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NFL

Prescott named top rookie, thanks other 31 teams

HOUSTON, Texas — Dak Prescott started as an afterthought and ended up as the Associated Press’ Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Prescott became the first Cowboy to win the honor since Emmitt Smith in 1990, edging teammate Ezekiel Elliott, who finished second.

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His first order of business during Saturday night’s NFL Honors event was asking if he could share the award with Elliott, saying: “Do we have a knife so I can cut this in half?”

Prescott acknowledged the team’s offensive line for allowing “both of these rookies to do what we did this whole season.”

Prescott, accompanied by Elliott onstage, also thanked “the other 31 teams for passing up on me as much they did.”

A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league voted on the awards. Prescott edged Elliott in rookie votes, 28½ to 21½.

The Cowboys settled on Prescott in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft, No. 135 overall, after they were unable to trade back into the first round to take Paxton Lynch or get Connor Cook earlier in the fourth round.

At the start of training camp, Prescott was the Cowboys’ third quarterback behind Tony Romo and Kellen Moore.

Moore suffered a broken ankle on Aug. 2, and Romo suffered a compression fracture in his back on Aug. 25, giving Prescott the chance to start.

All he did was have one of the best seasons ever by a rookie quarterback. In addition to the 13 wins, which tied Ben Roethlisberger for the most in NFL history by a rookie quarterback, Prescott set team rookie records in yards (3,667), touchdowns (23), attempts (459), completions (311), passer rating (104.9) and completion percentage (67.8).

He helped direct the Cowboys to a franchise-record 11 consecutive wins, beating three Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks — Aaron Rodgers, Roethlisberger and Joe Flacco — in the process.

As he returned to 100 percent health, Romo, the franchise leader in passing yards and touchdowns, conceded Prescott earned the right to continue as the Cowboys’ starter. Prescott set a team record for a quarterback with six rushing touchdowns and opened his career with 176 consecutive passes without an interception, most in NFL history.

Elliott, selected a first-team All-Pro at running back, had an equally as compelling case for the award. He set team rookie records in rushing yards (1,631) and touchdowns (16) in helping the Cowboys to the best record in the NFC in 2016. Expectations for Elliott were astronomical once the Cowboys took him with the fourth overall pick, considering their offensive line boasted three All-Pros in Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin.

Elliott managed to exceed expectations, breaking Tony Dorsett’s team rookie mark of 1,007 rushing yards in the Cowboys’ 10th game. He had four consecutive games with at least 130 yards rushing and five for the season, tying Eric Dickerson and Mike Anderson for the most by a rookie in NFL history.

Dak Prescott, right, edged out Cowboys teammate Ezekiel Elliott for the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award. John Salangsang/Invision for NFL/AP Images

Elliott threatened Dickerson’s rookie record of 1,808 yards but was held out of the meaningless season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles by the coaches. His 1,631 yards are third most in history by a rookie, trailing Dickerson and George Rogers, who had 1,674 for the New Orleans Saints in 1981.

Mack wins Defensive Player of Year

Oakland Raiders All-Pro edge rusher Khalil Mack won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, edging last season’s Super Bowl MVP, Von Miller, by one vote (18-17).

Mack was, by far, the standout player on a Raiders defense that ranked only 26th overall. He had 11 sacks, took part in 73 tackles, forced five fumbles and recovered three, and even had an interception for a touchdown.

He’s the second Oakland defender to win the award; cornerback Lester Hayes got it in 1980. Miller also had a big year with 13½ sacks, 78 tackles and three forced fumbles for the fourth-rated Broncos.

Garrett selected Coach of Year

The Cowboys’ Jason Garrett was named AP NFL Coach of the Year.

Garrett led Dallas to an NFC-best 13-3 record in a turnaround season before the Cowboys lost to Green Bay in the playoffs.

In his seventh season at the Cowboys’ helm, Garrett used two rookies, Prescott and Elliott, operating behind a terrific offensive line, to lift Dallas to its best record in nine years.

“This is an extension of our football team and I really accept it on their behalf,” said Garrett, who took over as Dallas coach in 2010. “I coach with some really great guys and I’m really fortunate to coach with so many great players that go about it the right way, and it’s really just an extension of that. It’s a team award.”

