JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Jaguars' main man on the ground got some overdue recognition Wednesday when the winners of the fifth annual FedEx Air and Ground® NFL players of the year were awarded.
Jaguar running back Fred Taylor earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl this year, and now he'll have some hardware to bring along to Hawaii.
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Taylor was named the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Year and quarterback Brett Favre, of the Green Bay Packers, was named the FedEx Express NFL Player of the Year.
In honor of the winners? great play, FedEx will donate $25,000 to Children?s Hospital of Wisconsin Foundation and Wolfson Children's Hospital (Baptist), the local children?s hospitals in each player?s market.
In addition, Phoenix Children?s Hospital Foundation in Arizona will receive a $25,000 donation during the week of Super Bowl XLII
Taylor led the Jaguars to an 11-5 record and the No. 5 seed in the AFC by rushing for 1,202 yards (fifth in the AFC, ninth in the league) over only 223 carries (5.4 average) and scoring five touchdowns.
He helped the Jaguars finish strong by finishing the season with five 100+ yard games in weeks 12-16, with one of his best performances coming at Pittsburgh, where he rushed for 147 yards over 25 carries and scoring one touchdown to beat the Steelers 29?22.
This year, Taylor became the 21st running back in history with 10,000 yards rushing (10,715). He also made nine receptions for 58 yards. Taylor was nominated for two FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week awards in 2007, winning once.
More than 1 million fan votes were cast at NFL.com from Jan. 8 through Jan. 23. After tabulating this season?s fan voting, the six finalists were chosen by a panel of NFL experts.