Could the Seahawks win both OROTY and the DROTY?

For the last, oh six weeks or so, there has been much speculation as to Russell Wilson's place in the running for the award of the best offensive rookie in the NFL. Over these weeks his place and general acknowledgement has, I think, risen with each game, to the point where now many fans would vote for him over Andrew Luck or RG3 for the award. However, not until quite recently has anyone really given another Seahawks rookie a chance to win a post season award. That player, you might have guessed, is Bobby Wagner. Lets go over each of their stats and whether or not they really deserve to win.

Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson is the best quarterback that Seattle has ever had. There, I said it. Jim Mohr said it weeks ago and at the time I, and everyone else, said that he had jumped the gun. No longer. I expected Wilson to look like a rookie at times this year, and other than the game against SF he has looked nothing short of spectacular, no pun intended. Lets analyze why I could and would vote for Russell as the OROTY. 

Yes, I used Microsoft Excel. Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful. 

Statistically, you'd have to go with RG3 if that was the only basis for the vote. He has a strong completion percentage, great YPA, an unusually, neigh an unheard of low number of interceptions, a QB rating that is second only to Aaron Rodgers, the dynamic ability to break a long run on any play, and the rushing stats to prove that. Not to mention that he has played one less game than the other two due to his knee injury. Robert Griffin the 3rd unquestionably wins the stat battle. (Stattle?)

Lets see it from the angle of who has the bigger impact on their team. Robert Griffin took the Redskins from 5 wins last year to 8 wins already this year. Russell Wilson has already given the Seahawks 2 more wins than they had the previous two years, with two more games to go. However, Andrew Luck has taken the lowly Colts from a 2-14 season to (so far) a 9-5 season in which he has at times looked dominant. The Colts have less talent than either the Redskins or the Seahawks, and have dealt with the loss of their Coach Chuck Pagano for much of the season. Point, Andrew Luck. 

For my third and final point of contention, the circumstances under which rookie entered the league. Some may argue that the expectations for a rookie shouldn't count for the voting of who was the better player, but I say, "Poppycock!" It is not only important but vital to consider the preseason expectations of said rookies. For example, before the season, hell... before LAST season, everyone knew that Luck was going to be "the Future". He was hailed as the next John Elway, or even the next Peyton Manning, who he replaced. The Redskins traded away two future 1st round draft picks in order to pick RG3 with the #2 overall pick, an unheard of amount of future talent for one player.

Russell Wilson lasted until the middle of the 3rd round, considered by many/most to be too short to be an effective NFL QB. And look at him now. Some saw the potential (see: Gruden, Jon) but the vast majority of pundits saw the Seahawks' 3rd round pick as a reach, especially since they had signed the magnificent Matt Flynn. I would say the facts that: Wilson not only was a 3rd round pick, was expected to be the backup to the backup, was too short, won the starting job over a significantly higher paid player, and has shined so brightly this season overshadows the stats or the wins or anything else that Luck or RG3 bring to the table. Consider that for the first half of the season the coaching staff had the reins on Russell. He wasn't given full flexibility in the playbook. Now we see flea flickers, long bombs, designed runs, and the read option (OH! The read option). The second half of the season, neither Luck or RG3 has compared to Russell.

Bobby Wagner

Looks so much better than Excel.... ugh. 

Just looking at the stats, you might say, Kuechly is obviously the DROTY. He has the most tackles, most assists, and is on a fairly poor defense. If we're being honest here, neither Hayward or Jenkins have a chance. Hayward is tied for third in the NFL in interceptions (with Seattle's own Richard Sherman) but lags behind the top tier in tackles and other key stats. 

So, Kuechly or Wagner. 9th overall pick or the 47th. Luke has the tackles, Bobby the sacks, interceptions, and hairline (semi-kidding about the last point). Both players have a big impact on their team, and both could very well, and deservedly, win the award. Call me a homer, and at times I know I am, but I would say that Bobby deserves it at this point. 

The fact that he plays on a better defense speaks even more to how he has played and impacted this team. The MLB spot is also known as the quarterback of the defense, and for a rookie to come in and orchestrate this defense as he has is stunning. Kuechly has also done a very very good job in Carolina of keeping the defense set up, but IMHO is not as impressive considering that Wagner is doing so with a defense already known as being top tier. 

I would say that were Wagner on the Panther defense, he'd have as many or more tackles than Kuechly has had. Wagner is having to compete with the rest of his ballhawking defense for tackles, and has earned them by being in the right places. Kuechly is having to do more himself than Bobby does, due to the disparity in defensive talent. The Panthers allow more completions and runs past the line of scrimmage than the Seahawks, so he has had more opportunity to make plays. 

To add to this, Wagner had another INT negated by an Earl Thomas "penalty", and had to fight for his starting position, rather than having it handed to him. I would say that a very strong case could be made for Bobby Wagner winning DROTY. 

Could the Seahawks sweep the rookie awards? Sure could. In fact if one of them doesn't win I'd be surprised. And the fact that we're even having the conversation is not only surprising, but exciting, and I can't wait for the playoffs this year and for many years to come.