SANTA CLARA – The NFL is trading in shoulder pads and chin straps for tuxedos and cummerbunds Saturday night.

It used to be that the league's biggest awards were announced in news releases. This year, however, the NFL has gone Hollywood with an Oscars-like awards show.

Alec Baldwin – whose "30 Rock" character was disappointed to learn he owned the Buffalo Bills in one episode – will host. The show will be taped Saturday night in Indianapolis and will air from 9 to 11 p.m. simultaneously on NBC and the NFL Network.

Several 49ers, including quarterback Alex Smith, linebackers NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith and Patrick Willis, and tight end Vernon Davis are expected to attend.

The seven awards, chosen by the Associated Press, are Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Comeback Player, Coach of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year.

NFL Awards - Who should win, Who will win

MVP

• Top candidates: Drew Brees, New Orleans; Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay; Tom Brady, New England.

• Lowdown: The awards are for the regular season, so Rodgers' flameout in the divisional round of the playoffs should not count. That Brees broke Dan Marino's single-season yardage record is likely to ring loudly in voters' minds. But the fact that Rodgers and the Packers followed a Super Bowl title with a one-loss season is the bigger feat. The last player other than a quarterback or running back to win this award – Lawrence Taylor in 1986.

• Who should win: Rodgers

• Who will win: Brees

Offensive Player of the Year

• Top candidates: Drew Brees, New Orleans; Tom Brady, New England; Darren Sproles, New Orleans.

• Lowdown: Brees and Brady finished one-two in passing yards, and both finished with passer ratings higher than 105. Sproles set the single-season mark for all-purpose yards with 2,696. Teammate Brees, however, broke the bigger record, and he will be awarded for it.

• Who should win: Brees

• Who will win: Brees

Defensive Player of the Year

• Top candidates: Justin Smith, 49ers; Terrell Suggs, Baltimore; Jared Allen, Minnesota.

• Lowdown: Smith was the rugged spirit of a 49ers blue-collar defense. He got stronger as games – and the season – wore on, and he made everyone around him, from Aldon Smith to NaVorro Bowman to Carlos Rogers, better. But voters will be dazzled by Allen's sack total (22 vs. 7 1/2 for Smith), and he'll take the prize.

• Who should win: Smith

• Who will win: Allen

Coach of the Year

• Top candidates: Jim Harbaugh, 49ers; Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati; Tom Coughlin, New York Giants.

• Lowdown: This should be a cinch for Harbaugh. Lewis took the Bengals to the playoffs with a rookie quarterback, which is impressive. Coughlin shut up his critics by winning the NFC East. Harbaugh's 49ers, however, won 13 games and wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with a team that hadn't had a winning record since 2002. That he did so following a lockout-shortened offseason puts him over the top.

• Who should win: Harbaugh

• Who will win: Harbaugh

Comeback Player

• Top candidates: Alex Smith, 49ers; Plaxico Burress, New York Jets; Matthew Stafford, Detroit.

• Lowdown: This award is for perseverance in overcoming an obstacle, and it's usually given to a player who is coming back from an injury. Stafford injured his throwing shoulder – twice – in 2010 but made a triumphant return by throwing for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdowns this past season. Smith's obstacle, meanwhile, was outlasting two defensive-minded coaches.

• Who should win: Stafford

• Who will win: Stafford

Defensive Rookie of the Year

• Top candidates: Aldon Smith, 49ers; Von Miller, Denver; J.J. Watt, Houston; Ryan Kerrigan, Washington.

• Lowdown: This will be a two-man race between Miller, the second overall pick, and Smith, who was chosen seventh. Smith is the sturdier player, the bigger handful for offensive linemen, and he finished with more sacks – 14 vs. 11 1/2 – than Miller. But he didn't start a single game, and Miller's profile likely was boosted by Tebowmania at the end of the season.

• Who should win: Smith

• Who will win: Miller

Offensive Rookie of the Year

• Top candidates: Cam Newton, Carolina; Andy Dalton, Cincinnati; A.J. Green, Cincinnati.

• Lowdown: The connection that Dalton and Green had in 2011 – 1,057 yards, seven touchdowns – was amazing, even more so considering they had little offseason to work together. But the two Bengals will be eclipsed by Newton, who has star potential unseen in the league for decades.

• Who should win: Newton

• Who will win: Newton

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