Harvin, Carvin his way to Rookie of the Year

After the first 12 exciting weeks of what should pan out to be one of the better endings in years past to an NFL season, the favorite to win this season's Rookie of the Year Award could be just as close as the division standings itself. Heading into the 2009 season, many had eyes on former college standouts and players such as Detroit's Matthew Stafford who put up stellar numbers as a Georgia Bulldog, New York's Mark Sanchez who had a breakthrough year as a USC Trojan and San Francisco's Michael Crabtree who became an instant fan favorite at Texas Tech, just to name a few. However another rookie that's been no stranger, is Minnesota's Percy Harvin.

Harvin, who was a college star for the Florida Gators last year, received passes thrown by Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow, as the Gators went on to win the BCS Championship in 2008. Harvin is now making a name for himself by receiving passes thrown by none other than Brett Favre. Harvin has feasted off of Favre's MVP-like season, as he totaled a career-high 101 yards receiving including 1 touchdown reception on Sunday against the Bears. Throughout the rest of the season, Harvin has put up some impressive numbers, compiling 5 touchdown receptions and 602 receiving yards, while helping the Vikings continue their dominance in the NFC North with a record of 10-1. The 21st overall pick in the 1st Round of this year's NFL Draft, has also been a key component to the Vikings' special-teams success, by returning kicks, as he's already returned two of them for touchdowns so far this season.

My former choice for Rookie of the Year, was Jets Quarterback Mark Sanchez. & Although he put up solid numbers in the opening weeks of the 2009 NFL season, the last big headline he's made involving football, was while he was caught on camera during a national televised game sitting on the sidelines trying to get rid of a tummy ache, eating a hot-dog. The 49ers highly talented receiver Michael Crabtree has had a solid campaign thus far since returning from his 7-week long hold-out to the start of the season, but I believe his debut was a bit too late to actually win the award. If so, those first 7-weeks could become rather costly for rookie.