The Cowboys also had the third-stingiest scoring defense in the NFC.

Garrett received 25 votes from a nationwide panel. He easily outdistanced New England’s Bill Belichick (14 votes). Miami’s Adam Gase got six, Oakland’s Jack Del Rio four, and Kansas City’s Andy Reid one.

Garrett is the first Dallas coach to win the award since Jimmy Johnson in 1990. Tom Landry won it in 1966.

Bosa takes Defensive Rookie of Year

Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa won the 2016 Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award in a landslide.

Sitting out the first four games after a protracted preseason holdout didn’t damage the third overall draft pick much. He still managed 12½ sacks as the key threat on a San Diego defense that ranked only 16th overall.

“I don’t really set goals like this for myself very often, awards,” Bosa said. “But I definitely wanted this one. I’m really happy I got it done.”

That performance earned Bosa 37 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league.

He easily outdistanced Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who received 10. The other three votes went to Falcons linebacker Deion Jones.

Bosa, whose father played three seasons with Miami (1987-89), is the second Charger to win the honor. Linebacker Shawne Merriman earned it in 2005.

Nelson named Comeback Player of Year

Green Bay Packers receiver Jordy Nelson was an overwhelming choice as the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Nelson severely tore ligaments in his right knee in the 2015 preseason and missed the entire season. He returned to full-time action last summer, caught six passes and scored a touchdown in the opener and never looked back.

Nelson finished the season with 97 receptions for 1,257 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns in helping Green Bay win the NFC North. That performance earned him 36 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL.

Miami defensive end Cameron Wake received 11 votes.

Nelson is the first Packer to win the award and only the second wide receiver. Carolina’s Steve Smith was a co-winner in 2005.

Shanahan wins Assistant Coach of Year

Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan won the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year award.

Apparently headed to the head-coaching job of the 49ers after helping Atlanta on Sunday against New England in the Super Bowl, Shanahan earned 13½ votes from the nationwide panel.

He beat Dallas defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli by three as 10 assistants drew votes.

Shanahan, whose father, Mike, won two Super Bowls as Denver’s head coach, oversaw the NFL’s most prolific offense, which scored 540 points.

Shanahan is the third winner of the award, following Todd Bowles, then Arizona’s defensive coordinator, in 2014, and Wade Phillips, then Denver’s defensive coordinator, last season.

Manning, Fitzgerald share award for Man of Year

Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Giants quarterback Eli Manning shared the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

“Quite simply this is the most meaningful honor an NFL player can receive, and I am flattered beyond words that the selection committee deemed me worthy of it,” Fitzgerald said.

“More than anything it is a reflection on my parents whose words and example taught my brother and me the value of service and the importance of giving back.”

Manning called it “an honor to be mentioned in the same breath with Walter Payton.”

“None of us do what we do on behalf of charity or in our communities to get recognized,” he said. “We do it because we truly care. You want to make a difference in people’s lives and in our communities. But to be recognized and know that people do notice your work is nice.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NFL

Tomlinson, Warner among 7-person Hall class

HOUSTON — Former Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, a four-time first-team All-Pro selection who rushed for 13,684 yards, was one of five modern-era players voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Joining Tomlinson were two-time MVP quarterback Kurt Warner, longtime Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, Broncos all-time leading rusher Terrell Davis and five-time All-Pro kicker Morten Andersen.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made the Hall as a contributor, and Kenny Easley, the hard-hitting, versatile safety for the Seahawks during the 1980s, made it as a seniors committee candidate.

The Class of 2017 will be enshrined Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio.

The five modern-era selections were chosen from a list of 15 finalists. A panel of 46 media members and two current Hall of Famers, James Lofton and Dan Fouts, trimmed that list to 10 and then five Saturday. At that point, the remaining five were then voted in on a yes-or-no basis.

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Among those not to make the final cut were receivers Isaac Bruce and Terrell Owens, who later took to Twitter to vent about the process; tackles Joe Jacoby and Tony Boselli; center Kevin Mawae; guard Alan Faneca; cornerback Ty Law; and safety John Lynch, the new general manager of the 49ers.

