Jets head coach Rex Ryan announced the team's player awards at this morning's news conference. And it should come as no surprise that cornerback Darrelle Revis is this year's recipient of the Curtis Martin Team MVP Award.
"Deservedly so," Ryan said.
Revis, who received the award on Dec. 23 on a vote of his teammates, excelled against some of the NFL's elite wide receivers in compiling six interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown, and a league-leading 33 pass defenses through the first 15 weeks of the season.
Revis becomes the first corner to win this award since its inception in 1961 and the first defensive player since LB Jonathon Vilma in 2005 and the 10th defender overall to receive the award.
"Oh, man. It just shows how much they think of me," Revis said when asked about the honor bestowed on him by his teammates. "But I couldn't do it without them. I couldn't do it without them blitzing, without my coaches drawing up the schemes so as to put us in the best position to make plays. So I just thank everybody and I appreciate it and we've still got a lot of football to play."
The team's annual most valuable player award was renamed after Martin by owner Woody Johnson during a halftime ceremony on Nov. 18, 2007, in honor of the four-time Jets MVP. Martin finished his career after the 2005 season as the NFL's fourth all-time leading rusher with 14,101 yards, a ranking he still holds.
Jets running back Thomas Jones, 29th on that list with 9,034 career rushing yards before last week's game at Indianapolis, also was honored this year when he received the Dennis Byrd Award as most inspirational player for the second straight season.
Jones, the 10th-year veteran, also had two touchdowns in Game 13 at Tampa Bay, giving him 11 for the season and enabling him to join Johnny Hector as the only two players in franchise history to score 10-plus TDs in back-to-back seasons.
Beyond his stats, Jones is a model hard worker in the weightroom, in the meeting rooms and on the field, and he encourages young players on the roster and the practice squad to prepare as if they were a starter.
Tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson has received the Marty Lyons Award, presented to the player who gives from the heart through charity and community involvement. Through his foundation, established to improve the quality of life and award academic scholarships to students in the New York area, and the Jets' community relations department, Ferguson has impacted many lives throughout the tristate area.
"Brick" also is the spokesman for the Eat Right, Move More program, launched in 2006 as a joint effort among the Jets, the N.J. Department of Agriculture and the American Dairy Association & Dairy Council to encourage New Jersey school children to take advantage of healthful foods in their school cafeterias and become more active. Ferguson has also been recognized as the Jets' 2009 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award by the NFL.
Long-snapper James Dearth was honored with the Kyle Clifton "Good Guy" Award as the player regarded as a "good guy" as voted by the Jets' staff. In his ninth season with the team, No. 85 is known as one of the most respectful individuals in the locker room. He's the first long-snapper to ever win any Jets award.
And linebacker David Harris has been voted by his teammates as the Jets' Ed Block Courage Award, given to a player on each NFL team each year who has displayed perseverance in overcoming adversity. Harris bounced back from the groin injury that forced him to miss five midseason games last season. Harris' 132 tackles through Week 15 led the Green & White defense, which is regarded as one of the statistically best in the league in '09. No. 52 also had 5.5 sacks, 10 QB hits and two interceptions.
