Todd Archer looks back on the season by handing out some end of the year awards.
Best player, offense: (tie) Tony Romo, Marion Barber
I agree with the choice of Tony Romo even though he stumbled down the stretch, I picked him as offensive MVP on the DC Fanatic Radio show last week. His play mid-season allowed us to get in the playoffs and even though he made mistakes at the end, he still made plays and showed promise for the future. Marion Barber had a great season, but was a part-time player, so I'm not sure he qualifies as an MVP, but those 16 TD's are nothing to scoff at.
Best player, defense: DeMarcus Ware
Again, this was my pick last week. Runner-ups are Terence Newman and Jason Ferguson.
Best assistant coach: Tony Sparano, running game coordinator, offensive line, assistant head coach
Sure, why not. Who really knows with all the obfuscation of who is doing what at Valley Ranch by the Tuna and his cones of silence on the assistants?
Best unrestricted free-agent pickup: Akin Ayodele
Hmm, I like the work Ayodele did, especially down the stretch when he clearly got comfortable in the 3-4 defense. But, shouldn't this rightly go to Terrell Owens? Archer weasels out of that decision by claiming Owens was technically a street free agent, not an unrestricted free agent, since he had been released by the Eagles.
Best rookie: Bobby Carpenter
Another tough call. Bobby Carpenter didn't contribute anything until the last few games of the season. Maybe Jason Hatcher's consistent efforts all year or Anthony Fasano playing in every game and being an integral part of the offense should be considered.
What do you guys think about each award?
Looking forward, here are our opponents this upcoming season.
Home: N.Y. Giants, Philadelphia, Washington, Green Bay, Minnesota, St. Louis, New England, N.Y. Jets
Away: N.Y. Giants, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Carolina, Buffalo, Miami
So we play our division twice, the NFC North, the AFC East, plus Carolina and St. Louis.
The new DC Fanatic Radio Show is up, it will be the last one for a couple of weeks, but we'll continue them after a short break all the way through the offseason.