My DPOY ballot this year:
1. Stephon Gilmore
2. Tre’Davious White
No one was even close to those two. I am happy for Gilmore, but it took much attention and focus on him being DPOY, and it’s disappointing this will likely be another fluke season where a CB wins the award followed by ten pass rushers. I mean, everyone knows that Revis and Sherman were the two most valuable defenders in the first half of the decade but neither won it.
Still don’t understand how Chandler Jones has 14 votes here and T. White isn’t even listed as getting a vote. Buffalo defense was elite because of White. Cardinals defense was way below average and these sacks are virtually meaningless.
Most of the the voters don’t seem to grasp the basic tenets of the DPOY award. You wouldn’t give the MVP vote to a guy leading the 24th best offense, and you shouldn’t give a DPOY vote for a defensive guy leading the 24th best defense, but that is pretty common. I think this is why Sherman and Revis were really campaigning for Gilmore. Defensive backs are so underrated because the stats usually aren’t sexy, but having a shutdown corner shows up in points/yards allowed and other team stats.