"Five men have won Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year while playing for teams with losing records.

Vikings defensive end Jared Allen deserves to join them as No. 6 during Saturday night's televised NFL awards show.

At least that was the opinion on this particular ballot when it was cast last month. We'll have to wait a few hours longer to see what the other 49 voters decided.

Despite claims by Allen and teammates that Allen was out of the running because of the team's 3-13 record, that simply wasn't the case. Especially during a season that produced no clear-cut favorite and a co-front-runner -- Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware -- who also played for a non-playoff team.

Allen had more sacks (22-19 1/2), forced fumbles (4-2), fumble recoveries (4-1), passes defensed (4-2), interceptions (1-0), safeties (1-0) and tackles than Ware. His 22 sacks set a team record and came within a half-sack of Michael Strahan's NFL season record.

Speaking of which, Strahan's sack total earned him NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2001, when his Giants went 7-9. The other players to win the award on teams with losing records were: Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor in 1982 (4-5); Eagles defensive end Reggie White, who had 21 sacks in 1987 (7-8); Seahawks defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, who had 14 sacks for a 2-14 team in 1992; and Miami defensive end Jason Taylor, who had 13 1/2 sacks, nine forced fumbles and two interception returns for touchdowns for a 6-10 team in 2006.

If Allen were to win the award, he'd become the third Viking to do so. Tackle Alan Page won the inaugural award in 1971, while tackle Keith Millard won in 1989."