Coach Of the Year for Season VIII goes to...

It took a couple of weeks before Ethan really found what worked for him with the Falcons but once he found his groove, there was no stopping him. What started as a QB rotation turned into the Michael Vick experience. Ethan used his solid defense and excellent playcalling to run through the regular season undefeated. In the playoffs, there was no stopping Ethan as he defeated some of the best owners that the MPL has to offer on his way to his first ever MPL title. Ethan showed that he was definately the "Coach of the Year."

When you lok at what makes a great team, you have to look at all of the parts that make up the whole. Atlanta struggled offensively early on but because the other parts of the team played so well, they overcame those early struggles to have a hugely successful season. The offense, defense and special teams all contributed to their championship and that's what makes the Atlanta Falcons Season VIII's "Best Team."

When a team's lowest score of the season is 27 points, you know that they have a very potent offense. The Seahawks managed to average a stunning 38 points per game during season 8 on their way to an 8-2 record. Lil J worked his offensive personnel to perfection as he'd read the defense and find the open man play after play. When he wasn't dissecting you through the air, he launched his deadly ground attack with MVP candidate Shaun Alexander. The overall precision of this offense made the Seattle Seahawks Season VIII's "Best Offense."

There aren't many old school, hard nosed ballers left in the league these days as there are so many people with the gun slinger mentality. But Randy is one of those guys that has found a way to blend in a high powered offense with a stingy defense. The Giants came out in Season VIII and pounded their opponents almost into submission. Three times the Giants held their opponents to single digits and in 7 games, he held the opposition to under 20 points...which is outstanding in Madden 07. Randy's Giants definately earned the title of Season VIII's "Best Defense."

This season we have a few categories where the members of the MPL were torn between a couple of candidates. This happens to be one where the league voted for 2 winners. ShootingBull established himself as a winner in Season 7 but in Season 8, he let it be known that he's a true contender for an MPL title. A 9-1 regular season mark made him one of the best in the league for this season and the rest of the MPL better be on their "A" game when they step onto the field with Bull. The other receipient of this award goes to someone who had really struggled to find their way in the MPL. He always played close games but never found a way to turn those close games into W's...until week 6 in Season VIII. A win over the Chargers sparked a streak where the Ravens won 4 out of their last 5 games and included a win over Randy's vaunted Giants. CoachP has made great strides since arriving in the MPL and deserves to be called one of Season VIII's "Most Improved."

After a brief disappearance from the MPL to work on his music career (Chaccaron), Rashad rejoined the MPL and let his opinions be heard on the forums. He never backs down from a challenge and was quick to put anyone in their place that didnt know any better. Again, we need to rename this award already as we've only had 1 other person besides Rashad to win this award. As long as he's in the MPL, he will get the label of "Best Trash Talker."

This is another award where the votes were split between 2 people. ShootingBull again gets half the tally as he improved on an 8-4 mark in season 7 to an outstanding 9-1 record in season 8. He took people by surprise with his highly effective offense and knack for the takeaway on defense. Bull definately took the MPL by storm this season but he won't sneak up on anyone in future seasons. The other receipient of this award is OnenonlyWolf. Now Im not sure if people were surprised that he made the playoffs with the Texans in his first season in the MPL or if they were surprised that Wolf didnt live up to the expectations of his friends. Wolf came in as the most highly touted MPL rookie as some were saying he'd win the MPL Bowl in his first season. Well, he didnt win the Bowl but he certainly gave it his all and did a great job with the lowly Texans.

Season VIII was a new venture for the MPL. It was the first season in which founder and creator, MPLprez Paul was not at the helm leading the way. Due to real life responsbilities, someone else had to step in and lead the way for Season VIII and that person was Jim. There were some pretty big changes in some rules and Season VIII saw it's fair share of controversy. But regardless of whether people liked the decisions that were made while he was at the controls, everything was done with the best interests of the MPL in mind. For his time and effort, Jim gets Season VIII's "Most Dedicated" award.

Here's another award that could be named for an MPL veteran. It seems like every season that we voted on awards, Travis is always the name the is at the top of the list. He is as classy a person as you'll ever find...whether in the MPL or in the real world. He's always looking out for fellow members and treats everyone with the kind of respect that you'd like to get from everyone. Travis definately deserves the title of Season VIII's "Most Classy."

