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TSN's 2004 NFL awards

Sporting News, The, Feb 11, 2005

Player of the Year

Peyton Manning COLTS

For Peyton Manning, it is all about hard work and preparation and focus. If you can master those things, everything else--the statistics, the victories, the accolades-comes along for the ride. Certainly, few quarter--backs have enjoyed a more rewarding regular season than the one Manning experienced this fall, climaxed by his record 49 touchdown passes.

"I have tried to get better every year, and I feel I should get better every year." he says. "I am a year older, I am in the same system, I am more comfortable, we have better timing. All those things should show in better results."

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For his accomplishments this past season, including 4,557 passing yards, a completion percentage of 67.6 and a league-record rating of 121.1, Manning, 28, has been chosen SPORTING NEWS Player of the Year for the second straight season by a panel of league pro personnel executives. Manning received 21 of 23 votes, with one vote going to Terrell Owens of the Eagles and one abstention.

"I remember when I first got into the league, I thought how it would be nice to have a year when you were the best," he says. "That means your team is probably winning. To win it for the second time, I am very honored. I am very appreciative of the opportunity and of my teammates and coaches for putting me in this position. I know how hard it is to win games and to have some success, and I appreciate the chance I am getting."

It is difficult to completely comprehend the season produced by Manning: the numbers are that dazzling. But the consistency of his career also is impressive. He is the only player to throw for 4,000 yards in six consecutive seasons and the first to throw for 3,000 in his first seven. He also has started 112 straight regular-season games, having never missed a start since he became a Colt in 1998. And just think: He says he wants to play another 10 years or so.

"It has been a fun ride this year," he says. "Some of the individual accomplishments have been nice, and they have coincided with the team winning. That has been the real fun."--Paul Attner

Rookie of the Year

Ben Roethlisberger STEELERS

One by one, the invitees were summoned on stage at The Theater at Madison Square Garden last April as NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced their selections in the NFL draft. Eli Manning ... Robert Gallery ... Philip Rivers ... Kellen Winslow ... Roy Williams ... DeAngelo Hall. By then, the only player left in the green room was Miami (Ohio) quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

After he was picked 11th overall by the Steelers, it looked as if Roethlisberger would have to endure another wait. Then Tommy Maddox suffered an elbow injury, and in the second game of his NFL career, Roethlisberger moved from the sideline to the huddle.

Such a sudden turn of events would have caused the world to spin wildly on its axis for most rookies. But the 6-4, 242-pound Roethtisberger displayed stoutness in accordance to his size. Roethlisberger won his first 14 starts, including a playoff game against the Jets, before the Steelers lost in the AFC championship game.

For his performance, Roethlisberger was the overwhelming choice as the SPORTING NEWS Rookie of the Year in balloting by NFL pro personnel directors. He received 20 of the 21 full votes cast. Seahawks safety Michael Boulware received one vote, and one scout divided his ballot among four rookies.

"That's obviously quite an honor when it comes from people who watch it and know the sport the best," Roethlisberger says. "It just makes it that much greater of an award."

Roethlisberger completed 196 of 295 passes (66.4 percent) for 2,621 yards and 17 touchdowns, with 11 interceptions. His passer rating (98.1) is the highest ever by an NFL rookie. But more impressive than his numbers were the leadership and poise he exhibited.

"I think he gained the respect of his teammates very quickly by being a studious guy, by being a gym rat, by wanting to get better every day," says one AFC pro personnel director. "When he came in, they did not miss a beat."

Roethlisberger, 22, is the first quarterback to win TSN's Rookie of the Year award since Dan Marino in 1983.--Dennis Dillon

Coach of the Year

Bill Cowher STEELERS

If, back in September, you had been told the Steelers would be forced to start a rookie quarterback for 13 regular-season games, how many games would you have expected them to win?

Well, they won 15, nine more than a year ago and more than any team has won in six seasons. Their success was a reflection of their coach, Bill Cowher, who won the SPORTING NEWS Coach of the Year award in voting by head coaches. He received 11 of the 28 votes cast, one more than the Chargers' Marty Schottenheimer. The Falcons' Jim Mora came in third with three.

"I'm honored and flattered," Cowher says. "In our profession there are a lot of good coaches. This is nothing more than a reflection of the assistant coaches on this staff, the players, (director of football operations) Kevin Colbert and the whole organization." The vote that gave Cowher the award was cast by Schottenheimer, Cowher's mentor. The two worked together for seven years, when Cowher was an assistant under Schottenheimer in Cleveland and Kansas City. "It was an outstanding performance highlighted by 15 consecutive victories," Schottenheimer said, alluding to the Steelers' run of 14 regular-season wins and their playoff victory over the Jets.

TSN's 2004 NFL awards

Sporting News, The, Feb 11, 2005

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