NFL Midseason Awards

They announced the three finalists for each of the eight major MLB awards today.  (That Joe Girardi isn't a finalist for AL Manager of the Year is an absolute joke!)  That got me thinking.  I normally choose my midseason winners around the All-Star Break, and I always make my prediction for who's going to win right before the awards are announced.  Well, this week marked the midway point of the NFL season.  It's a lot harder to do this with the NFL, but not impossible.  Here are my choices for the NFL's midseason awards:

MVP: Peyton Manning, Broncos-Peyton's having a season that's ridiculous by even his standards.  The Broncos seemingly score at will, and he has a passer rating of 119.4, which would be the second-best of his career.  Oh yeah, he's also thrown 29 touchdowns to just six interceptions, and he didn't throw an interception until Week 5 (when he already had 16 TD passes)!  Tom Brady's record of 50 TD passes appears to be in serious jeopardy.

Offensive Player: Calvin Johnson, Lions-This one easily could've been Manning, as well, and it's actually fairly common to see the same player win both MVP and Offensive Player of the Year.  But I'm giving the nod to Megatron.  Talk about guys on record-setting paces.  (How's that 2,500-yard season working out for you, Adrian Peterson?)  It's ridiculous how good this guy is, even if the numbers don't totally show it.  Part of the reason for that, of course, is the fact that he's double-teamed every week.  But still, he's got 47 receptions, 821 yards and seven touchdowns in seven games.  In his last game against Dallas, Megatron went nuts.  14 catches for 329 yards (an average of 23.5) and a touchdown in a one-point win for the first-place Lions.  And he's a human highlight.

Defensive Player: Tamba Hali, Chiefs-I feel a little bad not picking someone from the Seahawks here, but undefeated Kansas City has the best defense in the league, and Hali is the Chiefs' best player.  We knew that last year when they were terrible and he made the Pro Bowl, and it's even more prevalent this year.  He's a scary guy on the pass rush and a force on the unit that's primarily responsible for KC's perfect start.  Just to back things up with some numbers: 30 tackles, nine sacks (fifth in the NFL), four forced fumbles and a pick-six this season.

Offensive Rookie: DeAndre Hopkins, Texans-This certainly isn't last year, when there were three rookie quarterbacks taking their teams to the playoffs and grabbing headlines, as well as everyone's attention.  This year, most of the highly-touted offensive rookies in the NFL are linemen.  And a lineman's not going to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.  So, with the limited options available, it's really down to DeAndre Hopkins and Tavon Austin and, believe it or not, Geno Smith.  Since Austin has been mostly disappointing, that leaves DeAndre Hopkins.  Even though the Texans have had their problems, Hopkins has been pretty solid.  He's started every game and has 31 catches for 470 yards.

Defensive Rookie: Kiko Alonso, Bills-Since the Bills aren't good, they're never on national TV, which means nobody outside of Buffalo has really seen Kiko Alonso play.  But the middle linebacker has made his presence known.  He's third in the NFL with 89 tackles and is tied for the league lead with four interceptions.  At the very least, it looks like he's a lock for the Pro Bowl.

Comeback Player: LeSean McCoy, Eagles-The Eagles were really, really bad last year.  LeSean McCoy was a big reason why.  This year has been different.  He currently leads the NFL in rushing, and has gained almost as many yards in nine games this season as he did all of last year.  I'd even argue that LeSean McCoy has been the best running back in the NFL this year.

Coach: Andy Reid, Chiefs-This was the easiest call of them all.  Reid had worn out his welcome in Philadelphia, and a change of scene was needed for both parties.  But boy has he thrived in Kansas City!  What a difference a coach can make for a team that went from 2-14 last year to 9-0 this season.  It's not like anybody had any doubt, but this season has really proven it.  Andy Reid knows how to coach football.