NFL: First half overachievers and underachievers in the West

At the halfway point in the season, most teams will now have an idea of where their season is headed and how they’d like it to end: whether that be pushing for the playoffs or simply avoiding the dreaded winless season.

Some teams aren’t where they expected to be thanks to disappointing stars, while others have been propelled to the top by great performances from unexpected sources.

In this short series, I’ll suggest one over-achieving player who will need to “keep it up” and one under-performer who needs to “pick it up” for each team, by region, concluding with the West.Previous entries: East North South

AFC West

OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 06: Defensive end Lamarr Houston #99 of the Oakland Raiders celebrates a tackle against the San Diego Chargers in the first quarter on October 06, 2013 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California. The Raider lead 14-0 in the first quarter. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Denver Broncos

Keep it up: Julius Thomas, TE – It’s a long shot for an undrafted free agent like Thomas to even make a roster. Thomas won a starting job and has 8 TDs through the first 8 games. The way Manning is throwing the ball around, the offense would succeed without him, but they wouldn’t be on the record breaking pace they are.

Pick it up: Von Miller, LB – Scraping the barrel here on a good team. The Broncos D will need to step it up if they’re to go all the way. Miller has missed a lot of time and the Broncos need him to make an impact, as he did with 30 sacks and 8 forced fumbles over the last 2 years. He’s missed some time for unfortunate off the field circumstances, but he’s back on the field now, so it’s time to get going.

Kansas City Chiefs

Keep it up: Jamaal Charles, WR – Charles is a running back, and a great one, so his success there is not exactly surprising. What is surprising is that he’s also the team’s leading receiver in catches and yards. He has nearly 40% of the total yards on an undefeated team. If no-one else steps up, the only undefeated team left could be leaning on Charles to carry them all the way.

Pick it up: Alex Smith, QB – Smith has been a perfectly good game manager, but it’s been no more than that. If the run game or the D isn’t at 100% then can they get it done through the air? It’s a question mark at best. Smith was averaging over 8 yards per attempt last year, on his way to a 100 QB rating, but this year has managed on 6.1. The offense will need to be more aggressive at some point and Smith needs to be good enough to pull it off.

Oakland Raiders

Keep it up: Lamarr Houston, DE – The Raiders were supposed to be terrible, especially on defense, where they were starting 9 new faces out of 11. Instead, the D has been a highlight of a team that that will be surprised and happy to call themselves average. With Houston and the D line leading the way, the Raiders are right in the middle of the pack in yards and points, while giving up less than 4 yards per carry to opposing backs, and picking up a good number of sacks. The back end of the D could do with an upgrade, but the guys up front are getting it done.

Pick it up: Terrelle Pryor, QB – Pryor has had praise heaped on him this and, with 485 yards at 7.7 per carry, Pryor the RB has deserved it. Pryor the QB has averaged less than 7.4 yards per attempt and thrown nearly twice as many INTs as TDs. That wont cut it at this level.

San Diego Chargers

Keep it up: King Dunlap, OT – Philip Rivers’ bounce back year has been spectacular. Equally spectacular has been the turnaround in a offensive line that was truly terrible last year. Constantly harried in 2012, Rivers has been hit just 22 times this year, which is the lowest number in the league. Dunlap was not brought in to start, and was not expected to produce much he did, but he’s been impressive protecting Rivers and in making holes for the run game.

Pick it up: Derek Cox/Shareece Wright/Marcus Gilchrist, CB – 3 consecutive All-Pro selections show that Weddle is certainly a difference maker. He’s been the best safety in the league over that period, but this year he hasn’t looked anything like that form. He’s had to spend too much energy covering for the deficiencies of the 3 men listed above. They need to do their jobs if Weddle is to make a difference again.

NFC West

ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 15: Robert McClain #27 of the Atlanta Falcons breaks up a reception intended for Tavon Austin #11 of the St. Louis Rams at Georgia Dome on September 15, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Arizona Cardinals

Keep it up: Andre Ellington, RB – For players picked in the 6^th round, its always touch and go as to whether they’ll even make the team. Ellington, picked 187^th in April, not only made the Cardinals, but leads them in rushing yards, despite having less than half as many carries as lead back Rashard Mendenhall. His 7.7 yards per attempt is definitely not sustainable, but the Cards could do much worse than making him a more central figure in their offense, as they did in week 8. He rewarded them with over 150 yards on just 15 carries.

Pick it up: Carson Palmer, QB – I admit it, I was so very excited to see Larry Fitzgerald catching passes from a competent QB this year. Maybe the nostalgic in me was thinking of pre-injury Palmer looking like a no.1 overall pick and leading the Bengals to the playoffs. This is not the same man, and the Cards stand no chance with him as he is.

San Francisco 49ers

Keep it up: Anquan Boldin, WR – In his 5 full years (of 7) with the Cardinals, Boldin never failed to reach 1000 receiving yards or more than 80 catches. In his 3 years since leaving, he averaged 62 catches for 882 yards. Not bad, but his time as a potential no.1 option seemed to be over. This year, back in the NFC West, Boldin has shown us all that it wasn’t true, as he’s been Colin Kaepernick’s most reliable weapon, leading the team in yards and receptions, on pace for 74 catches and 1102 yards. Great numbers on a team that has the fewest passing attempts in the NFL this year

Pick it up: Jonathan Goodwin, C – As much as they were carried by great defense last year, the offensive line might have been the most dominant group on the 49ers in 2012. This year they’ve been no better than average. Much of that has been to do with most of the line dipping from outstanding to merely good. Goodwin, on the other hand, has gone from good to below average. If this team has ambitions of being as good as last year’s, that wont be good enough.

Seattle Seahawks

Keep it up: Michael Bennett, DE – Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seahawks, Bennett had a reasonable career in Tampa Bay, before returning to Seattle this year in an unheralded 1 year $5million deal. He then had a torn rotator cuff to slow his integration into the team. However, despite only starting 2 games, Bennett leads the team in sacks and has been an integral part of possibly the strongest D in the league.

Pick it up: Wide Receiver Corps, WR – No Seattle Seahawk is in the top 40 in the league in passes caught or in receiving yards. Yes, the Seahawks have passed less than almost any team in the league this year, but at least part of that is because Russel Wilson doesn’t have a reliable go-to option. The Seahawks will be praying that Percin Harvin gets fit and can be that guy. In the meantime, someone needs to pick it up.

St. Louis Rams

Keep it up: Robert Quinn, DE – Since being taken by the Rams in the first round of the 2011 draft, Quinn has impressed and made steady progress each year, so this can’t exactly be called an unexpected break out. Nonetheless, after setting a career high with 10.5 sacks last year, Quinn has raced out to 10 sacks through the first 9 games. He’s also forced 4 fumbles already (tied for the league lead) and has made more plays in the run game already than any full season before.

Pick it up: Tavon Austin, WR – Yes, he’s only a rookie. Still, he was taken with the 8^th overall pick, with the expectation that, as an exciting playmaker, he could make an immediate impact on the Rams lacking pass game, while also acting as a return man. Austin is not the team’s primary kick returner, and ranks 27^th in return average of all players to return at least 10 punts, so no impact there. He’s also averaged a hugely disappointing 6.7 yards per catch. And that’s just on the ones he has caught. Austin is tied for the league in drops (7) and, with only 51 targets, he leads all players with at least 25 targets in drop rate. The Rams need better.