[CBFF] NFL MIDSEASON REPORT

[Steve Behrens]

NFL MIDSEASON REPORT
*Bears leave paw prints on league
*
*After Chicago, a toss-up picking the elite teams
*
By MARK GAUGHAN
News Sports Reporter
10/28/2006


They're already deep into the debate in Chicago: Are the 2006 Bears better
than the 1985 Bears?

The 2006 Bears have allowed only four touchdowns in six games and are
yielding a mere 9.8 points a game. The '85 Bears allowed 22 TDs all year and
12.4 points a game.

Chicago papers run regular "Road to the Super Bowl XLI" updates. Chicago
radio stations are playing songs glorifying everyone from quarterback Rex
Grossman to kicker Robbie Gould. Members of the '85 Bears are constantly
interviewed about the merits of the current Monsters of the Midway.

So even though the 6-0 Bears still have a long way to go to equal the final
results of the '85 Bears - who went 15-1 and won the title - Super Bowl
fever has a firm grip on the Windy City.

The funny thing about the 2006 season as it approaches the midway point is
that Chicago is the only team looking truly super. There are a bunch of good
teams in the top half of the league but no juggernauts beyond the Bears.

Indianapolis is the only other unbeaten team at 6-0. But the Colts rank 31st
in run defense. That's a pretty big flaw, one that will be severely tested
the next two weeks when Indianapolis goes on the road against Denver and New
England.

Denver is 5-1 and has a defense that has allowed just two touchdowns and an
NFL-low 7.3 points a game. But can a team with Jake Plummer as its
quarterback - and a struggling Jake Plummer at that - be taken seriously as
Super Bowl championship material?

New England is 5-1 but is playing with a group of castoffs at wide receiver.
The Patriots have a habit of turning into a great team by season's end.
Right now, however, the Pats are not as good as the three New England teams
that won the Super Bowl this decade.

New Orleans is the surprise team of the NFL at 5-1. But can a team that went
3-13 a year ago sustain its hot start?

The bottom line: The chase to get to the Super Bowl in Miami on Feb. 4 is
wide open.

With the Bills on a bye week, here's a look at the NFL's highs and lows
approaching the midway point of the season.

*Most Valuable Player:* Peyton Manning. The loss of Edgerrin James was a
blow to the offense, but the Colts' quarterback has picked up the slack.
Indianapolis ranks third in the NFL on offense and second in passing. It's a
good thing, too, given the Colts' defensive holes. The last team to go to
the Super Bowl with the second-to-last run defense in the league was the
Bills in 1993. Manning has thrown 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions
on third down this year. Close on Manning's heels are Donovan McNabb and Tom
Brady.

*Defensive Player of the Year: *Brian Urlacher, Chicago. He might have
locked it up already with his superhero showing on Monday Night Football
against Arizona, when he made 25 tackles, with two pass deflections, three
hits on the quarterback and a strip of James that was returned for a
touchdown.

"Urlacher just turned into "The Incredible Hulk' the last four minutes,"
said Bears rookie Devin Hester, who returned a punt for the winning score.
"He was killing them, just running around and tackling anyone with the ball.
It was probably one of the greatest games anyone has ever played."

*Offensive Rookie of the Year: *Reggie Bush, New Orleans. The Saints are
running 1-2 in this category. Bush ranks eighth in the NFL in receiving with
39 catches. More important, his presence opens things for the Saints. New
Orleans receiver Marques Colston, a seventh-round pick from Hofstra, leads
all rookies with 414 receiving yards. Honorable mention to New England's
Laurence Maroney, who leads Bush in all-purpose yards, 773 to 642.

*Defensive Rookie of the Year: *Houston's DeMeco Ryans. The middle
linebacker from Alabama has been the Texans' best rookie, not top overall
pick Mario Williams. Ryans, the first pick in the second round, has 53 solo
tackles and has made lots of hits in the backfield.

*Coach of the Year:* Sean Payton, New Orleans.

*Comeback player: *Drew Brees, New Orleans.

*Most surprising team:* New Orleans. Consider this: The Saints have gone
from 31st in points last year to seventh. They have allowed the fewest sacks
in the NFL per pass play even though they have new starters at all five
positions on the line.

*Most disappointing team:* Miami. The team that Sports Illustrated picked to
go to the Super Bowl finds itself 1-6 due to Daunte Culpepper's right knee,
which has not recovered from major reconstruction, a porous offensive line
and a weak defensive secondary.

*Grass is Greener Award: *Edgerrin James, Arizona. In Indianapolis last
year, he produced 92 yards a game and averaged 4.3 yards per rush. Behind
the woeful Arizona offensive line this year he's averaging 81 a game
and 2.7a carry, the lowest of any starting running back.

*Running wild:* The Atlanta Falcons' running game is off to another wild
start. The Falcons are way ahead of the rest of the NFL with an average of
222 rushing yards a game. The Giants are second with a 152-yard average.

The Falcons' Warrick Dunn is fourth in the NFL with 580 yards. Quarterback
Michael Vick is 19th with 441 yards. Rookie Jerious Norwood is 34th with 290
yards. Vick is averaging 8.6 yards a carry and is on pace for 1,176 rushing
yards, which would smash the NFL record for a quarterback - 968 yards by
Bobby Douglass in 1972.

The Falcons are slightly ahead of the NFL record for rushing yards a game -
220.5 - set by O.J. Simpson and the Buffalo Bills' Electric Company in 1973.


*Midseason trend: *Sacks are up.

Sacks are happening more frequently than in any year this decade. This year
there have been 4.81 sacks a game. In 2005 it was 4.6 and in 2004 it was 4.5.
At this rate there will be 50 more sacks this year than last year over the
full season. Part of the reason is young quarterbacks. Nine teams are
starting QBs with less than a year's experience. Oakland's Andrew Walter (22
sacks), Buffalo's J.P. Losman (21) and Cleveland's Charlie Frye (21) are
among the most sacked QBs. A couple of veterans - Miami's Culpepper and
Cincinnati's Carson Palmer - have been sacked a lot more than in past years.
Plus, defensive coordinators continue to be aggressive with their blitz
packages.

*Quote of the season:* "It was stupid how close we were to putting 40 points
on the board." - Detroit receiver Roy Williams after the Lions' 9-6
season-opening loss to Seattle.

*Midseason playoff forecast: *AFC - Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Broncos to win
divisions; Chargers, Steelers for wild cards. NFC - Giants, Bears, Saints,
Seahawks to win divisions. Vikings, Panthers for wild cards.

*Run to glory*

Atlanta could threaten a 28-year-old NFL rushing record.
*Most rushing yards season
*1. New England, 1978, 3,165 (197 per game)
2. Buffalo, 1973, 3,088 (220/game+)
3. Kansas City, 1978, 2,986 (186/game)
*4. * Atlanta, 2006, 1,333 (222/game)
*+ Bills played 14-game season
* Through six games