The Shark's Mid Season Report

The Shark's Mid Season Report

The 2007 NFL season has reached the halfway point (we'll, arguably the mid point of the 17 week season). The action so far has been unpredictable and simply awesome. Through all the madness and parity, a handful of teams have emerged as true Super Bowl contenders. New England, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Dallas and Green Bay have been terrific. These franchises are the teams to beat right now.

We have had plenty of drama thanks to the best soap opera on television, the new Brady Bunch. The Spy Gate scandal will also not be forgotten nor will a perfect season. The Patriots are good enough to go 16-0. Brett Farve has the Green Bay faithful dreaming of a division title and home playoff games again and Brett Jr., Tony Romo got paid after starting the season red hot. Romo has guided Dallas to one of their best starts ever. New head coach Mike Tomlin has a sweet balance going in the Steel City and with Ben Roethlisberger healthy, Pittsburgh looks like a true contender again. Other teams and players have stepped up and at this juncture in the season, the playoff picture in both conferences is wide open. There have also been stunning individual performances this season. Viking rookie Adrian Peterson has without a doubt stolen the show thus far.

Peterson's NFL record day in week nine against the Chargers has many around the league talking about a possible MVP run against Tom Brady. Peterson now has two, 200-yard games this season and leads the league in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and rush average. Peterson is averaging a whopping 6.6 yards per carry. No rookie in NFL history has rushed for 200 yards twice in one season. The great Emmitt Smith did not even record a single two hundred yard game in his Hall of Fame career. Peterson's 1,036 yards and nine touchdowns have him on pace for a 2,000-yard, 20 plus touchdown season.

The rookie sensation Peterson is more than in range to beat the rookie record of 1,808 yards set by Eric Dickerson as well as Dickerson's all-time NFL regular season mark of 2,105 yards. With promising matchups ahead, don't be surprised if Peterson hits the 200-yard mark yet again. If Peterson can remain healthy and get some help from the quarterback position, he will topple every rookie record imaginable and make the teams that passed him up on draft day feel that much more foolish. What makes this all the more impressive is that Peterson is crushing it with no help from the Vikings' quarterback or receivers. Teams are stacking the box against him. Going against eight, nine and ten men fronts still has not slowed APete down. Peterson's tremendous speed and vision have proven too much to handle, even for the league's best defensive units. If Minnesota had someone that could throw the ball down field, imagine how much higher his numbers might actually be.

The Detroit Lions are 6-2 and the Cleveland Browns are 5-3. Both teams are right in the mix of things in their respective conferences. Who would have thought that? Detroit, maybe… I called a playoff year for one of my favorite teams before the preseason started but I was not thinking a ten or 11-win season was reachable this year. The Lions are on pace to hit ten wins and could host their first home playoff game since 1991. The Browns are also one of the more pleasant surprises of 2007. After a horrible first two weeks of the season, many of us thought this was the same old Browns but not so fast. Derek Anderson has led the Browns resurgence and has emerged as a legit, Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback. Anderson started the year as the third option, but after he got his chance, he has never looked back. Anderson has led the Browns to three straight wins and is on pace for 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns - not bad for a third string quarterback.

The Shark's Mid Season Awards

MVP

1.    Tom Brady, QB New England - 2,686 yards passing and 35 total touchdowns
2.    Adrian Peterson, RB Minnesota - 1,036 yards rushing and nine total touchdowns

Offensive Player of the Year

1.    Randy Moss, WR New England - 12 receiving touchdowns
2.    Tom Brady, QB New England - 33 passing touchdowns and 73.2 completion percentage

Defensive Player of the Year

1.    Osi Umenyiora, DE New York Giants - Eight sacks, three forced fumbles and one touchdown
2.    Jared Allen, DE Kansas City - 29 tackles and 8.5 sacks in six games played

Offensive Rookie of the Year

1.    Adrian Peterson, RB Minnesota - 1,036 yards and eight rushing touchdowns
2.    Marshawn Lynch, RB Buffalo - 690 yards and five rushing touchdowns

Defensive Rookie of the Year

1.    Patrick Willis, LB San Francisco - 83 tackles and one forced fumble
2.    Amobi Okoye, DT Houston - 24 tackles and five sacks

Comeback Player of the Year

1.    Randy Moss, WR New England - 924 yards and 12 receiving touchdowns
2.    Albert Haynesworth, DT Tennessee - 30 tackles and five sacks

Coach of the Year

1.    Tom Coughlin, New York Giants - 6-2 record with a six game win streak
2.    Rod Marinelli, Detroit - 6-2 record and have won four of their last five games

AFC Surprise Team

1.    Cleveland Browns
2.    Tennessee Titans

NFC Surprise Team

1.    Detroit Lions
2.    Green Bay Packers

AFC Disappointing Team

1.    New York Jets
2.    Denver Broncos

NFC Disappointing Team

1.    Chicago Bears
2.    Philadelphia Eagles