There sure was a lot of excitement whenever it came to an Atlanta Falcons game. Was it Vick or Schaub who played well in the game? Who took the most snap? Who was the hero of the game? There was always a new flavor with each passing week and Ethan always told the story of the game with flare. I don't know of many teams who seemed so frantic at the beginning of the season yet be able to pull out an undefeated regular and post-season. Congrats to Ethan's Falcons on being named Season VIII's "Most Exciting Team."

Old School is defined as "a slang term referring to old ways of thinking or acting, and to old objects in general, within the context of newer, more modern times..." or "They just don't make 'em like this anymore." Blu Pun certainly fits the mold of the latter statement as he fits that blue collar image of the defense first and run the ball mentality. His style of play is consistent from year to year as is his record.

Longhorn's streak of creative poster has been broken but at least the new champ's style involves boobies. From funny jokes to bouncing jigglies, Tate keeps everyone amused and finds ways to help entertain the MPL community. Thanks for the jokes Tate...keep 'em coming!

This award vindicates one member as it's most heralded rookie as he's been recognized as one of the MPL's Best Newcomers. OnenonlyWolf did a superb job with a shorthanded Texans team as he made the playoffs in a tough conference and made a run in his game with an MPL legend in the playoffs. Congrats on a great 1st season Wolf! The other winner of this award is a guy who surprised a lot of people with his solid gameplay. Tyson did a great job of using the Jets's Weapons on offense and defense. He made great calls on both sides of the ball on his way to an 8-2 record in his first season in the MPL. Great job Tyson!

Well when you come out with a radio show and declare that you're going to beat everyone, including a 3 time MPL champ...you better be able to back it up. Not only did V2Neverdie not live up to expectations in the wins column, but he later fell off the map and left a lot of MPLers wondering about the future of one of their favorite features. The season as a whole was a disappointment for V2 and we hope he'll bounce back as a contributor in future seasons.

There were two teams that finished without a win but perhaps because of his successful track record in the MPL, the members decided that they expected much more, especially with such a good team. Houtz wins the dreaded "1976 Bucs" award this season after finishing a dismal 0-10 on the year. He gave it his best and played every game that he could but even finishing out the season couldn't keep him from getting this dishonorable award. Wear it proud Houtz :-)

This is the last tie of the awards season as Wade keeps his streak alive at 3 seasons in a row as MPL's best in the recap writing department. His style of writing, account of what happened in the game and his inclusion of colors and pictures highlight Wade's flare for a great game recap. The other winner this season is a newcomer. Playing with a team like the Texans is sure to produce a fair share of frustration in a game. This frustration was illustrated comically by OnenonlyWolf. His amusing and witty recaps earned Wolf him the award for Best Post Game Recaps....put away the bottle and the gun Wolf!

For the first time in many seasons, neither Moneyball, Plummerhater or Obmij will win the award for MPL's most talkative. That distinction goes to MPL vet Sully. Season VIII really brought out Sully's vocal side whether it was responding to the trashing of his Niners, the issue about the commit feature or chatter about the move to the PS3. Sully certainly wasnt shy and it was great to see another big contributor to the success of the MPL messageboards. Congrats Sully!

Superpunk came on the MPL scene this past season and did a great job of making the majority of the sigs that are seen on the forum. He was very helpful and friendly in his offers to make sigs. I know the members of the MPL greatly appreciate his time and effort. Superpunk definately came out with some classic sigs and the one that is probably best remembered is his sig that votes to taser kids, lol.

Although he had much less time to do many sigs, the few he did produce were enough for the members of the MPL to vote him as Season VIII's "Best Sig Maker."

• By Popular demand, Thank you from Jimbo, the avatar post, birthday greetings from Longhorn were voted as the Best Post of Season VIII.
  
  

• By Popular demand, PS3 discussions, character animation from Randy and Tate's avatar thread were voted as the Best Topic of Season VIII.
  
  

• By Popular demand, V2 talking smack then beating Rashad was voted as the Fondest Memories of Season VIII.
  
  

• By Popular demand, Carolyn in the draft, Jimbo doing a great job, the introduction of MPL Radio, the job done by the MPLC and the community were voted as the Best of MPL Season VIII.
  
  

• The worst of MPL Season VIII was voted as the commit issue, the league splitting and the lack of updates on the features.
  
  

** Game Recap As Written By RashadtheRuler **