Defensive Player of the Year?

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Today, the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year was announced. The winner is Steeler's safety Troy Polamalu. He edged out Packers linebacker Clay Matthews by two votes. Also receiving votes were Chicago players Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher, and Baltimore players Ed Reed and Haloti Ngata.

Troy Polamalu is a great player and means a lot to his team, just like the other players that received votes. However, I don't know why another player didn't receive any votes. That player is Tamba Hali.

Tamba Hali had a great statistical season. He had 52 tackles, four forced fumbles, and 14.5 sacks.

These numbers are good, but even as far as linebackers go, they are not the best. DeMarcus Ware had more sacks and tackles than Hali this season. So I'm not going to sit here and try to tell you he was the best; what I am going to tell you is that, in my opinion, no defensive player meant more to their team than Hali.

This has commonly been a trait associated with Polamalu, that the Steelers struggle without him in the lineup. Well, imagine how much the Chiefs defense would have struggled without Hali. Really think about it.

Not well should have been your conclusion.

Remember how bad the Chiefs defense performed after we traded Jared Allen. That's similar to what the Chiefs defense would have looked like without Hali. Without his sacks or hits or quarterback hurries, how many games would we have won? Plus, he did it with injury. And unlike Polamalu, he didn't miss a game.

So, if the Associated Press is entirely basing it on stats, they probably made the right choice. If they want to base it on the intangibles that a player brings to his team, then Hali should have got a vote or two.