Final stats are in are in (they don't count playoffs do they) I'm only going to do stats for Lacy,Allen and Patterson as IMO they are the only ones deserving of serious consderation. Guys like Stacy, Bell, Ellington, Bernard, yeah they had decent years but how can you be ROY if you don't have stats better that someone else dirctly comparable (same position)
Lacy:
284 carries
1178 yards
4.1 avg
11 tds
35 receptions
257 yards
Allen
71 rec.
1046 yards
8 tds
15 PR
125 yds
Patterson
45 rec
469 yds
4 tds
12 carries
158 yds
3 tds
43 KR
1393 yds
2 td
If you go by pure numbers and put equal stock in special teams as you do offensive numbers then Patterson probably wins it hands down.
On the other hand it is the offensive rookie of the year not offensive/special teams rookie of the year. for that reason I think Patterson misses out.
I was hoping Lacy could put up at least a hundred yards against the Bears. If he had I think it would have cemented it for him. The TD helped and the fact that Allen didn't do anything special to help his cause any.
Some articles I've read say Lacy slipped a little toward the end but they forget that Allen hadn't topped 100 yards in his last 4 games. He did have 5 TDs in those 4 game but so did Lacy.
The biggest thing Allen has going for him is that you don't see numbers like his out of a rookie WR very often and that may be enough for him to win enough votes to take the award. The problem with that is as soon as you start comparing the numbers to past years it ceases to be a rookie of the YEAR award. When you do that it automatically gives WRs an advantage because they do not have as much to live up to. It's like saying even though a RB has performed statistically better than all other rookies THIS YEAR it is what happened in past years that really counts.
Another argument that I hear for Allen is that he was not supposed to be much of a factor for the Chargers this year but when the Chargers lost their #1 and #2 WRs early he (Allen) stepped up and became the go to guy. A few things about that. First, does it really work in his favor. If he is the guy wouldn't you expect him to have the numbers. Its not like Rivers sucks and if you take away his top two targets someone will still catch passes. Second his numbers are not that great for a #1 WR. Heck, Nelson had better numbers and he was without a decent QB for almost half his games plus he had better WRs to compete with. Third if he stepped up when the other Charger WRs went down what can you say about Lacy stepping up when Rodgers went down. You can argue that Starks could have done what Lacy did and you may be right but then you can argue that Eddie Royal could have done what Allen did. Allen may have stepped up but you could argue that he was the Chargers #1 WR by default. Eddie Lacy flat out won the #1 Packers RB spot with his performance. The point there is each player did what they did and without either of them their teams probably don't make the playoffs.
Obviously I am biased in this as I think we all are. I think Allen is very deserving of consideration for the award as is Patterson. I would think that it would be a close call. To me the award should go to the guy with the best offensive numbers. Obviously if the guy with fewer yards has more TDs you may need to start looking at some of the intangibles but when the intangibles are pretty much equal and one guy has a lead in all the stats I think it's clear. It's not and MVR (most valuable rookie) award. Its not a CTSP (compared to seasons past) award. It is the OFFENSIVE rookie of the YEAR award and IMO it should go to Eddie Lacy.