With the NFL set to announce the winners for each individual award at tomorrow's NFL Honors Show, one area where people can't find a clear winner is in the Defensive Player of the Year category.
While there are a lot of solid candidates, one man who can't go ignored is Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.
It was a strong season for defensive players, and there wasn't much that separated the studs from one another. Veteran players like the Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware had excellent seasons as always.
The New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul had an incredible year, coming out of nowhere to record 16.5 sacks.
Allen was just a force once again, and even though his Vikings had a terrible year, one cannot disregard him because of that.
This season, he recorded 22 sacks through 16 games. That's double what he had last year and 6.5 more than he has had in any season of his eight year career.
He also had 66 tackles, his second-best mark of his career after having 77 back in 2006. Allen has proven each season that he's a force to be reckoned with, and he did so once again despite his team's struggles. He even had one interception this season, doing many different things for this defense.
The problem is that the Vikings were not that good this season, and their defense wasn't any better, allowing their opponents to gain 358.2 yards per game. The team also allowed 28.1 PPG, ranking them second worst in the NFL.
This shouldn't affect Allen's chances, as he had an incredible year, but it's a footnote worth mentioning because sometimes these things come into play.
The team's run defense was actually pretty strong, allowing just 107 yards per game. Allen, while an important part in stopping the opposition altogether, can't really be penalized for the lack of defensive skill on the team's secondary.
He did all the work he could, recording that career-high mark in sacks. He made a convincing statement, showing that he's still one of the best in the league, and no one should expect him to let up anytime soon.
This award will definitely be interesting to see where it ends up, but as of now, it's hard to imagine anyone else getting it than Allen.
Jeff Chase is a Featured Columnist for the Chicago Cubs and Arizona State football.
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