Every NFL team has now played eight games, meaning the season has reached the halfway point. So this week we're presenting our NFL FanHouse Midseason Midtacular.
No matter what Roger Goodell wants you to believe, the NFL isn't all about parity. Sure, there are a lot of teams still battling for a playoff spot, but the Lions, Chiefs, Bengals and Raiders have shown that there also is a group of pathetic teams that can be counted on to make any other team feel good.
So who has been the worst? Which team put forward the worst performance of the 2008 season? There are several games that brought up memories of the 1976 Bucs. So here are the nominees:
Week One--Falcons 34, Lions 21: Sure, the final score may have the Lions falling by less than two touchdowns, but on Opening Day the Lions squashed whatever hopes their fans had in the first 15 minutes of the game. Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan, making his first NFL start, connected with Mike Jenkins on a 62-yard touchdown on the fourth play of the game. On the Falcons next drive, Michael Turner ripped off a 66-yard touchdown run, ensuring that the Fire Matt Millen chants began before the end of the first quarter. Turner added a 29-yard run on the Falcons next drive to set up a third touchdown. By the end of the first quarter it was 21-0, and Millen could start slowly edging for the exit--as he was chased by an angry mob.
Your Nominees for NFL LVP (soon to be renamed the Mittens Award):
David Carr, QB, New York Giants Kidding. Sorry, force of habit. (And actually, he has a perfect passer rating I believe. Steph and I will now do some group suicide thing.)
Every NFL team has now played eight games, meaning the season has reached the halfway point. So this week we're presenting our NFL FanHouse Midseason Midtacular.
There are many problems with the MVP award in almost every sport. Primarily, it is dependent on how one's team performs -- you simply cannot be classified as valuable on team that isn't winning a lot. (Note that there is some logic there, but not enough to justify the exclusion of some players from consideration.)
But the beauty of the MVP in football is that generally speaking, there is a clear cut individual whose performance over the course of 16 game is so distinctly dominant that there is less of an argument re: who should win. Except when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair tie. Then it gets awkward.
Oh yes, and this year; a football season where there is absolutely -- the Tennessee Titans excluded, and more on that in a second -- no single dominant team that magnifies an individual performance. So, seriously, I ask you again, who is the MVP this year?
I can't remember the last time this many rookies made this big of an impact in just nine short weeks. We have running backs dominating their respective backfields, obscure quarterbacks on teams nobody really thought would win actually winning and even a few random positions being dominated by a first year. Unlike the fraternity house, if you're a good young stud, you can lead the group and these few have done just that, with the last winning our respective rookie of the first half award.
Matt Forte, RB Chicago -- The rookie out of Tulane basically broke waiver wires the first week with his 123 yard, 1 touchdown game against the Colts. While it took him seven weeks to break the century mark again, last week against Detroit, the tough-nosed runner has been consistent, rushing for 76 or more yards five times this season. If the Bears want to continue their dominance over the NFC North, the offense will need the mix of passing and running, with Forte getting a lot of that attention.
Eddie Royal, WR Denver -- Jay Cutler and company was pretty lucky to have Royal in the lineup with Brandon Marshall out early in the season. The first year from Virginia Tech had 146 yards and a touchdown in his first game, and has averaged 65.9 yards per game with one of the better players at his position lining up on the other side of the ball. Royal might not be a first option for a quarterback, but if he could be the Wes Welker to Marshall's Randy Moss this team will always be scary for secondaries.
(Note: the award "OMG I Get to Talk About Brett Favre" was previously known as "Best Old Face in New Place," but Peter King insisted it be renamed in honor of his Excellency.)
Listen, we'd all love to avoid the huge, green, aging, immobile, accident-prone elephant in the room.
But I don't think we can look past Brett Favre when talking about "old faces," especially when those "old faces" also happen to be in "new places" this year.
Three coaches have already been canned this season and more could be on the way. Let's take a look at who could be next on the chopping block.
Coaches On the Hot Seat nominees: Wade Phillips, Cowboys -- Dallas has all the ingredients for a coaching change. They have woefully underperformed, players are openly complaining, there is a highly-paid replacement on the staff and they have an owner who demands results. The Cowboys have already lost more games this year than they did all of last year and run the danger of not getting into the playoffs. This was a ridiculous thought five weeks ago.
Once America's favorite hero villain went down in Week 1 -- along with the Patriots' Super Bowl hopes -- it set the tone for a season chock full of injuries. While it's true that every year there are a myriad of injuries which affect every single team in the league, this season has been especially brutal ... and contained arguably more big-names than ever.
Just as injuries are the nature of the sport, it's also the nature of the sport that the quarterback position gets all the attention. I'm guessing if you asked a fan -- off the top of his head -- to name one position which was the most afflicted via injury this season, he'd say QB. Before compiling a list, I know I would have, especially after this past week, when Kyle Orton, Dan Orlovsky, and Matt Schaub fell victim.
What we're gonna do is check the actual impact injuries have had on each position, weighing stars more than simply starters, and starters a ton more than backups. Most Afflicted Position Nominees:
Do you remember that Simpsons episode where all of the teachers went on strike, and to get the students back into class they brought in people from the neighborhood to run the school? One of those people, Jasper, the old guy with the jagged voice and ZZ top beard, was in charge of the second-grade class. He began by standing at the front of the room with a paddle, and running down a list of all the acts that would result in a paddling: "Looking out the window ... that's a paddling. Talking out of turn ... that's a paddling. Staring at my sandles ... that's a paddling. Paddling the school canoe ... oh, you better believe that's a paddling."
I mention this because it's not all that different from how Roger Goodell handles fines around the National Football League. The only difference, of course, is instead of paddling Ronnie Brown for dancing, he simply hands out a fine. Doing a cartwheel? That's a fine. Doing the cupid shuffle? That's a fine. Playing bongo drums after scoring a touchdown ... oh, you better believe that's a fine.
So, which fine handed down by the commissioner has been the worst?
You have a group of guys that everyone rants about. Drew Brees, Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson -- these guys are great and deserve the press they receive. But what about the other guys? The players that are busting their tails for the team and aren't on the top of the Pardon the Interruption roll week in and week out. These guys are underrated, under-appreciated but better than most would expect. Who makes the list? You shall soon see...
Roddy White, WR Atlanta -- Matt Ryan might be having a great season, but a lot can be attributed to White, who has had 112 yards receiving or more in four of his last six games. Starting the season slow, White is now averaging 91.6 yards per game and has become one of the most consistent wide-outs in the league. Too bad most people still would rather have Terrell Owens or Randy Moss.
Owen Daniels, TE Houston -- Yeah, if you didn't know, he's the other option for Matt Schaub in Houston, and he's a damn good substitute for Andre Johnson. Daniels averages 66 yards per game with two touchdowns, catching at least three balls a game this season. If there is a guy you'd want on your team that nobody has heard of, Owens is him. Is it crazy to call him the best tight end in Texas?
Peter King of Sports Illustratedwriting that Lions defensive coordinator Joe Barry is "a good defensive coach." Because really, what says "good defensive coach" better than having two years as a defensive coordinator under your belt and leading the league in points allowed in both of those years?
Every NFL team has now played eight games, meaning the season has reached the halfway point. So this week we're presenting our NFL FanHouse Midseason Midtacular. 
NFL FanHouse Midseason Midtacular