Former commissioner Paul Tagliabue, a polarizing candidate due in part to controversial comments he made about concussions in 1994, also had been nominated as a contributor but did not receive enough votes for enshrinement.

In nine years with the Chargers, then two with the Jets, Tomlinson reset the template for what had been known as a scatback. At 5-foot-10, he proved someone of his size and speed could be a game-changer and not merely a change-of-pace back. As dangerous catching the ball (4,772 career yards) as he was running it (13,684), in 2003 LT became the first player to rush for 1,000 yards and catch 100 passes.

He was hard to keep out of the end zone, too. His 31 touchdowns in 2006 are still the record. He finished his career with 145 touchdowns, not counting the seven he threw on halfback options.

Tomlinson’s victory shed a glimmer of light on a dark year for San Diego fans. The city lost its team to Los Angeles but gained a Hall of Famer.

“Those fans there inspired me to run harder, to dig deeper in times when I was tired in the fourth quarter and didn’t think I had anything left,” Tomlinson said.

Warner’s heyday was 1999-2001 with the Rams, whose offense was known as “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Warner quit his job bagging groceries, first for a stint in the Arena League, then landed in the NFL after getting a tryout with St. Louis.

An injury to Trent Green thrust Warner into the lineup for 1999. Coach Dick Vermeil cried when he lost his supposed star quarterback. But he ended up with another. Warner went on to win two overall MVPs and one at the Super Bowl to close the 1999 season, when the Rams captured their only Lombardi Trophy. The 1999 and 2000 teams are still among the top 10 in most points scored in league history.

“You’ve got to remember, he was crying at the time, because he didn’t believe it either,” Warner said. “We all had dreams. We all believed big things. We all expected greatness from ourselves. But I never would have expected ’99.”

Davis was a sixth-round pick out of Georgia in 1995 who caught Broncos coach Mike Shanahan’s eye with a big hit on special teams in a preseason game. Davis became the starting tailback, and from 1996 to ’98 he complemented John Elway, helping the Broncos to 45 victories and finally pushing Elway over the top with two Super Bowl titles. In 1998, Davis became the fourth runner to surpass 2,000 yards, finishing with 2008.

Davis suffered a career-changing knee injury in 1999 while making a tackle after an interception and played only 17 more games before retiring in 2001. His 78 career games spanned seven seasons, meaning Davis lasted the same number of years as Hall of Fame runner Gale Sayers, who is often held up as Exhibit A when voters debate short bursts of greatness versus longevity.

“I really thought that there’s no way they’re going to put two backs in the same class, especially a guy that was a first-ballot Hall of Famer versus a special circumstance guy like me,” Davis said. “I thought that’s what they saw me as. When I got the knock, obviously I was shocked.”

On the other end of the spectrum was Andersen, the kicker who lasted 25 seasons, played in 382 games and scored 2,544 points for five teams. He is the all-time leading scorer for both the Saints and the Falcons and was among the first to make the 50-plus-yard field goal routine. His 40 kicks of 50-plus yards were the most in NFL history at his retirement.

Andersen is the second player to make the Hall of Fame strictly as a placekicker, joining Jan Stenerud.

Taylor was Defensive Player of the Year in 2006 with 13½ sacks and finished his 15-year career, most of them with the Dolphins, with 139½ sacks, eight interceptions and 29 fumble recoveries.

“To say that I’m elated is an understatement,” he said. “This whole experience has been humbling, but today, to get that knock on the door and be welcomed into the most sacred and prestigious fraternity in our game? I’m almost at a loss for words. And to share this moment with my sons has made me as proud and as honored as I’ve ever been.”

Easley was a five-time Pro Bowl selection whose career lasted only seven seasons because of kidney issues. He was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1984.

Jones’ $1.2 billion stadium, dubbed “Jerry World,” set the standard for stadiums to follow it in New Jersey, the Bay Area, Minneapolis, Atlanta and, eventually, Los Angeles. He brokered TV and marketing deals that have helped turn the league into a $13 billion-a-year business, all the while keeping a steady — and, some might agree, entertaining — presence in front of the TV cameras.

