Midseason Awards

This past week the NFL teams officially started the second half of the season. In eight weeks, we'll have playoff football and from the looks of things, teams like the New Orleans Saints will be watching the postseason on television like the rest of us. But let's not dwell on the negatives, it's time to hand out the midseason awards:

Offensive Rookie of the Year:
Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta - It's been a great year for rookies with five legitimate ROY contenders: Ryan, Joe Flacco, Eddie Royal, Chris Johnson and Matt Forte. While the others are all worthy of consideration, Ryan stands a cut above. Peyton Manning's name gets thrown around quite a bit when talking about Ryan. That's about all you need to know about his game.

Defensive Rookie of the Year:
Jerod Mayo, LB, New England - Mayo currently leads the Pats in tackles and has transitioned well from the SEC to the NFL. Bill Belichick trusts him to play inside in his complicated defense and he has taken his role and run with it.

Coach of the Year:
Jeff Fisher, Tennessee - The Titans are the last remaining undefeated team in the league and Fisher is the man responsible. He has handled adversity this season with Vince Young's situation and reserrected Kerry Collins' career.

Comeback Player of the Year:
Kerry Collins, QB, Tennessee - Collins took over for injured Vince Young and never looked back. He's been managing games for the Titans, but this past week he threw the ball 41 times for 289 yards and 2 TDs. A nice day for the 14 year Pro.

Offensive Player of the Year:
Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans - While the team's record is a disappointment, Brees continues to excell in Sean Payton's offense. He's on pace to break Dan Marino's passing yardage record and after nine games, he's thrown for 2,985 yards and 17 TDs, while completing 66.6 percent of his passes.

Defensive Player of the Year:
John Abraham, DE, Atlanta - Abraham leads the league with 11 sacks for the surprising Falcons. He is playing a more limited role for the team, but is being utilized better than he has his entire career. He moves around a bit from right and left DE and will drop back in coverage when needed. He gave Saints LT Jamaal Brown all he could handle this past week.

Most Valuable Player:
Kurt Warner, QB, Arizona - A few weeks ago, this looked to be Drew Brees' award to lose. Well, it looks like he lost it. While Brees is still putting up big numbers, Warner is leading his team to a division title. Warner has thrown for 2,760 yards and 19 TDs with a passer raiting of 106.4. More than that, he isn't turning the ball over as of late. He had a 3 interception day against the Jets earlier this year, but since then, he's only thrown two picks in five games. Warner's Cardinals are currently 6-3 and cruising to the NFC West Division title.