One man's view on the midseason All-Pros and award-worthy players:
OFFENSE
QB: Tom Brady, New England
Others on the radar: Drew Brees, New Orleans; Andy Dalton, Cincinnati; Cam Newton, Carolina; Carson Palmer, Arizona; Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
RB: Todd Gurley, St. Louis
Others on the radar: Devonta Freeman, Atlanta; Chris Johnson, Arizona; Doug Martin, Tampa Bay; Latavius Murray, Oakland; Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
FB: Patrick DiMarco, Atlanta
Others on the radar: Marcel Reece, Oakland; Mike Tolbert, Carolina
TE: Rob Gronkowski, New England
Others on the radar: Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati; Greg Olsen, Carolina; Delanie Walker, Tennessee
LT: Terron Armstead, New Orleans
Others on the radar: Jake Matthews, Atlanta; Tyron Smith, Dallas; Joe Thomas, Cleveland
LG: Gabe Jackson, Oakland
Others on the radar: Clint Boling, Cincinnati; Evan Mathis, Denver; Andrew Norwell, Carolina
C: Ryan Kalil, Carolina
Others on the radar: Travis Frederick, Dallas; Weston Richburg, N.Y. Giants; Eric Wood, Buffalo
RG: Marshal Yanda, Baltimore
Others on the radar: T.J. Lang, Green Bay; Zack Martin, Dallas; Geoff Schwartz, N.Y. Giants; Trai Turner, Carolina
RT: Mitchell Schwartz, Cleveland
Others on the radar: Marcus Gilbert, Pittsburgh; Ryan Schraeder, Atlanta
**
WR:* Julio Jones, Atlanta; Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh
*Others on the radar: Keenan Allen, San Diego; Odell Beckham Jr., N.Y. Giants; Emmanuel Sanders, Denver; Demaryius Thomas, Denver
DEFENSE
DT/NT: Aaron Donald, St. Louis; Kawann Short, Carolina
Others on the radar: Geno Atkins, Cincinnati; Marcell Dareus, Buffalo; Linval Joseph, Minnesota; Brandon Williams, Baltimore
DE: Cameron Jordan, New Orleans; J.J. Watt, Houston
Others on the radar: Michael Bennett, Seattle; Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati; Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh; Malik Jackson, Denver; Cameron Wake, Miami; Muhammad Wilkerson, N.Y. Jets; Leonard Williams, N.Y. Jets
ILB: Luke Kuechly, Carolina; Brandon Marshall, Denver
Others on the radar: NaVorro Bowman, San Francisco; Karlos Dansby, Cleveland; Derrick Johnson, Kansas City; Danny Trevathan, Denver
**
OLB:* Justin Houston, Kansas City; Von Miller, Denver
*Others on the radar: Anthony Barr, Minnesota; Khalil Mack, Oakland; Pernell McPhee, Chicago; Whitney Mercilus, Houston; DeMarcus Ware, Denver; K.J. Wright, Seattle
S: Harrison Smith, Minnesota; Charles Woodson, Oakland
Others on the radar: Mike Adams, Indianapolis; Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia; Devin McCourty, New England; T.J. Ward, Denver
CB: Josh Norman, Carolina; Aqib Talib, Denver
Others on the radar: Chris Harris Jr., Denver; Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona; Captain Munnerlyn, Minnesota; Darrelle Revis, N.Y. Jets; Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, N.Y. Giants
**
SPECIAL TEAMS**
K: Stephen Gostkowski, New England
Others on the radar: Brandon McManus, Denver; Blair Walsh, Minnesota
P: Sam Koch, Baltimore
Others on the radar: Johnny Hekker, St. Louis; Pat McAfee, Indianapolis
KR: Dwayne Harris, N.Y. Giants
Others on the radar: Ameer Abdullah, Detroit; David Johnson, Arizona; Ty Montgomery, Green Bay
PR: Darren Sproles, Philadelphia
Others on the radar: Travis Benjamin, Cleveland; Jarvis Landry, Miami; Bobby Rainey, Tampa Bay; Marcus Sherels, Minnesota
MIDSEASON AWARDS
MVP: Tom Brady, New England
It's hard to argue with a 113.5 rating, a 22-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and an offense that is running roughshod through the league.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Julio Jones, Atlanta
Jones is on pace for one of the all-time seasons ever pieced together by an NFL receiver. With 80 receptions for 1,029 yards, he's on pace for 142 catches for 1,829 yards. The reception total would be the second-highest all-time; the yardage total would rank third all-time.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Aqib Talib, Denver
Until his finger poke Sunday, the only storyline for Talib was his dominance in coverage and his ability to make game-turning plays. Without Talib's two pick-sixes, the Broncos might be 5-3 at midseason. Denver's cornerback depth is perhaps the league's best, but replacing his playmaking potential will be difficult Sunday.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati
A strong case can also be made for Carolina's Ron Rivera and Minnesota's Mike Zimmer, but Lewis has molded the Bengals into a balanced juggernaut that keeps opponents off-balance on both sides of the line of scrimmage. There's something to be said for staying the course.
ASSISTANT COACHES OF THE YEAR: Hue Jackson, Cincinnati and Wade Phillips, Denver
This award was introduced last year, and there will be plenty of outstanding candidates, including Carolina defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, Philadelphia defensive coordinator Billy Davis, Oakland offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and Denver special-teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis, who has turned one of the league's most disappointing units into one of its best. But for now, we'll look to Jackson and Phillips, two former head coaches who have unleashed the talent at their disposal in new ways to create elite units. So far, so good ... but there's eight games left to go for each and plenty for their players to prove.
OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Todd Gurley, St. Louis
Tennessee's Marcus Mariota has a strong case, especially with the big games he had at the beginning and end of the season's first half. Oakland's Amari Cooper is making a push, too. But Gurley is averaging 15.9 more yards per game than any other running back. His 5.6-yard per-carry average also leads all running backs with at least 100 carries by 0.7 yards.
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Marcus Peters, Kansas City
Peters always had the physical gifts; whether he succeeded in the NFL would depend on how well he channeled them. As the Broncos discovered in Week 2, he's doing that quite well. He's making opponents pay for targeting him with three interceptions.
COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Carson Palmer, Arizona
Palmer hasn't simply picked up where he left off when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament; he's playing the best football of his career. The Cardinals are a legitimate Super Bowl contender with Palmer at the controls, although the next two weeks (Seattle, Cincinnati) will provide a stern test.
