NFL Mid-Season MVP for each team - NFC

With every team in the NFL having played at least 8 games, we are now at the midway point in the NFL regular season. It’s time to take a look at which players have shone brightest in each team, and who takes the highly coveted (not realy) mid-season MVP awards. Here we have the 16 teams from the NFC.

#16 San Francisco 49ers - Aaron Lynch

Aaron Lynch

I don’t think it takes a genius to realise that not many on the 49ers roster are covering themselves with glory this season. Colin Kaepernick was benched, Carlos Hyde had a great game in week 1 and then disappeared, and none of the receivers have even hit 400 yards. Two players, however, have stood out. And they are linebackers NaVarro Bowman and Aaron Lynch.

With the way he’s played in the last couple of games, I suspect that Bowman will be widely regarded as the Niners’ MVP at year’s end. However, at this stage of the season I’ve been slightly more impressed with Lynch. The second year pass rusher flashed last seasonand tied for the team lead in sacks with 6. However, that was on a defence with Ray McDonald, Justin Smith, Chris Borland and Dan Skuta, who all contributed to the pass rush. This season, Lynch has far less help and has been the subject of much more attention from opposing offences. Despite this, Lynch leads the team in sacks and has equalled his season total from last season already. He’s also been stellar against the run, leading the team with 5 tackles for a loss (he had only 1 last season). Thrust into the limelight, Lynch has come up big when needed.

#15 St Louis Rams - Todd Gurley

Todd Gurley

After three weeks of the season, the Rams MVP was defensive tackle Aaron Donald. By week 4, I began believing that by season’s end it was probably going to be Todd Gurley. But I figured that by mid-season, the team’s best unit is the defence and the best player on that defence is Aaron Donald, so he will be the mid-season MVP. Right?

Wrong?

What Todd Gurley has done can’t be overlooked.

After just six starts, Gurley is already the most valuable player on this team, because he has made himself the cornerstone of the entire offence. He leads the NFL in rushing yards per game with 110.7. He is the NFL’s 4th highest rusher despite missing the first two games of the season as he recovered from an ACL tear. His game logs since his 9 yard outing to open his season in week 3 against the Steelers is remarkable: 146 yards on 19 carries against the Cardinals; 159 yards on 30 carries against the Packers; 128 yards on 19 carries and his first two NFL touchdowns against the Browns; 133 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown against the 49ers; 89 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown against the NFL’s 2nd best defence, the Vikings. This team is going to go as far as Todd Gurley can take it for the next decade.

#14 Arizona Cardinals - Carson Palmer

Carson Palmer

Tyrann Mathieu is playing like an All-Pro in the Cardinals backfield and deserves recognition as a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He is the ultimate Swiss-army knife, able to successfully play outside corner, slot corner, safety and even as an edge rusher or prototypical linebacker despite his diminutive size. Larry Fitzgerald, Calais Campbell and Patrick Peterson, to their credit, are all playing like pro-bowlers.

But.

Carson Palmer is the quarterback of the league’s second highest scoring offence. Everything good that happens for the Cardinals is a direct result of Palmer’s impact on the field. He is the league’s premier deep thrower, averaging a league high 9.18 yards per attempt. His ability to throw deep at any time has backed away the defence enough to allow his running back, Chris Johnson, to be the 3rd highest rusher in the NFL this season.

Arizona are 12-2 with Palmer and 5-6 without dating back to last season. His value to this team cannot be overstated, making him the unrivalled mid-season MVP.

#13 Seattle Seahawks - Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson

Nobody has really played well enough to stand out from the crowd in Seattle this season. The Seahawks are 4-4, having beaten every team on their schedule with a losing record and been beaten by every team with a .500 record or higher. They’ve been average.

On offence, Marshawyn Lynch and Thomas Rawls have each sparkled in flashes but haven’t taken over games the way Lynch has in recent years. The receivers (Kearse, Graham, Baldwin, Lockett) take it in turns to have big days but lack in consistency.

The defence has been far from superior, allowing 27 points or higher in all four losses. Nobody is playing badly; Michael Bennett is providing a decent pass rush, Earl Thomas is roaming the secondary, Kam Chancellor is laying the hammer over the middle and Richard Sherman is locking his side of the field down. But not as well as they have before. Chancellor was picked on against the Bengals, while Thomas and Sherman have had communication problems that have led to touchdowns.

