Quarterbacks TOM BRADY of the New England Patriots, BRETT FAVRE of the Green Bay Packers and TONY ROMO of the Dallas Cowboys are the finalists for 2007 FedEx Express NFL Player of the Year honors, while running backs ADRIAN PETERSON of the Minnesota Vikings, FRED TAYLOR of the Jacksonville Jaguars and LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON of the San Diego Chargers are the finalists for 2007 FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year honors, the NFL announced Tuesday.
**Fans can vote** for one player in each category on NFL.com from 9:00am ET on Tuesday, January 8 through 12:00 noon ET on Wednesday, January 23 to determine the 2007 FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year.
The FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Year will be announced on Wednesday, January 30 during a press conference the week of Super Bowl XLII in Arizona.
Fans will be voting for more than their favorite player. The local children's hospitals in the two winners' markets will be awarded $25,000 each. In addition, in honor of the Super Bowl host region, FedEx will donate $25,000 to Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation in Arizona. The weekly FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards were a win all season for the local community. Along with the award, FedEx donated $5,000 every week to the local children's hospital in each winning market. That means that FedEx will deliver nearly $250,000 to local children's hospitals around the country in recognition of the 2007 FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Award winners.
A closer look at the 2007 FedEx Express NFL Player of the Year finalists:
-New England's TOM BRADY led the NFL with 4,806 passing yards, 50 touchdown passes, 68.9 completion percentage (398 of 578) and a passer rating of 117.2. In addition to leading the Patriots to an undefeated regular season, he set an NFL record with at least three touchdowns in each of his first eight games, set a franchise record against Miami on 10/21 with six passing touchdowns, broke the single-season record of Dan Marino (10) for most games with at least three touchdown passes by throwing at least three touchdown passes in 12 games, and passed Peyton Manning (49; 2004) for most touchdown passes in a season with 50. Brady was nominated for nine FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week awards in 2007, winning three times.
-Green Bay's BRETT FAVRE led the Packers to a 13 - 3 record and to the number two seed in the NFC. Favre completed 66.5 percent of his passes (356 of 535) for 4,155 yards (fourth in the league), and threw 28 touchdown passes. In 2007, Favre passed John Elway (148) for the most wins by a quarterback with 160, passed Dan Marino (420) for most career touchdown passes with 442, passed DAN MARINO (62) for the most career games with three-or-more touchdowns passes with 63 career games. Favre also eclipsed the all-time career passing yards mark set by Dan Marino (61,361) with 61,655. His 82-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings against Denver on 10/29 was the second-longest overtime touchdown in NFL history, tying Tom Brady and Troy Brown on 10/19/03. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski and wide receiver Mike Quick combined on a 99-yard play on 11/10/85. Favre was nominated for six FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week awards in 2007, winning five times.
-Dallas' TONY ROMO led the Dallas Cowboys to top the NFC with a 13 - 3 record and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Romo came in second in the NFC and third in the NFL in passing yards with 4,211, third in the NFC completing 64.4 of his passes (335 of 520), and first in the NFC (second in the NFL) with 36 touchdown passes. Romo also set the franchise record for most touchdown passes in a season with 36, passing Danny White (29, 1983). Romo was nominated for six FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week awards in 2007, winning three times.
A closer look at the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year finalists:
-Minnesota's rookie sensation ADRIAN PETERSON ranked second in the NFL (and first in the NFC) with 1,341 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, carried the ball 238 times and led the league rushing for 95.8 yards per game. Peterson also had 296 yards rushing against San Diego on 11/4, setting the single-game rushing record. Peterson also made 19 receptions for 268 yards including a 60 yard touchdown, and amassed 2,021 combined net yards. Peterson was nominated for three FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week awards in 2007, winning twice.
-Jacksonville's FRED TAYLOR led the Jaguars to an 11 - 5 record and the number five seed in the AFC by rushing for 1,202 yards (fifth in the AFC, ninth in the league) over only 223 carries (5.4 average) and scoring five touchdowns. Taylor helped the Jaguars finish strong by finishing his season with five 100 yard games in Weeks 12 - 16, with one of his best performances coming at Pittsburgh rushing for 147 yards over 25 carries and scoring one touchdown to beat the Steelers 29 - 22. Taylor became the 21st running back in history with 10,000 yards rushing (10,715). He also made nine receptions for 58 yards. Taylor was nominated for two FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week awards in 2007, winning once.
-San Diego's LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON led the NFL for a second year with 1,474 rushing yards and an NFL-leading 15 touchdown runs on 315 carries. Tomlinson also added 60 receptions for 475 yards and three touchdowns to help the Chargers achieve an 11-5 record and the third seed in the AFC. Tomlinson became the 23rd player in history with 10,000 yards rushing, tied Emmitt Smith as the player to do so in the fourth-fewest games (106), passed Walter Payton (110) for third on the all-time career rushing touchdown list with 115, passed Jim Brown (126) for seventh on the all-time career touchdown list with 129, and joined Eric Dickerson as the only players in history to rush for more than 1,200 yards in each of their first seven seasons. Tomlinson was nominated for three FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week awards, winning twice.
FedEx, the premier global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain management services, is the Official Delivery Service Sponsor of the NFL, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl. Through the weekly FedEx Air & Ground Awards, FedEx recognizes those NFL players who represent the same speed, precision and teamwork that their customers have come to expect from the full range of FedEx air, ground, freight and international shipping services.
