Wasn't Someone Overlooked In The Comeback Player Of The Year Voting?

Every year(well, except for 1985) the Associated Press hands out their award for the NFL Comeback Player Of The Year. It's given to the player that shows perseverance in overcoming adversity, in the form of not being in the NFL the previous year, a severe injury, or simply poor performance. This year's recipient was Dallas Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis. Ellis tore his achilles tendon nine games into the '06 season, and returned in '07 to tally 12 1/2 sacks. I don't really have a problem with him winning the award, but here are the other players that received votes:

10 Votes: Randy Moss(WR-New England)
7 Votes: Ben Roethlisberger(QB-Pittsburgh)
5 Votes: Brett Favre(QB-Green Bay), Jamal Lewis(RB-Cleveland)
3 Votes: Bobby Engram(WR-Seattle)
2 Votes: Patrick Kerney(DE-Seattle), Derek Anderson(QB-Cleveland)
1 Vote: Amani Toomer(WR-New York), Albert Haynesworth(DT-Tennessee), Mario Williams(DE-Houston), Andre Carter(DE-Washington)

Of those players, Engram, Kerney and Toomer missed significant time last season due to injury. Moss missed a few at the end of the season due to an ankle injury. Roethlisberger was involved in a motorcycle accident, and had his appendix removed during the offseason prior to the 2006 season. Haynesworth missed some games, but that was because he was suspended for kicking Andre Gurode in the head. The other players receiving votes contributed for the majority of the '06 season, except for Anderson who was a back-up for much of last year.

So those players basically overcame poor performances in 2006, and turned in great ones in 2007. If that's the case, how could Wes Welker not receive any votes? Granted, he hasn't really had a year quite like this one to compare him against, but he definitely perservered through some rough years in Miami and put up stellar numbers this season. Besides, it's not like Mario Williams or Derek Anderson returned to greatness this year.

Welker finished tied with T.J. Houshmanzadeh for most catches in the NFL this season, and he beat his previous best by 45 receptions. He also lead the top 10 receivers in terms of catches with a 5.7 YAC average. And was a consistent contributor on punt and kick returns.

Welker might not have the longest stat sheet to draw from, but he's definitely turned in a performance this year that's worthy of some individual awards. He might have come back from an injury, but he's just as worthy of inclusion on that list as some of the other players that received votes.

The Dolphins Sure Are Doing Their Best To Screw Their Fans

With the decisions that the Miami Dolphins have made over the past few months you would think that they just went undefeated, and won another Super Bowl trophy. However, with them coming off of a 6-10 season where some newly acquired pieces never really fell into place, you have to wonder if they even want the fans to show up to Dolphin Stadium this season. Let's recap some of decisions that have upset the Dolphin faithful:

March: Trade Wes Welker to the Patriots. Welker was not only a good returner, but he had also turned out to be a pretty good receiver. In addition to that, he had become a fan favorite in South Florida. Trading him away, especially to a division rival, didn't sit well with a lot of fans.

March-June: Screw around with the Trent Green deal. Early in the offseason it became apparent that Miami was interested in Green. I fully understand that they didn't want to overpay for him, but at some point you have to realize that it's likely your two starting quarterbacks from the previous season aren't going to be with the team. The sooner he gets signed, the quicker he gets accustomed to the system and the rest of the team. If he truly is the guy that can help you win games, then bumping up the offer just a bit isn't that big of a deal.

April: Pass on Brady Quinn to draft Ted Ginn Jr. Sure, some "experts" said that Quinn's arm strength wasn't all that great, and that he seemed to disappear in "big games". However, new coach Cam Cameron could have given the Dolphins a new face for their organization by drafting Quinn after he basically fell into their lap. Here's a team that's been struggling to find a QB to build a team around for seven years. Drafting Quinn, at the very least, sends a message to the fans that you're doing everything you can to find the next Dan Marino. Drafting Ginn says that you should have kept Welker.

February-June: Losing a home game to London. On the surface, promoting the NFL to international audiences seems like a great idea. However, many Dolphins fans weren't happy that they lost a home game this season. Though, some team was going to have to be first, and it just turned out to be the Dolphins and Giants. Yet, instead of making everything as smooth as possible, Miami Dolphins' officials have announced that any season ticket holders that purchase tickets to the game in London must show their I.D. when they go to pick them up at Wembley Stadium. That might not sound like a big deal, but the fans aren't happy with it because the same policy isn't enacted for other games, such as the Super Bowl.

Here are a few quotes from Miami Dolphins season ticket holders, the core audience that Miami sells to:

"It's bad enough they're taking a home game away from us — now you've got to pick them up in person?" Mike Dean said. "Let's say I got ill when it came time to go. What if I want to give my tickets to you? I can't give them to you. I have to go on my deathbed?"

"I can win Super Bowl tickets in a lottery and sell those. They allow that," Kathy Harmon said. "For example, with the Super Bowl, we're in a lottery. A lot of people take it [and re-sell the tickets] so they can finance next year's season tickets. Why would they protect somebody for this and not for the Super Bowl?"

And I'm sure that those opinions do reflect a number of others. It's a shame that a team that had such high expectations leading into last season has led their fans to hoping that they don't screw up too badly anymore.