The Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award was a trophy awarded annually to the best

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. The trophy, sponsored by Prilosec OTC, is named in honor of former NFL coach and commentator,

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pl ...

. Designed and sculpted by artist Tom Tsuchiya, the award's shape is meant to evoke a castle wall with the figures of the five offensive line players representing

battlements A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

. The bronze trophy, finished with a

silver nitrate Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . It is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides. It was once called ''lunar causti ...

patina, weighs 102 lbs (42.3 kg) and stands 16" (42 cm) tall. Five offensive lines were selected as finalists by John Madden and a team of four from the

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NF ...

: Jamie Dukes, Marshall Faulk,

Rich Eisen Richard Eisen (; born June 24, 1969) is an American television sportscaster and radio host. Since 2003, he has worked for NFL Network as a host of various pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. He also hosts a daily sports radio show, ''The Ric ...

and

Steve Mariucci Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (200 ...

before an online fan vote at NFL.com which would determine the winner.

Winners

List

2009

The line of the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

became the inaugural winner of the trophy (for the 2009 season) on February 2, 2010 during the week leading up to

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

. The Saints' offensive line included Jermon Bushrod, Carl Nicks, Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin and Jon Stinchcomb. Each name of the members of the winning line will be engraved on the back of the trophy. Because the trophy is one of a kind, it will travel from one winning line's city to the next.

2010

The New England Patriots' line was selected as the NFL's best offensive line for the 2010 regular season. The five finalists in 2010 were the offensive lines of the Atlanta Falcons,

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

, New England Patriots, 2009 winners

and the New York Giants. The Patriots' offensive line consisted of: starting

Tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

Matt Light Matthew Charles Light (born June 23, 1978) is a former American football offensive tackle who spent his entire 11-year career playing for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Purdue ...

and Sebastian Vollmer, starting Guards Dan Connolly and Logan Mankins, starting

Center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Dan Koppen Daniel Koppen (born September 12, 1979) is a former American football center who played for ten years in the National Football League with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. Prior to entering the NFL in 2003, he played college footba ...

and backups Mark LeVoir (T), Stephen Neal (G), Rich Ohrnberger (G/C),

Quinn Ojinnaka Quinn Ojinnaka (born April 23, 1984) is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Moose, and is a former one-time Impact World Champ ...

(T/G) and Ryan Wendell (C). Behind their powerful offensive line the Patriots led the league in points per game (32.4), ranked 4th in sacks allowed (25), finished 8th in average yards (363.8), ranked 9th in average rushing yards (123.3) and ranked 11th in passing yards per game (240.4).

2011

The New Orleans Saints won the award for the second time for their play during the 2011 regular season. The five finalists in 2011 were the offensive lines of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, 2010 winners New England Patriots and the 2009 winners

. The Saints' line consisted of: Tackles Zach Strief, Jermon Bushrod and Charles Brown, Guards Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans and Centers

Brian De La Puente Brian Loomis de la Puente (born May 13, 1985) is a former American football center. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2008. De la Puente has also been a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers, ...

and Matt Tennant. Behind their dominant offensive line the Saints had the top-ranked offense in the league with a league record 467.1 yards per game. They also ranked 2nd in sacks allowed (24 sacks), ranked 1st in total passing yards on the season (5,347), 6th in total rushing yards (2127), and finished 2nd in total points scored on the season (547).

Quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...

would also break Dan Marino's 27-year-old record for most passing yards in a season behind the line.

2012

The San Francisco 49ers won the award for their play during the 2012 regular season. The line was composed of Pro Bowlers Joe Staley and Mike Iupati at left tackle and left guard, respectively, center Jonathan Goodwin, who previously won the award with the New Orleans Saints, right guard

Alex Boone Alexander Boone (born May 4, 1987) is an American football guard who is a free agent. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He has also spent time w ...

and right tackle Anthony Davis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award National Football League trophies and awards