We’ve had to make some tough decisions in figuring out the former players after whom our postseason awards would be named.

This one was the easiest.

Darrell Green had uncanny longevity, playing a position premised on speed and quickness beyond his 40th birthday.  In 2002, he appeared in every game at the ripe old football age of 42.

He was part of two Super Bowl teams.  A punt return for a touchdown in 1987 against the Bears, during which he injured a rib and finished the play holding his side, helping to propel the team to an unexpected NFL title.

 

Also, Green was one of the fastest players in the league for most if not all of his career.  Earlier this month, Green made it into the Hall of Fame on the first try.

We could go on and on.  But do we need to?  He was a once-in-a-century player, and we hope that every guy who receives the award named for Green will do justice to his NFL legacy.

The first winner is Antonio Cromartie of the Chargers.  Fully recovered from a torn ACL that wiped out his last year of college football and kept him from being a sure-fire top-five draft pick, Cromartie has made a huge impact for San Diego.  In November, he set the all-time NFL record with a 109-yard return of a missed field goal for a touchdown.

The next week, he became a starter for the first time.  He celebrated with three picks, including this one.

Whether Cromartie can keep it up for another 20 years like Green did remains to be seen.  For now, though, Cromartie is one of the top corners in the game, and his exploits in his second NFL season make him, in our view, the best of 2007.