Touchdown Dance: Half-Way Home

The NFL season is already at the half way point in their schedule. Here at Touchdown Dance we would like to review the happenings thus far and hand out our 1st Annual Half-Way Home Awards.

Thus far we have seen more bad football than usual during most NFL seasons. Parody is a word most associated with the NFL, but this years bottom of the barrel teams are worse than ever. The amount of really bad teams is equally surprising. Teams like Detroit finally came away with a victory, but haven't looked good since. The Rams also came away with their first victory this past weekend, but it was against the Lions. The Buccaneers are the only win less squad, but unlike teams like the Browns and Raiders they have some young talent to start building around. The biggest disappointment when it comes to bad teams is the Titans who haven't caught any breaks like they did last season when they finished with the best record in the league.

As with many seasons there are a huge number of teams stuck in the big bubble of mediocrity. Both conferences have an undefeated team to this point and some very good teams right behind them. The Saints have found a defense to go along with the best offense in the NFL. The Colts have Peyton Manning who they have rode to a perfect mark. Tom Brady has gotten back on track after a shaky start and the Steelers look the part of defending Super Bowl Champs despite having a couple of losses. By far the biggest surprise within the really good bunch is the Denver Broncos which has shown the rest of the league that a aggressive, sound defense matched with a productive, mistake free offense can turn things around very quickly.

Now for the 1st Annual Half-Way Home Awards.

• Half-Way Home MVP

Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) Oops he did again. New coach, young receivers, but same old Peyton. Manning has led his team to another Half-Way Home undefeated record while passing for over 2,200 yards with 15 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. He leads his team like no other quarterback in the league and is supplanting himself securely amongst the best to ever play.

Also considered: Cedric Benson, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson,

• Half-Way Home Offensive Player of the Year

Matt Schaub (Houston Texans) So far so good for Matt Schaub this season. He has remained on the field and the results have finally arrived. This is what the Texans envisioned when they traded for him a few years back. Schaub leads the league in passing yards and is tied for touchdown passes.

Also considered: Maurice Jones-Drew, Aaron Rodgers, Chris Johnson, Wes Welker

• Half-Way Home Defensive Player of the Year

Jared Allen (Minnesota Vikings) The ultimate football hillbilly is non-stop attack the ball. Whether he's doing what he does best in sacking the quarterback (10.5 sacks) or playing solidly against the run, Allen's motor never quits. Which makes him the heart and soul of a very good Vikings defense.

Also considered: Julius Peppers, Patrick Willis, Elvis Dumervil, James Harrison

• Half-Way Home Offensive Rookie of the Year

Percy Harvin (Minnesota Vikings) Not only has he grasped the Vikings offense faster than anyone though, he has also run nice patterns. So far this season he has caught 28 balls for 369 yards and 3 touchdowns. The other area he has completely changed the game is on special teams where has returned 2 kicks for touchdowns and has changed field position for the productive Vikings offense.

Also considered: Knowshon Moreno, Johnny Knox, Austin Collie, LeSean McCoy

• Half-Way Home Defensive Rookie of the Year

Brian Cushing (Houston Texans) It wasn't hard to that Cushing would be a very good player, but to be this good this quickly surprises us all. Cushing leads the Texans in tackles with 66 to go along with 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and a safety. Cushing's play can be directly pointed to the Texans improved defensive play.

Also considered: Brian Orakpo, James Laurinaites, Jarius Byrd, Derek Cox

• Half-Way Home Comeback Player of the Year

Cedric Benson (Cincinnati Bengals) Was he misunderstood? Immature? Lazy? Yes, he was probably all of those things coming out of Texas. After being released by the Bears something seemed to click for the former 1st round pick. You saw flashes of it last season when took over the starting running back job late in the season. He has kept that running literally and may be one of the main reasons the Bengals are very competitive this season.

Also considered: Will Smith

• Half-Way Home Most Disappointing Offensive Player

Steve Smith (Carolina Panthers) Though it isn't at all his fault his lack of production for an elite NFL player can not go unnoticed. Smith is more a victim of circumstance of bad quarterback play, but sometimes that is the way the cookie crumbles.

Also considered: Matt Forte, Eli Manning, Willie Parker, Jay Cutler

• Half-Way Home Most Disappointing Defensive Player

Shawn Merriman (San Diego) Merriman looks to have lost a step ans we may never no if that's due to the knee injury or the lack of performing enhancing drugs running through his system. Whatever it may be he is a shell of the former player he was and the Chargers defense as a whole is the one suffering.

Also Considered: Mario Williams, Terrell Suggs, Derrick Burgess

• Half-Way Home NFL Best Team

New Orleans Saints- Everybody knew that the Saints had a ton of offensive talent and a offensive system that was even better, but what makes the Saints the tops team in the league thus far is their much improved defensive play. Some key acquisitions like safety Darren Sharper matched with new defensive coordinator Greg Robinson has made this team from the Big Easy a true title contender.

• Half-Way Home NFL Worst Team

Cleveland Browns- The weirdness started as soon as Eric Mangini rolled through the Browns facilities. He has made horrible personnel decisions, from his hand-picked buddy GM who has since been relieved of his job to his handling of the starting quarterback spot at the beginning of the season. The team has amazingly won a single game, but has looked less than amateurish all season long. It's hard not to feel for the good players on this roster to have to suffer through this franchise ineptitude. The best example is Brady Quinn who didn't light it up during his first couple of starts and then lost his job to Derek Anderson who has proved to be almost as bas as Raiders quarterback JeMarcus Russell. The only reason Quinn is still sitting on the bench seems to be he escalators in his contract that would pay him more than 11 million in bonus money if he took at least 70% of the snaps this season. The fans of the Browns deserve better than this especially when they had to fight so hard to get a franchise back to their city.

• Half-Way Home All Pro Team

Quarterbacks

1. AFC- Peyton Manning, Matt Schaub, Ben Roethlisberger
2. NFC- Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre

Running Backs

1. AFC- Chris Johnson, Cedric Benson, Maurice Jones-Drew
2. NFC- Adrian Peterson, Steven Jackson, DeAngelo Williams

Wide Receivers

1. AFC- Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Andre Johnson, Hines Ward
2. NFC- Steve Smith (NY Giants), Larry Fitzgerald, Marques Colston, Roddy White

Tight Ends

1. AFC- Dallas Clark, Owen Daniels, Heath Miller
2. NFC- Brent Celek, Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez

Best Offenive Line

1. AFC- New England Patriots
2. NFC- New Orleans Saints

Defensive Ends

1. AFC- DRwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Chris Kelsay
2. NFC- Jared Allen, Julius Peppers, Andre Carter

Defensive Tackles

1. AFC- Mike Wright, Casey Hampton, Marcus Stroud
2. NFC- Kevin Williams, Albert Haynesworth, Jay Ratliff

Linebackers

1. AFC- Ray Lewis, DJ Williams, Elvis Dumervil, James Harrison, Brian Cushing, Kirk Morrison
2. NFC- Jon Beason, London Fletcher, Thomas Davis, Chad Greenway, Lance Briggs, Patrick Willis

Cornerbacks

1. AFC- Champ Bailey, Darrelle Revis, Nnamdi Asomugha
2. NFC- Jabari Greer, DeAngelo Hall, Antoine Winfield

Safeties

1. AFC- George Wilson, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins
2. NFC- Oshiomogho Atogwe, Daniel Manning, Darren Sharper, Adrian Wilson