Hajek’s Handouts: Week 7

Here is the second week of Hajek’s Handouts for the 2011 season. Awards that will be given, will be in categories such as best air performance and best ground performance. The winners of these awards are not just based on stats, but also based on the magnitude of the game and how their performance helped their team win.

• Through the Air– This was a fairly easy award to hand out. Even though it was not in a high magnitude game, the performance was too impressive to not acknowledge. The award for Through the Air goes to Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints. He went 31 of 35 with 325 yards and 5 touchdowns! He tore the Colts defense to pieces right from the first time he had the ball, finishing the drive off with a touchdown as well as almost every other drive he put together. Those numbers are unreal, and he did not even play the whole game. There is not much more to say about the performance except WOW.

• On the Ground- This was extremely difficult to decide on who would receive this award. Who am I trying to fool, this was a no brainer. Obviously this award goes to DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys. He rushed for an unbelievable 253 yards and 1 touchdown! He really stepped up in place for the injured Felix Jones. Rushing for those kind of numbers is fantastic for a veteran running back, but for a rookie that is filling in, they are just unreal. You knew it was going to be a big day after he took his first carry of the game for a touchdown finishing off a 91 yard run. He proceeded to add another 160 yards on 24 more carries. Murray finished the game with a 10.1 yards per carry average. Congratulations to the Rookie DeMarco Murray for his phenomenal performance; we will be expecting much more from him.

• Best Hands- So many receivers played well this week it was a difficult decision to come up with a winner for this award. With that being said, I chose to give the Best Hands award to Steve Smith from the Carolina Panthers. Even though he was held without a touchdown this week, he still had 7 receptions for 143 yards. Smith is always making big catches for his rookie quarterback, Cam Newton, and is his security blanket. He makes a few catches each week that any other receiver would not be able to make, whether it is because of his speed, hands, or jumping ability. Smith has been performing all year, and deserves the award of Best Hands more than anyone.

• Shutdown Defense- Again an easy choice for an award. The Kansas City Chiefs easily took the award for Shutdown Defense. They shutout the Oakland Raiders 28-0! Do not let the score fool you either, half the points were scored by the defense. The Chiefs finished the game with 6 interceptions with two of them being returned for touchdowns! This came in an important game against a division rival, and kept their winning streak going, as well as their hunt back to the top of the their division.

• Clutch Performance- As much as it hurts me to say, Arian Foster of the Houston Texans receives the award for Clutch Performance. He really stepped up in a huge divisional game against the Tennessee Titans with Andre Johnson still injured and unable to play. Foster made up for Johnson and played his role as running back as well. He finished with 115 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing, and also added 5 receptions for 119 yards and 1 touchdown receiving. If the Texans lose that game then they are a game behind the Titans in the AFC South and looking up, but because of Foster’s performance they are in first place in their division looking down at everyone else.