I'm stunned The Associated Press has taken the unprecedented stance of asking the 50 voters who decide its postseason awards to revote on the two that Texans outside linebacker Brian Cushing won.
The deadline for us to revote is Wednesday at 11 a.m. The ballot has been sent to us again. Cushing won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, and he was voted second-team All-Pro.
I voted for Cushing for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award the day after the season, and I voted for him again today.
Why? Because a lot of players have won AP awards after being suspended.
The AP explained that it's taking this unprecedented step because the voters didn't know Cushing had failed a test and was appealing when we cast our ballots. The AP said we did know that Julius Peppers had been suspended for the last four games in 2002, but we still voted him NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. It said we did know Minnesota defensive tackle Kevin Williams had been suspended when we voted him first-team All-Pro.
And according to Adam Schefter, McClain's not the only one staying in Camp Cushing:
As it should be. RT @NYPost_NFL: According to AP officials, several voters have already voted Brian Cushing Defensive ROY a second time.
Brian Cushing was suspended four games and has created doubters in him - that is his punishment. Losing an award shouldn't be tacked on.
Come the lunch hour Wednesday, we'll likely know whether the re-vote stripped Cushing of the honor. First question is whether you think Cushing should still be the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Second query: Do you even care? There's a school of thought out there that the disgrace of losing the award might serve to fire up Cushing even more, which could translate into a good thing for your Houston Texans. Thoughts?