| 16 January 2012
Despite throwing for 5038 yards and 41 touchdowns, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford wasn't named All-Pro or even to the Pro Bowl. The best he could do was being named a lowly Pro Bowl 3rd alternate. (Yet the NFL media wonder why Lions fans carry an eternal grudge) To long suffering Detroit fans, Stafford's snub felt like a kick in the nuts, showing a lack of respect for his historic accomplishment.
For Stafford to receive any official recognition for his preformance in 2011, the one award with little context as to why it's awarded (usually because you were either injured, sucked or in the case of Michael Vick, in prison, the previous season) is the best we can expect:
Stafford's efforts in leading the Lions to their first NFL playoff berth in 12 years – following two seasons in which injuries sidelined him for 19 of the team's 32 games – earned him the Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers Association's comeback player of the year award.
The NFL-recognized AP comeback player of the year award will be announced on February 4, the day before Super Bowl XLVI.
Comeback player of the year? Well, it's...something. An award one hopes Stafford never wins again.
I'd say the odds Stafford will win the NFL's "official" comeback player of the year award is pretty damn good. Seems appropriate to get a Miss Congeniality type award for only having the 5th best passing yardage season in NFL history.
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