Midseason Awards: Sorry, no ignoring the Patriots

Prisco's Midseason Awards

Halfway through the season, this is what I want to know: The next time Bill Belichick orders at Shula's Steakhouse do they stamp the football with an asterisk?

Unless your eyes are closed, it's fairly obvious that Tom Brady is MVP. (Getty Images)

Belichick's Patriots are undefeated, and I know one guy who isn't happy about it. OK, so I know more than one. Anyway, you can't talk about this year without talking about the New England Patriots, and that's exactly what we do with this year's mid-season awards.

The Patriots are everywhere. Love them. Hate them. Or, if you're Shula, don't serve them. But you can't ignore them.

And we don't. Here then are the 2007 midseason awards:

MVP

Tom Brady, QB, New England: He's on pace to obliterate Peyton Manning's touchdown record, and his team hasn't lost. I thought he could have had this award last year. But he didn't. I voted for him two years ago. He didn't win then, either. All I know about Brady is that without him the Patriots go nowhere. He's the easiest choice in years.

2. Manning, QB, Indianapolis
3. (tie) Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay and Derek Anderson, QB, Cleveland

Offensive player

Brady, New England: He leads the league in touchdowns, yards, wins and sartorial splendor. What's not to like?

2. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota
3. Randy Moss, WR, New England

Defensive player

Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee: A year ago he was mentioned here for one of the season's lowlights; his drop kick of Andre Gurode's noggin. He promised to make amends, and he seems to have followed through. Now, he's a changed and charged man, dominating every offensive lineman who has the misfortune to face him. He has 30 tackles, five sacks and three deflected passes, but the numbers don't reflect the domination of his opponents.

2. Jared Allen, DE, Kansas City
3. Bob Sanders, S, Indianapolis

Coach

Mike McCarthy, Green Bay: Let's clear up something right now: Belichick isn't eligible because he violated the Shawne Merriman rule, which says that if you break the law you can't go home with the hardware. Simple as that. Belichick screwed up, but McCarthy hasn't. He could be 8-0 if he hadn't blown that game against Chicago. Go back to last year, and all he's done is win 11 of his last 12 with a quarterback a lot of people thought should have stayed home in Mississippi. Now there was a great idea.

2. Rod Marinelli, Detroit
3. Tom Coughlin, N.Y. Giants

Offensive rookie

Peterson, Minnesota: We're halfway through the season, and the guy already has two 200-yard games. He leads the league in rushing. He leads the league in total yards. And he leads the league in yards per carry. Oh, and did I mention he's on pace to run for 2,000? Hey, welcome to Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes and 2,000 yards. And he's doing all this on a team operating without a quarterback. Amazing. Yeah, I'd say the Vikings got themselves a steal at the seventh draft position.

2. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Buffalo
3. Joe Thomas, OT, Cleveland

Defensive rookie

Patrick Willis, LB, San Francisco: The guy's a tackling machine. For all the millions the 49ers spent on defensive free agents, it's Willis who's making a difference. He leads the team in tackles with 83, including a team-high 10 in a loss to Atlanta where he played with a broken right hand. "That's football," Willis said after adding a sack. No, that's Patrick Willis.

2. Amobi Okoye, DT, Houston
3. Jonathan Beason, LB, Carolina

Assistant coach

Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, New England: Look, I wouldn't know Josh McDaniels if he were seated next to me, but I do know what's happening where he coaches. Records are broken weekly by this guy's offense and his star quarterback. Some people worried he was in over his head after taking over for Charlie Weis, but who would you rather have now? Sorry, Charlie.

2. Rob Chudzinski, offensive coordinator, Cleveland
3. (tie) Jason Garrett, offensive coordinator, Dallas and Jim Schwartz, defensive coordinator, Tennessee

Poll Which team is the most suprising?   32%  Lions     36%  Browns     3%  Giants     24%  Packers     5%  Patriots     Total Votes: 7833

Most surprising team

The Detroit Lions: They've won six games, which doesn't sound like much until you look at their last six seasons: 2-14, 3-13, 5-11, 6-10, 5-11 a and 3-13. Nope, nobody does it worse than the Lions. Or nobody did. They were the game's biggest losers until this season. Now they're rolling toward ... I can't believe I'm saying this ... a playoff spot?. Well, they have a chance, with their Thanksgiving Day game against Green Bay pivotal. Good for the Lions. It's about time. I wasn't sure what would happen first: Them winning or polar cooling.

2. Cleveland Browns
3. N.Y. Giants

Most disappointing team

The Chicago Bears: They were supposed to win the NFC North in a walk, but look what's happened: They're sinking in Lake Michigan, sabotaged by a raft of poor quarterbacking, injuries and no running game. I can't figure this team out. Just when it appears it has a pulse Brian Griese goes out and throws four interceptions. Make it an early winter for the Bears, who look ready for hibernation. Memo to Jerry Angelo: Find a quarterback. Find a running back. Something. Anything. Please.

