“We need to push the tempo, get it inside, play hard on defense, and do what coach asks us to do. We have to play good defense first. Defense wins championships and offenser” wins games.”
Earl Calloway
We are entering the 10th week of the season. Today we will be focusing on the Defensive Player of the Year. We will look at the hard numbers and than note some of the intangibles that that player brings to their team.
**NOTE**
The candidates are our writers opinions there maybe more candidates. This category carries a lot of potential candidates we are only focusing on a few.
Omar Khan – Browns
Defense IQ Level 94/100
Omar is an interesting candidate for DPOY but he plays a position that sometimes is the most overlooked and, in our opinion, the most undervalued position, the Giver. What we really like Omar is that he never goes for the football or the block he instead almost always goes directly for the flag. A team can get really excited when the giver is having multiple sacks a game. He’s leading the league in sacks by a HUGE margin at 19 so far in the season. Let’s put that into perspective for a second, the guy right after him? Atif Khan with 6!!! It’s ridiculous. Omar uses those long arms to box out the QB and attack the hips. When it comes down to it and we’ve seen this in the most important games the giver is the anchor of the defense. If the Giver can put pressure on the QB the DB’s job gets a whole lot easier. A lot more important games left let’s see if Omar can lead the defense…
David Leon – Savages
Defense IQ Level 94/100
One of the more underrated players in the league, David has been quietly stacking up his numbers on the defensive side of the ball. What’s intriguing about David’s game is that he need a lot of tackles to be impactful. He has 4 interceptions on the season along with 2 of them being TDs. He seems to always be in the right place at the right time which is why he is carrying a high Football IQ level. The Savages this year are really focusing on the defensive side of the ball this year and David is among many of his teammates who are up for this award this year. Each piece of the Savages’ defense combined has created an absolute nightmare for QBs this year. David is one of the guys it starts with and if he and the Savages continue playing this way on the defensive side of the ball it’s going to cause QBs a lot of trouble.
Richard Giraldo – AK
Defense IQ Level 97/100
What hasn’t been said about Richie this year and for that matter since he entered the league? He’s been a defensive powerhouse since the early days of the Warriors. Now that he’s been playing with AK over the last 2 seasons he’s been able to perfect defensive skills. Richie welcomes the challenge of guarding the “best player” on any team. That’s the type of defender you want. Make no mistake playing man defense on the top players in the league isn’t easy but Richie has managed to rack up multiple interceptions, 2 point conversions and a couple of defensive TD’s throughout the season. His value on defense is starting to outweigh his contributions on offense and we think he likes that. QBs these days won’t even look his direction anymore because the percentages are just not in their favor.
William Cueller – Gators
Defense IQ Level 95/100
William is up for multiple awards this including ROY. He’s been a menace all over the field but in particular on the defensive side of the ball. Adding William to the Gators was one of the better moves in the off season for all teams. Will has racked up 5 interceptions, 19 tackles, converted a 2 point interception and has 2 defensive TDs. The numbers speak for themselves. The Gators really pride themselves on having a solid defense and Will has made huge contributions on that end this season for them and if he plays well in the playoffs look for the Gators to make an impressive run.
Yusuf Kolia – Elites
Defensive IQ Level 94/100
Yusuf isn’t a household name just yet but he has made tremendous waves this season. As a rookie he’s made big splashes for his team. A player like him as given the Elites a much needed boost on the defensive side of the ball. Yusuf can usually be found playing safety and he’s done an excellent job on holding his ground. He really makes you pay as a QB if there’s a mistake made. He’s racked up 4 interceptions one of which led to a defensive TD. He’s was an immediate impact player for the Elites and we hope to see him continue and grow as a top defender in the league.
Lutalo Boyce – Savages
Defensive IQ Level 94/100
Lutalo gets a nod for DPOY this year because of his ability to make a QB pay big on any mistakes. On 3 interceptions he has 2 Def TDs. He also has racked up a decent amount of batted balls which shows his ability to close the gap quick especially in the zone. He’s in the top 3 for his team in tackles which tells us that he really is all over the field and can be in the right spot at the right time and because he has such tremendous speed he can compensate when taking chances. Lutalo has been an immediate impact player for the Savages and because of his and many others on the Savages they are poised to make a deep run into the playoffs.
Philip Macfarlane – AK
Defensive IQ Level – 93/100
Phil is quite possibly the most underrated player in the league. No one ever talks about him yet he has some of the most staggering numbers this season. Our guess is that because he is such a quiet player he just slips through the cracks which is great for mediocre players but for a player like Phil? shoooot…big, biggg mistake. Phil has quietly racked up 5 interceptions on the season one of which led to a DEF TD. There were moments this season where he actually pitched the ball back on an interception where he could’ve scored but gave it to someone else. He’s unselfish to the most extreme definition of the word. He’s been a ball hawk all season and because of the underratedness of him most QBs haven’t learned their lessons when throwing his way. Look for Phil to continue his amazing defensive season into the playoffs..
Honorable Mentions:
(These honorable mentions, in our opinion, are still contenders)
Hashim Naveed – Savages
Navdeep Baines – AK
Joseph Ivanditto – Savages
Robert Jones – Underdogs
Sukhbir Singh – AK
Omar Patel – Underdogs
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
