When the season started, it looked like Cam Newton was going to run away with the offensive rookie of the year award. After the announcement that DeMarco Murray won the Rookie of the Month award for November, and doesn't look to be slowing down, Newton might have company.
Looking at the current 2011 rookie crop, there are quite a few players that come to mind when discussing the best of the season so far. Cincinnati's A.J. Green, Atlanta's Julio Jones, New Orleans' Mark Ingram and Baltimore's Torrey Smith have all done something to encourage voters, but outside of Green, no one on that list can touch Newton and Murray right now.
Because he has started the entire season, Newton still has the advantage. In 11 starts, Newton has 3,093 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He has also ran for 464 yards with ten touchdowns on the ground. As the leader of the Panthers' offense, he has led them to a 3-8 record in his rookie year.
After serving as a third string running back for much of the season, Murray started in Week 7 of the season when Felix Jones went down to injury. Murray now has 832 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the year while also catching 25 receptions for 177 yards. Since Murray stepped into the starter's role, Dallas is 5-1.
A.J. Green made his name known right off the bat. In Week two, he caught ten passes for 124 yards and has been the Bengals' leading receiver since. He is having an even more impressive year since his quarterback is also a rookie. Green has 44 receptions for 745 yards and six touchdowns. The young Bengals franchise has a 7-4 record.
The question remains: what terms are used to determine Rookie of the Year? If you want to go for showmanship and scoring, there is no other choice than Newton and his 22 touchdowns. However, if you want to award it to someone who made their team better thanks to their play, it comes down to Green and Murray. Murray has more yards, with over 1,000 all-purpose yards on the year, but Green has it in touchdowns, with a 6-2 margin.
Honestly, unless he collapses over the last five weeks, this is Newton's award to lose. But, if he does fall, Murray is playing well enough right now to make his case for the year end award.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has followed the Dallas Cowboys since he was a child, his favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s. Through the great years of the '90s and the hard times of the '80s, Shawn never turned his back on America's Team.
Source: Dallas Cowboys
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