A great case can be made for Priest Holmes. He is statistically the best running back in the league, but he plays for a last place team. He plays well in spite of his surrounding cast. In fact, it may be the poor ability of the team around him that leads to his production...nobody else is capable of pitching in. My vote for MVP goes to Drew Bledsoe of the Buffalo Bills. He not only is arguably the best quarterback in the league, but he may be the best player in the league at the midway point. Unlike Holmes, he is making everybody around him better. Peerless Price is having a breakout year and his counterpart Eric Moulds is having his best season statistically. They are 1-2 in the league in receiving yards from scrimmage. A rookie offensive tackle, Mike Williams, is looking like an All-Pro. And a suspect defense is spending less time on the field, meaning fewer mistakes and fewer points allowed than in years past. Not to mention the effectiveness of the running game with Travis Henry. The Buffalo offense is able to overcome the fumbleprone Henry, at times, because of Bledsoe's presence. Buffalo is a contender instead of an also-ran in the once-tough AFC East.
LVP
Hands down (or is that "hands up") - Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings is the Least Valuable Player in the league. He is a malcontent. He is a distraction on and off the field. He is selfish. And, worst of all, admittedly takes some plays off. Not to mention, he is performing well below his All-Pro and God given capabilities. He is a terrible role model and a bad example of a team leader. The explosions of Cris Carter on the sidelines are becoming more understandable by the minute. Randy Moss' brain moves slower than pond scum.
Biggest Surprise - Team
If you told me a team would be playing in the toughest division in the league with a first-year quarterback, I've have told you that there were going to be some growing pains for that team this year. But a great defense and talented running back have made games easy for their Purdue Alum quarterback. The San Diego Chargers have made the league take notice thus far. The schedule is the second half is a bit more difficult for the Chargers. There are no Texans or Bengals ahead of them, but there are six teams that participated in the playoffs last year. We'll see if the Chargers can continue to put their stamp on the league.
Biggest Surprise - Player
Michael Vick is a freak of nature. Unbelievable speed. Remarkable moves. And great decision making abilities. Accuracy throwing the football that can't be questioned. Arm-strength that is not matched in this league. A second year player that saw limited action last year, Vick is without question the leader of this football team. He is a defensive coordinator's nightmare. How do you gameplan for a player that doesn't have a plan except to remain upright and score? Teamed with a rookie running back (TJ Duckett) and an undersized scatback (Warrick Dunn) in the backfield, the Falcons have impressive running game capabilities. His #1 receiving target? Brian Finneran. Who? Michael Vick is performing well ahead of Dan Reeves' timetable. Which could spell trouble for the rest of the league. Most remarkable stat: zero interceptions (translates to none).
Biggest Bust - Team
It's tough to pick just one team as a bust. That's the beauty of the NFL. Parity is everywhere. Good teams are playing poorly and bad teams are playing well. (The Bengals are the only exception to the parity rule.) St Louis was a big favorite to win the Super Bowl at the beginning of the year. If I felt they wouldn't make the playoffs I'd definitely select them as the biggest bust. But, they have a great core of players and appear to have turned things around. I have a tie for biggest bust however. The Chicago Bears and the New York Jets are just plain bad this year. They both had high hopes and both seem to have mailed it in already. The Bears success was founded on a great running game and stifling defense. They have neither this year. The Jets always had an uncanny way of beating teams at their own game. The fact that they needed to find ther own way to win has caught up to them. Da Bears and the Jets are in a bad state of affairs with no likelihood of making the playoffs this year.
Biggest Bust - Player (on a New Team)
Az Hakim. Johnnie Morton. Michael Pittman. All worthy recipients of the Bust on a New Team Award. But the honor has to go to Michael Westbrook of the Bengals. Four, count them along with me...one...two...three...four. That's the number of catches he has. A self-proclaimed top-notch wide receiver in the NFL, he lacks the ability to stay healthy or to beat out Peter Warrick or Chad Johnson for a starting spot. Playing for a team with such bad play from the quarterback position, you'd think he would give Dick LeBeau some reason to believe that he can help this team. Apparently not.
Biggest Bust - Player (on the Same Team)
Kordell Stewart. Kordell Stewart. Kordell Stewart. A horrible performance in the playoffs last year carried over to this season. Benched for journeyman quarterback Tommy Maddox. His only hopes are this: Maddox dies, Kordelll is traded/released, or return to "Slash" Stewart. His contract is big. Bigger than his production. Now you know why the Steelers don't give big paychecks.
Best Coaching Job
Martyball still works at the professional level - despite what Daniel Snyder thinks. Ground it out, smashmouth football. A reason to watch those 4pm games. Marty Schottenheimer has led the Chargers to the top of the very tough AFC West. He has brought along a young quarterback with simple, play not to lose game plans. The defense has stood up to nearly every challenge. We'll see if he keeps the apple cart from toppling when much fiercer competition lines up against his upstart Chargers in the second half of the season. In any event, he deserves the credit for having the Chargers on top now.