“I never thought this was possible, because first of all, right off the bat, I was just trying to breathe and survive, seriously,” Jones said. “Of course, the NFL, we had very contentious times early and, of course, competing [with other teams], but the respect I had for the people that had gone before me in the NFL kept me from thinking I could walk with them.”

Jones’ Cowboys have won three Super Bowls in his tenure, and he has been a driving voice in the league’s marketing efforts and growth since he purchased the team in 1989.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

NFL

NFL's all-time leading scorer, Morten Andersen, didn't learn football until age 17

The leading scorer in NFL history didn’t know the first thing about American football until he was 17 years old.

Even more ironic than that? Morten Andersen’s claim to fame before he became the most prolific kicker in the history of the sport was team handball.

Andersen was on a path to becoming an Olympic handball player in his native Denmark before he came to America in 1977 for what was supposed to be a 10-month cultural exchange program. But it wasn’t long before Andersen’s host father and the teacher in charge of the foreign-exchange program suggested he try kicking a football, since he had also been a standout soccer player in Denmark. So some of the other kids on the Ben Davis High School football team in Indianapolis took him out to the practice field.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

“One of the players come running to me and said, ‘Coach, you gotta see this kid,'” recalled Bob Wilbur, the former Ben Davis coach whose son was serving as both the quarterback and kicker at the time. “And when we walked out, I think Morten was on the 45- or the 50-yard line, and he put it through about sky high.

“And so my son never kicked again.”

They went to the state semifinals that year before Andersen earned a scholarship to Michigan State and went on to kick for 25 years in the NFL.

Wilbur laughed at the memory of how far Andersen has come. He recalled Andersen running over to the sideline toward him during his first game as instructed after every kickoff, since the other team always sent a blocker after the kicker.

Kicker
6-foot-2, 218 pounds
Michigan State
1982-94 New Orleans Saints, 1995-2000/2006-07 Atlanta Falcons, 2001 New York Giants, 2002-03 Kansas City Chiefs, 2004 Minnesota Vikings

• Played 382 games over 25 seasons
• Scored more than 90 points in 22 seasons; topped 100-point total 14 times in career
• Seven-time Pro Bowler; five-time All-Pro selection
• Falcons and Saints all-time leading scorer
• Dec. 10, 1995, became first kicker to convert three field goals of 50 yards or longer in single game
• Set NFL records for career points (2,544), field goals (565), games (382)
• Named to two NFL All-Decade Teams (1980s and 1990s)

“A couple days after I arrived, I’m standing there in all this garb and all this gear, trying to kick a football, and that’s how it all started,” Andersen said with a laugh of his own. “I think everybody, including myself, was a little surprised at how well it went.”

It didn’t take long, however, for Andersen to develop a taste for the sport.

“The plan initially was to stay here 10 months, then go back home, finish college, continue with sports and live in Denmark. But fate had a whole different idea for me, and I embraced it,” Andersen said. “I was open to this new experience and enjoying getting better at kicking and also the popularity that came with it, I think. It was a cool new sort of thing.

“We showed up in the state semifinals, and there was 10,000 people in the stands. That was unheard of for me. I had never played in front of 10,000 people in my life, coming from a little village in western Denmark. We might have 20 people watching a soccer game or maybe a hundred people watching a team handball game on the select team.”

Andersen said it would mean a lot to that little village in western Denmark if he ever makes it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and that dream was realized on Saturday night when the “Great Dane” finally made the cut for Canton in his fifth year of eligibility. Andersen garnered 80 percent approval from the 48-person Selection Committee.

It will also mean a lot to Bob and Shirley Wilbur, who are now retired and splitting their time between Indianapolis and Florida. And to Andersen’s host parents, Dale and Jean Baker, both of whom have passed away — but both of whom got to see the biggest kick of his life, when his 38-yard overtime field goal sent the Atlanta Falcons to their only other Super Bowl appearance 18 years ago.

Andersen’s Hall case is hard to dispute. He is the leading scorer in NFL history (2,544 points), the leading scorer in New Orleans Saints history and the leading scorer in Falcons history. He scored more than twice as many points as the NFL’s all-time touchdown leader, Jerry Rice. And his 360-game scoring streak is the longest in NFL history by nearly 100 games.

