NFL Week 9 Reactions: My Midseason Awards, Surprises, And Disappointments

Midseason Awards

My Leading MVP Candidate: Peyton Manning

Not much of a surprise here. Manning is having one of the strongest seasons on his career, and seems to be only getting better with age. 29 touchdowns through eight games (putting him on pace for 58), and is responsible for running the most dominant offense in football this year. No other individual player has come close to having an impact as strong as Peyton’s through eight games.

My Leading Coach of the Year Candidate: Sean Payton

Sean Payton has returned and brought fresh life his New Orleans Saints. The offense has returned to being one of the league’s best, and hiring Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator was a brilliant move that has made the Saints one of the most complete teams in the league. A high powered offense with a solid defense to support them makes New Orleans a matchup nightmare for any team.

New Orleans was lost without Payton a year ago, and we see the value that a great coach can have on a franchise.

Runner Ups

Pete Carroll (He has kept his defense at the top of the league despite the loss of Gus Bradley, and has built the Seahawks into a strong contender)

Chuck Pagano (The Colts keep taking steps forward).

Marvin Lewis (the Bengals have had a couple of tough losses, but they look like they’ve learned how to rise to the occasion in big games with wins against Green Bay and New England in the first half).

Notable Omission: Andy Reid

No head coach in this league has been luckier than Reid in 2013. The Kansas City schedule has been an absolute cakewalk, complete with bad teams and backup quarterbacks. Now, that’s not to stay that Reid hasn’t done a good job, but he’s had just about every break possible go his way through nine weeks.

Worst Head Coach: Greg Schiano

A pretty easy pick. Schiano has run his starting quarterback out of town, lost his locker room, and found every conceivable way to blow winnable games. His 0-8 Buccaneers are the prime examples of a dysfunctional team.

Runner Ups

Mike Shanahan (Allowing RG III to come back too soon may have done more harm than good, Washington as a whole has taken a major step back).

Gary Kubiak (Texans were expected to win division, but instead have crumbled under his watch).

Mike Smith (Atlanta has had injuries, but they’ve got enough talent that they should be much better than 2-6).

My Best New Head Coach: Mike McCoy

McCoy has revived the career of Philip Rivers, and he’s getting great performances out of his team despite losing his top two receivers to injury and dealing with a general lack of talent at the skill positions. McCoy is famous for running an offense that he adapts to his talent, and he’s done exactly that in San Diego.

Runner Ups

Rob Chudzinski (the Cleveland Browns have used three different starting quarterbacks, and traded away their top running back Trent Richardson, and yet the Browns are 4-5 and just picked up a win over the Ravens. That’s all about a coach coaching up his team and squeezing the most out of minimal talent.)

Marc Trestman (Has Chicago at 5-3, won a big game in Green Bay with Josh McCown)

My Most Surprising Team: New York Jets

I thought that this was the year that the Rex Ryan ship would finally sink, but instead the Jets are 5-4 and have strung together some big wins against the Patriots and Saints.

Runner Up: Detroit Lions (Reggie Bush has made a greater impact on this team than anyone could have envisioned).

My Most Disappointing Team: Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons were expected to be a major player in the NFC Playoff picture, but at 2-6 with no Julio Jones or Roddy White, and the team playing with very little pride, its become a lost season for the Dirty Birds.

Runner Up: Baltimore Ravens (The Ravens lost some talent in the off-season, but they should not have regressed this much. Joe Flacco looks like a below-average quarterback, and Ray Rice has been a complete non-factor).

My Most Overrated Team: Kansas City Chiefs

Their defense is legitimate, but that mediocre offense is going to catch up with them. They’ll most likely make the playoffs, but I could easily see them going one-and-done.

My Most Underrated Team: Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys have flaws, there’s no doubt about it. But their offense is always a threat to explode and their defense is in good hands with Montee Kiffin. I think they’ll win the NFC East, and could be a tough out in the first round.