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When Chicago Bears rookie defensive end David Bass avoided the cut block from Baltimore's Ray Rice, leaped then snagged the Joe Flacco pass, and took it in for the touchdown, he brought some warmth into the hearts of the cold and wet Soldier Field faithful.
His touchdown came 10 seconds after the Bears had just notched three points on the board, and evened the score at 10. The Bears would go on to win 23-20 in overtime, and Bass would have his best game as a pro. Four tackles, a tackle for loss, and that important pick-6.
Bass is nominated for rookie of the week at NFL.com, and in true Chicago fashion, we think you should vote early and vote often.
Here are the other nominees, taken directly from their press release, and my reasons they shouldn't win.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns in the Buccaneers' 41-28 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
First off, beating the Falcons is no longer a big deal, and secondly, if we're going to start rewarding 231 yards, then we may as well just give all the Falcons a 'good try good effort' ribbon.
3. Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel completed 20 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns in the Bills' 37-14 victory over the New York Jets.
Compiling stats against a Jet secondary that is so bad they not only signed old Ed Reed off the street, they gave him the start is not really a big deal.
4. Oakland Raiders quarterback Matt McGloin passed for 197 yards and three touchdowns in his first-career start during the Raiders' 28-23 win against the Houston Texans.
The dysfunctional Houston Texans losing their 8th straight is not a big deal. I'm surprised McLovin didn't go over 200 yards through the air against the imploding Texans.
5. Denver Broncos running back Montee Ball scored two touchdowns on 25 rushing yards in the Broncos' 27-17 victory against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Are you kidding me, 25 yards rushing nabs you a nomination? Forty running backs ran for more yards than Ball last week.
I say get Ball off the nomination list, and replace him with Jon Bostic (5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Int), or Khaseem Green (4 tackles), or Kyle Long for his general badassery, or even Michael Ford for his 1 special teams tackle. Not the 41st ranked back for the week.
Go vote for David Bass! Voting is open until Friday at 3 p.m. ET.