sent him on blitzes he would do that too, but since they need the #1 corner on the #1 wideout, they don't so that. And Revis covers the #1 receiver better then Woodson.

Revis plays the run ok, but no where near as good as Woodson does. And what makes you think Revis would be a great blitzer? It sounds like an easy thing to do but it does require skill. You aren't just going to go straight to the qb every time. You have to read the blockers and hit the gaps at the right time.

1. Woodson's 2 sacks don't mean anything. As I said whose to say that Revis wouldn't have 10 sacks if they blitzed him 10 times. I would bet that I could count the number of times Revis blitzed on 1 hand (it probably is 0).

Again not every corner has the ability or toughness to get pressure on the quarterback.

2. I would rather have pass deflections then tackles, since a tackle means the receiver caught the ball (or a run got to the outside and he made a tackle).
Pass Deflections: Revis: 31, Woodson: 18.

Of course Revis is going to have more deflections, he is in coverage more. When Woodson first came into the league he basically was Darrell Revis. He was a shutdown cover corner who would keep the other teams best receiver in check and that's it. Woodson has now evolved into basically a corner/safety/linebacker hybrid. He is still a great cover corner but he also stops the run and blitzes like a linebacker, and he makes big plays similar to safety's like Ed Reed.

Stats Inc. records what it calls "burns," the number of times a defender allows a reception to the man he's covering. Stats Inc. then divides that by the number of times the defender is targeted to compute a "burn percentage," a stat in which Revis led the NFL.

Revis: 40 receptions on 108 targets (37.0 percent) for 439 yards and two touchdowns.

Woodson: 40 receptions on 84 targets (47.6 percent) for 560 yards and six touchdowns.

I've already conceded that Revis is the better cover corner at this point in Woodson's career. All the burn stat does is reiterate that fact. However, it does nothing to show that Revis is the best overall defensive player in the NFL.

Lets look at those. Woodson allowed the same number of catches on 24 less receptions. He also gave up 121 more yards on those receptions, and 4 more TDs. Woodson had 3 defensive touchdowns, but allowed 6 scores. That's a plus-minus of -3. Revis had 1 defensive TD, but allowed only 2 TDs (a better plus-minus of -1).

You have to look closer at the touchdowns they gave up. What's to say of the 6 tds Woodson gave up 5 of them weren't one yard fades he didn't have a chance on? And don't give me this plus/minus bullshit. Woodson also forced 4 fumbles on the season. What's to say those didn't lead to points for the Packers? Or how about the three extra interceptions Woodson had over Revis, what's to say those didn't lead to points for the Packers?

At the end of the day, Revis did his job better then any defensive player in the league, and got NO respect from the voters. Shame on the AP.

At the end of the day Revis may have been the best cover corner, but Woodson is the best defensive player. There is a big difference. The AP made the right choice. And second place is hardly the AP being disrespectful. It's not like the vote was 40-2.

 

[Big Sexy]

Again the flashiness paid off. Where as the dirty work that Revis and a guy like Asomugha goes unnoticed.

I just noticed this post and it made me laugh. Let me get this straight. You are saying that Woodson is all flash and guys like Revis are doing the dirty work? Bull fucking shit. Revis is a cover corner. What dirty work is there? Next to kicker, punter, and free safety, cover corners do less dirty work then anyone. All you do is cover the receiver in front of you. Woodson is the one coming up into the box to stop the run and blitz the qb like a linebacker. Woodson is doing dirty work, not Revis. And I'm not trying to bash Revis at all in this thread. He is without question the best cover corner in the NFL and he definitely deserved to finish second in the DPOTY award, but Woodson is the better overall defensive player.

 

[gd]

I agree that it should have been Revis. No one has done anything against him this year. Sure, he may not have as many INTs, but I don't think QBs want to throw it his way, because the guy is never open.

Woodson is solid, but from what I saw in the Pittsburgh game and the Arizona game, he's certainly not great by any stretch of the imagination. If your team lets up 500 passing yards, I find it hard to give you the defensive player of the year honor.

 

[Theo Mays]

I just noticed this post and it made me laugh. Let me get this straight. You are saying that Woodson is all flash and guys like Revis are doing the dirty work? Bull fucking shit. Revis is a cover corner. What dirty work is there? Next to kicker, punter, and free safety, cover corners do less dirty work then anyone. All you do is cover the receiver in front of you. Woodson is the one coming up into the box to stop the run and blitz the qb like a linebacker. Woodson is doing dirty work, not Revis. And I'm not trying to bash Revis at all in this thread. He is without question the best cover corner in the NFL and he definitely deserved to finish second in the DPOTY award, but Woodson is the better overall defensive player.

I called it "dirty work" because cover corners don't get a whole lot of credit. Personally I'd rather a cover guy than someone who is flashy. Hence why I'd take someone like Sheldon Brown over Asante Samuel any day of the week. And that is why Nnamdi and Revis are the best two corners in football in my opinion. It is a lot harder to completely take a guy out of a game than it is to give him an island and try to make a big play. It is all a matter of opinion. The cover guys are great against the run. Guys like Revis, Nnamdi, Sheldon Brown, Antoine Winfield. All cover corners and all are sound tacklers.

 

[Big Sexy]

Woodson is solid, but from what I saw in the Pittsburgh game and the Arizona game, he's certainly not great by any stretch of the imagination. If your team lets up 500 passing yards, I find it hard to give you the defensive player of the year honor.

The team let up the passing yards, not Woodson. He was basically by himself out there for those games. Al Harris, Will Blackmon, and Pat Lee were all out for both of those games. Tramon Williams is at best a nickel corner and he was starting. Jarret Bush and Brandon Underwood are absolutely horrendous. You take away Woodson and Green Bay has one of the worst defenses in the league.