Cushing wins AP Defensive Rookie of the Year

[Hasselbeck]

I gotta give credit to all 3 of USC's starting linebackers from last year.. I didnt expect any of them to be nearly as important this early as they have been, they've all turned into vital parts of their teams defense very early in their careers. Brian Cushing not only was deserving of ROTY, he was one of the best LBers in the entire NFL in his first season. Very impressive.

Maybe now more people will understand why USC fell off as bad as they did in 2009.

They lost 3 stud LB's.. a QB that has his team in the playoffs.. and more.

 

[Juggernaut]

Another phenomenal human being makes their way out of New Jersey for success. Go him.

we've had one before?

lol?

 

[Hasselbeck]

Well deserved, he greatly improved their defense and was a big reason the Texans have finally had a above .500 season.

Kris Brown was the reason they weren't 11-5

Fucker.

 

[Senser81]

Kris Brown was the reason they weren't 11-5

Fucker.

The Texans, for reasons unknown, are comfortable with Kris Miss as their kicker. He's been there for several years now, and they've never really tried to replace him. I don't get it. They seem to have a lot of good, young players, but the pieces just aren't fitting in place. I blame Kubiak and Brown.

 

[Palooza]

we've had one before?

lol?

Bruce Willis, dude, come on!

 

[Hasselbeck]

The Texans, for reasons unknown, are comfortable with Kris Miss as their kicker. He's been there for several years now, and they've never really tried to replace him. I don't get it. They seem to have a lot of good, young players, but the pieces just aren't fitting in place. I blame Kubiak and Brown.

I blame Brown more than Kubiak but I agree otherwise.

Kubiak's offense was very very good this year. Granted the run game seemed to take a big step back, but that passing attack was downright lethal.

 

[Tengo Juego]

Best pass rusher on an 11-5 team, and top 5 ranked defense got 3 votes? :smh:

 

[dMerch]

yeah u have to go past stats here, look at the impact matthews had as far as being a force on a top ranked defense. its a little rediculous that anyone should think orakpo should deserve it befor matthews. its not hard to have that many sacks on a really shitty team. everyone blocks haynesworth and carter anyways. matthews did alot for the packers, a good PLAYOFF team.

 

[Tailback U]

Maybe now more people will understand why USC fell off as bad as they did in 2009.

They lost 4 stud LB's.. a QB that has his team in the playoffs.. and more.

Fixed. And not just the LBs, USC lost 7 starters on D to the NFL.

Kaluka Maiava (USC's 4th LB in 08) was drafted in the 4th round by the Browns and started 3 games, registered 45 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.

People still don't understand just how good USC's defense was in 2008 because of the loss to Oregon State. Outside of the first half of that game, USC dominated every offense it faced and was the best defense I've seen since that great Miami defense in 01/02 (I think that was the year).

http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2008/11/01/usc-has-the-countrys-best-defense/

USC Has the Country's Best Defense


TCBD, if you will. Unfortunately for the Trojans what most folks will remember of their season so far was a disastrous first half against Oregon State. But if you've been paying attention to the other 26 quarters it's been masterful defensive football.

Consider: after blanking Washington tonight, USC has now posted three shutouts on the year. That's after holding Ohio State to three points and Virginia to seven which should have been a shutout if not for 30 yards of penalties literally marching the Virginia offense down the field in a way their offense couldn't.

Against Arizona last week, the Wildcats' only touchdown was on a 15-yard drive created by a USC offensive fumble.

Against Arizona State, the USC offense committed five second-half turnovers and still pitched a shutout. This is no ordinary defense.

Even against Oregon State, in the second half USC's defense went nuts forcing five consecutive punts while holding the Beavers to 110 yards on those drives. The game wasn't truly put away until the Beavers returned an interception to set up -- you guessed it -- another short-field touchdown drive of two yards.

The longest opponent touchdown drive this year is 70 yards.

Watching the Trojans' offense has been an exercise in frustration this year (what was with that scoreless first half against Oregon State? The five turnovers in the second half against Arizona State? The ineptness against Arizona?) and there's reason to keep them away from the BCS title game. However, there's no doubting the collective defensive performance by USC.