2. St. Louis Rams
3. Denver Broncos

Most surprising player

Derek Anderson (Getty Images)

Anderson, Cleveland: The Browns thought so much of him they drafted Brady Quinn with a first-round pick, then chose Charlie Frye to start the season. OK, we all make mistakes, and Cleveland corrected theirs. Once Romeo Crennel put Anderson in charge, the QB drove the Browns up the division standings where they haven't been in years. For those of you counting at home, that's four wins in five games. Anderson is accurate. He's productive. He's invaluable. And he's keeping Quinn nailed to the bench. I don't know where Cleveland would be without him. My only question is: What does Baltimore do to get him back?

2. Justin Tuck, N.Y. Giants
3. Earnest Graham, Tampa Bay

Most disappointing player

Larry Johnson, RB, Kansas City: He didn't show up for training camp, and he's barely shown up for the season. Yeah, he had a couple 100-yard games, but this is Larry Johnson, for crying out loud -- a guy who once reeled off nine consecutive 100-yarders and who was supposed to be worth every decimal point of that gazillion-dollar deal he signed this summer. Uh, right. Anyone working the Fantasy-football boards can tell you he's been a bust. I mean, four touchdowns? L.J. was supposed to be L.T. Not even close, people. And now he may be done.

2. Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle
3. Marc Bulger, QB, St. Louis

Most improved player

Braylon Edwards, WR, Cleveland: When I visited Cleveland last summer receivers coach Wes Chandler predicted that Edwards would be at this year's Pro Bowl. "Oh, yeah?" I said. "Where does he find a ticket?" Well, Wes was right. The guy is making the catches he didn't a year ago and is a big reason why the Browns are back on the map. Edwards is such a big-play threat (he averages over 17 yards a catch) only Pittsburgh's Santonio Holmes has a better yards-per-catch average of the game's top 50 receivers.

2. Holmes, WR, Pittsburgh
3. Barrett Ruud, LB, Tampa Bay

Best free-agent pickup

QB Jeff Garcia (Getty Images)

Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay: Let's be honest: Without Garcia, the Bucs are doomed. They don't have a quarterback. They don't have a passing game. They don't have a chance. Garcia was a perfect fit with Jon Gruden, a quarterback who can escape the pocket, throw on the run and inspire an offense that had the personality of spam. Over his last 14 regular-season starts Garcia is 10-4, and I'll take that to the playoffs.

2. London Fletcher, LB, Washington
3. Alfonso Boone, DT, Kansas City

Best trend

Stiff penalties for lawbreakers They are not just in the huddle but on the sidelines. And, yeah, I'm talking about Spygate. I don't care who does it, how often it's done or how many times it was tried before this season. All I know is one team got caught, and the commissioner told us what he thought about it with fines and the forfeit of a first-round pick. Then there's Pacman Jones. Chris Henry. Tank Johnson. Whom do these guys think they're dealing with? Judge Judy? Roger Goodell isn't running a league; he's running an audition for Law & Order.

2. No officiating controversies
3. Coaches in suits

Worst trend

Regular-season games overseas: The league says it must globalize to keep up with MLB, the NBA and NHL, except there's one difference: YOU ONLY GET EIGHT HOME GAMES, GUYS!!! In Major League baseball you sacrifice one of 81 home dates, and in the NBA and NHL it's one of 41. Big difference. You're asking a coach to sacrifice the competitive advantage of a home game, then asking season ticket-holders to understand. All I know is I don't want to be the guy telling Belichick he's playing next year in Katmandu.

2. Pouring it on
3. The Eagles' throwback uniforms

Best moment

Brett Favre breaking Dan Marino's record. Brett Favre beating Denver with a bomb. No, Brett Favre beating Kansas City with a bomb. Hey, just seeing Brett Favre look, act and play like Brett Favre again. Priceless.

2. Peterson rushing for an NFL-record 296 yards
3. Vinny Testaverde quarterbacking Carolina to victory after three days on the job

Worst moment

Buffalo tight end Kevin Everett carted off the field in Buffalo with what was described as a "catastrophic" spinal cord injury. Everett was hurt while trying to make a tackle on a kickoff in the Bills' season opener, and the damage was so severe a physician called the injury life threatening. Everett not only survived, he recovered so miraculously that he was able to stand with the help of a specialized walker within a month.

2. Andy Reid in a courtroom hearing a judge sentence his sons to jail
3. Travis Johnson barking at an unconscious Trent Green, then comparing the injured quarterback to "a scarecrow (who) wants to get courage."