The NFL at midseason
The NFL at midseason: Offenses belabor the points
Buffalo Bills fans will be shocked — shocked — to learn the truth about the first half of the 2009 pro football season:
The NFL is in the middle of a scoring frenzy.
No, you wouldn't know it if you lived in Buffalo, Cleveland, Oakland or St. Louis, where the offenses are moving as slowly as paint dries. But through eight weeks of the season, the league has seen 582 touchdowns, which is tied for the third most in league history at this point in the year.
Leading the scoring parade are the New Orleans Saints, averaging 39 points a game. The Saints are on pace to score 624 points, which would eclipse the record set just two years ago by the New England Patriots. The Pats averaged 36.8 that season and went 16-0. The Saints (7-0), of course, are one of the NFL's only two unbeaten teams this season.
The Saints' offense ranked No. 1 in the NFL last season and it is No. 1 this season. But it's a lot better this year because of balance. Last year, New Orleans ranked first in passing and 28th in rushing. This year, it stands sixth in passing and fourth in rushing.
"This team has so many weapons and so many ways to attack," said Jon Gruden, the former Bucs coach and ESPN analyst. "And Drew Brees is a great quarterback. He's deadly accurate and he has incredible timing and anticipation. He's a football genius."
Can the Saints maintain their scoring pace? They have a shot. Six of their last nine games are indoors. Five of their last nine are against teams that rank among the bottom 10 in the league in points allowed.
Overall, seven teams are averaging four touchdowns a game or better. Following the Saints are: Minnesota (30.5 ppg), Philadelphia (29), Baltimore (28.4), New England (28.2), Indianapolis (28.1) and Dallas (28.1).
Super Bowl race
The NFL's only two undefeated teams are the favorites to get to Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. It's the Saints in the NFC and the 7-0 Indianapolis Colts in the AFC.
The road will not be easy. Minnesota (7-1) is the clear-cut No. 2 behind the Saints. The Vikings' only loss was at Pittsburgh in a game in which they arguably outplayed the Steelers. The Colts have a minefield of contenders awaiting, including Denver (6-1), New England (5-2) and the defending champion Steelers. In the next six weeks the Colts play New England, Denver, Baltimore (4-3) and two games against Houston (5-3).
MVP race
The top contenders for the top individual honor at
midseason:
1. Peyton Manning, Colts. It's a close call between Manning and Brees. Manning is in the lead for this reason: He's playing with an overhauled receiving corps. Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark remain his stud targets. But Manning has beautifully incorporated unknown Pierre Garcon and rookie Austin Collie into the mix. Collie has 330 yards in catches. Garcon is averaging 16.3 yards on 18 catches. Manning is on pace for 5,090 passing yards, which would break Dan Marino's 1984 record of 5,084.
2. Drew Brees, Saints. Brees is having his sixth straight great season. He's on pace for 4,585 yards. But now he has a three-headed running monster in Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush. Brees is unstoppable.
3. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh.
4. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota.
5. Brett Favre, Minnesota.
Coach of the Year
Josh McDaniels, Denver. Most were predicting disaster in Denver when the Broncos traded Jay Cutler and anointed Kyle Orton QB. It turns out McDaniels wasn't just riding Bill Belichick's coat tails the past several years. He knows offense. Orton has nine TDs and one INT. Cutler has 11 TDs and 11 INTs.
Defensive Player of Year
1. Jared Allen, Vikings. He is the elite pass rusher in the league with 10.5 sacks and three forced fumbles.
2. Elvis Dumervil, Broncos. The surprise defensive Player of the Year, with 10 sacks and two forced fumbles.
3. Darren Sharper, New Orleans. He has returned three of his seven interceptions for touchdowns. He has 11 career INT returns for TDs, one shy of Rod Woodson's league record.
Rookie of the Year
1. Percy Harvin, Vikings. He leads the league in kickoff returns, has 28 catches and has five TDs overall.
2. Brian Cushing, Houston. Ranks fifth in the league in tackles.
3. Jairus Byrd, Bills. Tied with Sharper for the league lead in interceptions.
Comeback Player
Cedric Benson, Bengals. Tom Brady may wind up winning, but his career wasn't in the tank like Benson's. The former first-round bust of the Bears is fourth in the NFL in rushing.
Top Assistant Coach
1. Mike Nolan, Denver. He took over a defense that ranked 29th in yards. He switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4 and added eight new starters. Denver ranks No. 1 on defense.
2. Gregg Williams, Saints. As they used to say when he was in Tennessee, the second "g" is for genius. He took over a defense that was 21st in takeaways and 19th on third downs. He kept eight starters. Now the Saints are tied for first in takeaways and first on third downs.
A fast pace
Passing statistics are up. Seven quarterbacks are on pace for 4,500 yards. The most ever in a season was three. They are: Manning, Brees, Houston's Matt Schaub, Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, San Diego's Philip Rivers, New England's Tom Brady and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers.
Futility Dept.
Cleveland's defense is on pace to allow the most yards (at 409 a game) in 29 years. Oakland's offense is on pace to gain the fewest yards (at 215 a game) in 22 years. St. Louis is on pace to score the fewest points (at 9.6 a game) in 19 years.
Biggest flop
1. Tennessee: The Titans went from 13-3 last year to 1-6. The defense, which lost superstar Albert Haynesworth, has fallen from tied for first in points allowed to 32nd. Owner Bud Adams might just be foolish enough to fire coach Jeff Fisher after the season.
Eight to watch
Circle the calendar: Nov. 15, Patriots at Colts; Nov. 30, Patriots at Saints; Dec. 3, Vikings at Cardinals; Dec. 13, Broncos at Colts and Bengals at Vikings; Dec. 19, Cowboys at Saints; Dec. 27, Ravens at Steelers; Jan. 3, Eagles at Cowboys.
Team of decade?
With three Super Bowl titles already since 2001, New England is the likely winner of the unofficial title as Team of the '00s. But Pittsburgh has two Super Bowls and could tie the Pats this year. And Indianapolis could stake a claim for itself with a second title this year. The regular-season win totals for the decade:
Indianapolis 108, New England 107, Pittsburgh 99, Philadelphia 97, Denver 91.
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