Worst Coaching Job
St Louis have all the talent in the league. The most productive running back the league has seen the past four years. And, the most underutilized running back this season. Mike Martz lost a Super Bowl last year that he should have won. He was openly criticized for not running Marshall Faulk more in that game than he did. Did he listen or learn from that criticism? No. He came out at the beginning of the season with a patchwork offensive line and allowed his MVP Quarterback to get slaughtered week in and week out. Now he'll be without Kurt Warner for over a month. Had he utilized Faulk at the beginning of the year the way he should have they more than likely wouldn't have started 0--5. They might also have Kurt Warner under center in November.
Won't Make the Playoffs (despite a promising start)
The Arizona Cardinals were playing for first place last week when the San Francisco picked them apart. A defense that had been yielding less than 16 points per game got throttled to the tune of 38 points. The taste in the mouths of the Cardinal players is a familiar taste. The taste of being a loser. A taste they will get a few more times than they care to for the rest of the 2002 campaign. Watch the Rams leapfrog them and get a playoff berth. They have the Rams twice in the second half of the season. The Seahawks and the Lions may be the only winnable games remaining on their schedule.
Will Make the Playoffs (despite a not-so-promising start)
The St. Louis Rams have faced the tough part of their schedule. The 0-5 start was brutal. But the fact that they were poorly coached against the toughest part of their schedule combined with this team not sensing any urgency hasn't spoiled their playoff chances. The schedule gets easier. The players know what needs to be done and there appears to be a commitment from everyone in this organization to get it done. You'll see a different Rams team without Kurt Warner. They'll be more ball control (which they should've done earlier). They'll rely on the players that got them there before (Faulk and Isaac Bruce). And, they'll give the league a reason to worry come playoff time.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
There are a handful of players that can be inserted here. Andre Davis of Cleveland. Randy McMichael of Miami. Jeremy Shockey of the New York football Giants. David Carr of the expansion Houston Texans. Joey Harrington of the Detroit Lions. Or, my selection, Clinton Portis of the Denver Broncos. Mike Shanahan stated that Portis was the best running back available in the draft...which is why he drafted him. Portis has been thrown into the most running back-friendly system in the league. The Broncos have pumped out three 1,000 yards performers over the past five seasons. Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson and Terrell Davis. Through eight games, three of which he didn't start, Portis has amassed over 560 yards on the ground and has scored a total of five touchdowns. Shanahan has turned the reins over to Portis for now. The only thing that stands in his way is his inability to hold onto the football. He has shown the tendency to put the pigskin on the turf. Shanahan will not tolerate turnovers, so Portis better get a grip.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Philip Buchanon was well on his way to being the honoree here. But a broken wrist has derailed his season. A trip to the injured reserve does not bode well for prospective honorees. Not surprisingly this has opened the door for Julius Peppers. He is a one-man wrecking crew for a Panthers defense that will be relied on to carry this football team. A combination of Jevon Kearse and, dare I say, Lawrence Taylor, he strikes fear in his opponents before they have even seen him on tape. This franchise needs for him to continue his growth as a player. He'll be the foundation for which the defense and offense is built around. John Fox wants to play smashmouth football and Peppers is a smashmouth football player. He's also the first half winner of the defensive rookie of the year honors as a result of leading the league with nine sacks.
Comeback Player of the Year
Robert Edwards deserves a lot of consideration for this award. The fact that he has a leg below his knee to strap his cleat to is amazing. Not to mention his ability to take the field and contribute when called upon. He should be commended for his work ethic and desire to get back to playing football again. Robert Edwards is a football player. He should be the poster boy for the NFL's "The Heart is the Biggest Muscle in the Body" Campaign. However, as much as it pains me not to select him as the honoree - especially as a Dolphins fan - I have to ask this question. Did you see Ed McCaffrey's leg almost fall off on national television last year? He's not only playing again, but he's among the league leaders in receptions and yardage. He's preventing a heralded, high draft pick (Ashley Lelie) from getting playing time. He's giving a quarterback (Brian Griese) that's on the hotseat the big target he needs to be effective. And, he's helping the Broncos keep pace in the dominating AFC West. And, only halfway through the season, he's taken more than his share of viscious hits. Hits that he has shrugged off and returned to the huddle from. Ed, like Robert Edwards, is a football player. But unlike Edwards, is a football player that is playing like he was never injured in the first place. He's made it "all the way back" from a horrific injury. I'm routing for Edwards to get "all the way" back from his terrible injury. I don't know if that's possible, though. Easy Ed is my choice for the Comeback Player.