Rookie Battle Royale: Week 16

We are one week away from the end of the season and the AFC playoff picture is starting to look like a new york city street during rush hour. There werent many stories worth talking about from the rookies this week, but there sure were a bunch of really good games. Next week is going to mean a lot for more than a fair share of the ROY candidates' teams, and you can bet that it is going to be a bloodbath.

Percy Harvin

Harvin plays tonight against the Bears in THE most important game of the season. The Vikings need to get the number 2 seed or higher, or I am going to say that they may be out in the first round of the playoffs after a very good season. Harvin needs to step up his game after last week's disaster, and im not sure how he will do in the freezing cold weather of soldier field. I don’t think he played many games like this in college, and even though Favre has LOTS of experience, Harvin may fall flat on his face.

Knowshon Moreno

Moreno had a key touchdown against the Eagles, but they still lost. After starting 6-0 the Broncos do not control their own destiny anymore, and they may be on the outside looking in if the Jets and Ravens both win next week. Moreno did not have a good enough game to have the TD offset, but thanks to the TD they actually had a chance to win. He was really outshined by Jeremy Maclin and his late game heroics, but I will say that Maclin still has little chance of overcoming what Moreno has done this season.

Beanie Wells

Another game, another TD for Beanie and I think he may be in a virtual tie with Moreno for second place on the ROY ballot. I would say that tie goes to the team who makes the playoffs, so this is going to be Beanie's slot. He has had a wonderful second half of the year, averaging over four yards per carry and almost one TD per game. For a rookie, that is pretty impressive. He has 7 TDs, but did not have a good enough start to the season to overcome Harvin at this point. We will see after tonight if Harvin drops past his current slot.

Austin Collie

Collie had 94 yards in the loss to the Jets, and most of it came before they pulled the starters. Collie has truly put up one of the most surprising seasons of any rookie, but when you have Peyton Manning throwing the ball 40-50 times a game, he will get some looks as Wayne and Garcon draw the coverage away. Either way, Collie deserves some attention and he really has gotten nothing.

Hakeem Nicks

Nicks had the same kind of game as the Giants offense did, only putting up nine points on a suddenly stingy Carolina defense. Nicks is still in the hunt, but the Giants are not, so he will need a record game to have any consideration.

Mike Wallace

He had a good game in a slug it out win over the Ravens, with over 80 yards, but he didn’t really give any additional reasons why he should be considered over the people at the top of the list.

Josh Freeman

Freeman has no chance of winning rookie of the year, but holy shit, I cannot believe the Bucs beat the Saints. A team with 12 losses hasn’t beat a team with 13 wins in a long, long time, and Freeman has Cadillac Williams to thank for his second improbable victory this year. In their three wins, the Bucs have beat both the Packers and the Saints, two playoff teams. I guess this goes to show that any given Sunday truly is any given Sunday.

Offensive Rookie of the Year Rankings

1. Percy Harvin - Needs a good game not just for this award but for his slumping team (LW - 1)
2. Knowshon Moreno - Had a mediocre game in a loss with major playoff implications (LW - 2)
2. Beanie Wells - Another game with a TD makes four in a row (LW - 3)
4. Austin Collie - Had a good game though the Colts threw in the towel (LW - 4)
5. Hakeem Nicks - Crappy game for the Giants, but deserves consideration (LW - 5)
5. Mike Wallace - Good game in a win (LW - 5)