As each week passes, that Oregon State game looks more and more like a fluke as absolutely nobody from the big -- Ohio State -- to the explosive -- Oregon -- to the small -- Washington State, has figured out how to sustain any kind of offensive success against Pete Carroll's defense. Even the gimmes haven't been gimmes as the Trojan special teams have blocked several field goal attempts. USC has been stingy and deliberate through 0ver 90% of their quarters.

It hasn't been just short of amazing -- it has been truly amazing. The real McCoy. It's up there with the 2002 Ohio State defense, the 1997 Michigan defense and the 2004 USC defense as the best of this era.

The numbers back up the anecdotal.

7.1 points allowed/game and just 7 touchdowns over 100 opponent possessions

84 rush yards allowed/game at 2.5 yards/carry

128 pass yards allowed/game

20 turnovers forced

This is scorched Earth stuff, with little sign of relent in an offensive conference with games against Cal, Stanford, Notre Dame and UCLA remaining.

Did I mention they've got that Rey Maualuga guy?

Funny how the author doesn't even mention the other 6 guys drafted on defense.

Also: http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2008/12/10/pac-10-football-is-uscs-defense-the-best-ever/

Based on the numbers, USC’s defense is the greatest in the era of modern Pac-10 offense.

The Trojans are fifth in the nation in run defense, allowing 83.3 yard per game.

The Trojans are first in the nation in pass defense, allowing 122.8 ypg — the lowest total in the league since ‘96 (when ASU allowed 104.2).

And the Trojans are first in the nation in total defense, allowing 206.1 ypg — the lowest total in the league since ‘67 (when USC allowed 203.1).

And the Trojans are first in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 7.8 points per game — the lowest total in the conference since ‘62 (when USC allowed 5.5 ppg).

So in the two most important categories, scoring and total defense, the Trojans are statistically the best the conference has seen in more than four decades.

And they’re as loaded with NFL Draft picks as any defense I can remember: Fili Moala, Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, Taylor Mays, Kyle Moore, Kevin Ellison … I’d guess that when all is said and done, nine or 10 members of the ‘08 two-deep will get drafted.

 

[Senser81]

Regardless of who USC lost, the PAC10 this year was tremendously awful, and even a weak USC team should have won the conference.

 

[dMerch]

yeah cushing is deffinately deserving, id put matthews as 2 though.

 

[Bmore]

Cushing deserved it. I personally thought Byrd should have gotten it, cuz IMO I'll take INT's over Tackles anyday of the week. However, I can see why he got it. Damn good play maker and will possibly help the Texans stay atop the division for years to come.

 

[hoodyallen]

1. Cushing
2. Bird
3. Orakpo

 

[Tailback U]

I actually thought Matthews was going to develop into the better pro out of all 3 because he is just so much more versatile than the other 2. I still think it's a possibility, but Cushing has definitely gotten better since last season. He has really improved his cover skills and he has gotten much bigger, stronger, and faster in general.

Rey Rey is actually the most raw out of all 3 and will be a great run-stuffer but he's not as versatile as the other 2 so his potential is limited.

Been awesome watching these guys the last 5 years.

 

[Diivox]

i did not expect to see clay matthews make an impact outside of this years madden, which, if you pay attention, likes the packers. nonetheless, he came through for us. and i dont care if he only got a handful of votes. hes totally erased my memories of kampfman. instant replacement. couldnt be happier with him.

 

[BiggaAdams]

1. Cushing
2. Bird
3. Matthews

All 3 pac-10 defensive players. Ducks really missed Bird this year. Who know what could have been if Bird had stayed and Thurmond III didn't get hurt.

 

[citizenerased]

Cushing deserved it. I personally thought Byrd should have gotten it, cuz IMO I'll take INT's over Tackles anyday of the week. However, I can see why he got it. Damn good play maker and will possibly help the Texans stay atop the division for years to come.

How can the Texans stay somewhere they have never been close to reaching?