Andersen was so good for so long that he was a member of both the 1980s and 1990s all-decade teams, while being selected to seven Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams during a remarkable 25-year career spent with the Saints, Falcons, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings.

Andersen has not shied away from the fact that he would love to finally kick down the door to the Hall of Fame — largely for kickers and specialists everywhere. Only one other true kicker, Jan Stenerud, is in the Hall, along with only one punter, Ray Guy.

But Andersen said it would hardly be a singular achievement.

“I’m really mindful that it’s never really a journey that you take by yourself. There’s so many people along the way that help you,” Andersen said. “If I was to go into the Hall, those are some of the remarks and comments I think I would share with people, because it’s been a long journey, but it’s been an interesting one.

“And it’s one I certainly didn’t walk alone.”

NFL

Hall of Famer Kenny Easley: For the most part, football loved me back
8:13 PM ET

  • Sheil KapadiaESPN Writer

    Close

    • Covered the Philadelphia Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine and Philly.com from 2008 to 2015.
    • Covered the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL for BaltimoreSun.com from 2006 to 2008.

Kenny Easley now refers to it as a divorce.

From the time his career ended because of a kidney ailment in 1987 to when the Seattle Seahawks inducted Easley into their Ring of Honor in 2002, he wanted nothing to do with the NFL.

“I had every right to be angry,” Easley said. “And I decided at that point that if I never talked to the Seahawks or to anybody in the Seahawks organization, it’d be fine with me. And it was 15 years. I didn’t watch a football game or Seahawks game or basically any kind of football.”

Kenny Easley was a five-time Pro Bowler and named All-Pro four times. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

The question of “What if?” comes up often in football circles when discussing Easley. From 1981 to 1987, he totaled 32 interceptions and was one of the finest defensive players in the league, making the Pro Bowl five times and earning first-team All-Pro honors on three occasions. Easley was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday, attaining 80 percent approval from the 48-person selection committee.

But in 1987, after he was traded to the Phoenix Cardinals, Easley failed his physical.

“When the general manager, the head trainer and the doctor walked in my room, immediately I could sense that something’s wrong,” Easley said. “And they tell me, the doctor basically says, ‘There’s no other way I can tell you this, but you failed the physical.’ And it was like somebody had punched me in the gut and knocked the wind out of my sails. I tried to compose myself and say, ‘What do you mean?’ They told me I had a kidney ailment. And in fact, I needed to be in an Arizona hospital right now.”

Easley’s wife was pregnant in Seattle, so he decided to fly back home before seeking medical attention. But he would never play another snap in the NFL.

Easley was angry at the Seahawks organization for a long time. He said the large amounts of Advil he took for pain relief contributed to the kidney ailment and argued the team knew about his condition before the 1987 season but didn’t tell him.

No relationship existed between the Seahawks and one of their most legendary players until 2002, when the organization, under owner Paul Allen, reached out to Easley about being inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor.

It was then that a friend informed Easley he was the only defensive starter on the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team to not yet be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott has called Easley the best safety to ever play. And coaching guru Bill Walsh said Easley was a Hall of Fame player. But according to Easley, coaches didn’t even play him at his best position during his seven-year NFL career.

“I don’t have any doubt in my mind, not one iota of doubt, that I would have been a better free safety in the NFL than a strong safety,” Easley said.

He had been a three-time consensus All-American playing free safety at UCLA before the Seahawks drafted Easley with the No. 4 overall pick.

But when he got to training camp as a rookie, Easley discovered the coaches wanted him at strong safety.

“Now I can understand why they did it,” Easley said. “They were probably looking at me being 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, basically a defensive back linebacker. They were looking at me as being another run-stopper that could defend the pass. And so it was just simply based on my size. But the problem was that playing free safety all of my life and then to be put at strong safety, it’s a whole different game.”

That’s the greatness of Easley. Given his combination of physicality, athleticism and playmaking ability, he probably could have been a Hall of Fame-caliber player at either position.

The football world got robbed of seeing Easley’s career last longer, but fans and peers alike witnessed greatness when they saw him play.

“I loved football and loved everything about football — practice, training, meetings, film study, I loved it all,” Easley said. “And for the most part, football loved me back.”

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