Texans linebacker Brian Cushing has been named The Associated Press 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Cushing received 39 votes Tuesday, easily beating Buffalo safety Jairus Byrd, who had six of the 50 votes cast. "I'm just a much smarter football player," Cushing said. "I'm much more advanced than I was this time last year and it was just a good way to start out a career. I'm happy about how everything turned out this year. Of course the playoffs would have been nice, but now we know what we have to do for next season." Cushing had 133 tackles, 86 of them primary, according to the Texans, who went 9-7 for their first-ever winning season.