With the season a bit more than half way done and seeding falling into place we thought it would be cool to look around the league and hand out some mid-season awards. While these are obviously more for fun we do think it is an ode to these players who have contributed to the success of their teams. The one thing we’d like to point out is we made a conscious effort this year to look beyond the stats and look at the qualitative impact the player makes on their team.
MVP – Hashim
The Savages have started off the season undefeated and most betting men would have placed their money on AK or the Browns for that distinction. But the Savages have beaten both those teams for that record. Hashim has played a large part in that result. While the stats say that this has been a total team effort (which it has) we recognize the poise, leadership and all around skill set Hashim brings to the squad. He is Anwar’s go to receiver and is the first player opposing teams hone in on when the game plan against the Savages. From tough defense to dynamic offensive play making Hashim has seen the Savages through their ups and downs and has helped push this team to the next level and has played a crucial role in their impressive success.
Honorable Mention: Shu, Richie (Gators), Nafi
Offensive Player of the Year – Shu
Shu and his consistently high powered offense have cloaked what seems to be a middle of the pack defense for the Browns. It seems like he finds random players off the streets or at a food truck, gets them to buy cleats and proceeds to throw them touchdowns game after game. The first ranked Browns offense is a high powered engine and with 35 touchdowns already under his belt it is easy to see why Shu is the runaway midseason OPOY. Our only knock is he has no rushing touchdowns, c’mon Shu!
Honorable Mention: Amneet, Anwar, Squirrels
Defensive Player of the Year – Richie (AK)
Tied for the league lead in defensive touchdowns and 2nd in the league in interceptions Richie has become a staple in our awards pieces. Whether it be offensive play making or in this season’s case defensive play making, Richie seems to know where the ball is at all times. What is even more telling is that he has been able to accumulate these stats with two games missing so far. While we did say that we would try and look beyond the numbers, these numbers are too big to look past. Any team that runs into AK when Richie is not there is counting their lucky stars and we anticipate a fully recharged Richie “The Road Runner” when he returns from his hiatus.
Honorable Mention: William and Navdeep
Ironman of the Year – Amneet
He plays quarterback, he plays wide receiver, he locks down your best receiver. There isn’t a stat for this but we are sure the percentage of passes completed against Amneet is somewhere below 30%. He then turns around and leads the AK offense at quarterback under Sims’ absence. From the moment he joined the league Amneet has wreaked havoc for opposing teams and this year introduced us to the quality QB that Amneet can be. While we can say he is on the level of Sims just yet he has proved he can lead his team to victory in multiple ways and if it wasn’t clear to you whether he is a top player in this league it is now.
Honorable Mention: William
Rookie of the Year – Too Close to Call
Has anyone looked at the leader boards this season? Littered with rookies, littered! William of the Gators has been all over the field. Emanuel of the Underdogs is one of the league leaders in receptions and has proven to be a valuable piece for Waqas. The Squirll, while small has already caught 5 touchdowns this season and has proven size is only as big as you make it. Lutalo has added yet another dynamic feature to the already explosive Savages roster and Jesse of the Thunder seems to play a foot above everyone else having accounted for 7 touchdowns already. Or how about Fabio who has quickly put together a strong Cobra Kai team seemingly out of nowhere! This goes to show the talent that this league has brought in and how quickly this talent can impact the game. We anticipate that eventually someone will pull away but for now it’s too tough for us to get a definitive answer.
Manager of the Year – Tie: Fabio/ Anas and Fuad
The easy answer here would be Fabio, simply because of the drastic improvements that Cobra Kai has made game to game. That easy answer is right! We have seen teams struggle for multiple seasons trying to put things together but it seems like Fabio has done it in a few games. While Cobra Kai look great and you could argue by year end this award is his, Cobra Kai’s impressive run has yet to show a win. We think Fabio has worked wonders and anyone who puts together a competitive team in this league after a few games deserves this nod.
Looking at Anas and Fuad, is the improvement the Elites made this season in any question? While they have recently run into some roadblocks this is a team that took strides this season from the acquisition of Aldo to the genius move of putting the Squirrel on the team. What impresses us the most is the team’s ability to overcome the adversity they did last year and string together the wins they have. That mental toughness starts with leadership and we think that Anas and Fuad deserve all the credit in the world for it.
Honorable Mention: Anwar
