| Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Awarded annually to the best offensive line. |
| Presented by | National Football League |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 2010 |
| Currently held by | New England Patriots |
| Official website | NFL.com [6] |
The Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award is the trophy awarded annually to the best offensive line of the National Football League.[1] The trophy, sponsored by Prilosec OTC, is named in honor of former NFL coach and commentator, John Madden.[2] 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 crenellation.[3] The bronze trophy, finished with a silver nitrate patina, weighs 102 lbs (42.3 kg) and stands 16 1/2" (42cm) tall.
Five offensive lines are selected as finalists by John Madden and a team of four from the NFL Network: Jamie Dukes, Marshall Faulk, Rich Eisen and Steve Mariucci.[4] And those five lines are then voted by fans online at NFL.com. The line of the New Orleans Saints became the inaugural winner of the trophy (for the 2009 season) on February 2, 2010 during the week leading up to Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints' offensive line included Jermon Bushrod, Carl Nicks, Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin and Jon Stinchcomb.[5] 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.
The New England Patriots were selected as the NFL's best offensive line during the 2010 regular season. The Madden Protectors Award trophy will be formally delivered to the New England Patriots Training facility in Foxborough on Tuesday, August 16. The 2010 New England Patriots offensive line consisted of:
60 Rich Ohrnberger G/C
61 Stephen Neal G (Starter)
62 Ted Larsen C/G (Rookie)
63 Dan Connolly G/C
64 Mark LeVoir T
66 George Bussey T/G
67 Dan Koppen C (Starter)
69 Ryan Wendell C/G
70 Logan Mankins T (All Pro)
71 John Wise G (Rookie
72 Matt Light T (Pro Bowl)
74 Thomas Welch T (Rookie)
76 Sebastian Vollmer T (All Pro)
77 Nick Kaczur T/G