So my default pick is the quarterback. Russell Wilson has looked as good as ever when his offensive line has allowed it. He’s rushed for over 300 yards and has only thrown 6 picks despite constant pressure; his 31 sacks this season to date are the highest number in the NFL.

#12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston

Doug Martin is among the league leaders in rushing, Kwon Alexander is a favourite for Defensive Rookie of the Year and LaVonte David is quietly doing very LaVonte David-esq things. They have all contributed greatly to Tampa Bay’s competitiveness this season, but the man who has seen them over the line in their three wins is quarterback Jameis Winston.

Famous Jameis, as he is known, has started to look like a clean pocket passer with enough physicality to present the defense with multiple problems. Only Cam Newton has more than his 3 rushing touchdowns among quarterbacks, and he has now gone four straight games without throwing an interception. His team sits at 3-5 but with the way he played against the Redskins in week 7 (21 of 29 for 297 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs), he deserves to be at least 4-4. This time last year the Buccaneers had only won one game, and the difference is Winston.

#11 Carolina Panthers - Cam Newton

Cam Newton

Josh Norman deserves serious praise. T.Y Hilton and Jordan Matthews have both had more success against Darrelle Revis than Josh Norman this year. He consistently takes away a team’s top threat, and seems to be all over the field when you watch him, making plays on the ball in the air and on the ball carrier on the ground. It speaks to Norman's dominance that he's first among cornerbacks in opposing passer rating, interceptions and pick-sixes.

Kawann Short also deserves a lot of praise. His 5 sacks are tied for the lead among defensive tackles. He’s pushing the pocket and being a consistent difference maker in both the run and the passing game.

But the reason this team is 8-0 right now is Cam Newton.

Don’t be fooled by the numbers; Cam Newton is playing at an elite level right now. He has knocked off the Seahawks and the Packers, and he is doing it with Ted Ginn and Jericho Cotchery as his primary receivers. While his passing numbers look pedestrian, his 5 rushing touchdowns are the 3rd most in the league, and his 42.9 yards rushing per game are the most among quarterbacks. He is the Panthers offence right now, and if he keeps this up all season he’s going to be in the conversation for Offensive Player of the Year at season’s end.

#10 Atlanta Falcons - Julio Jones

Julio Jones

While Devonta Freeman has looked spectacular this season running for the Falcons, he has had the advantage of huge holes carved for him by the offensive line. Julio Jones doesn’t have such luxury. He is left to forge his own success with his route running, catching and play after the catch, and he has done it to an unrivalled standard this season.

The NFL’s best receiver has a league leading 80 receptions for 1,029 yards and 6 touchdowns. He has 7 games with 90 yards or more this season, and is a shoe-in for the All-Pro team on his current pace.

#9 New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees

Drew Breess

Cameron Jordan has been unstoppable in the last month as the Saints returned to respectability after a rough start. Benjamin Watson is having a career year at tight end at age 34, allowing many New Orleans natives to forget about Jimmy Graham’s off-season departure to Seattle, and Willie Snead has outshone Brandin Cooks as the primary receiver in Sean Payton’s system.

But Drew Brees has thrown for 892 yards and 10 touchdowns in the last 2 games. He has a completion percentage above 70% in half of his games this year, and his offence has scored an average of 34.5 points per game over the last 4 games. After suffering through an early season shoulder injury, Drew Brees is finally looking like Drew Brees. He’s throwing to forgotten men like Snead and Watson, and he’s finding great success doing it. On his current pace, I wouldn’t be surprised if Brees is garnering a little MVP chatter at the end of the year.

#8 Minnesota Vikings - Harrison Smith

Harrison Smith

The Vikings are enjoying a very positive start to the 2015 campaign. They sit atop the NFC North with an offence led by second year passer Teddy Bridgewater, the surprising emergence of rookie receiver Stephon Diggs and the return of All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson, who leads the NFL in rushing with 748 yards through the first 8 games.

But while the offence is ticking over with just 21 points per game, among the lowest in the NFL, it is their exceptional, second ranked scoring defence (17.5 points per game) that is responsible for their 6-2 record. The defence has seen fantastic play from a number of contributors, not least Linval Joseph, Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr. But the leader of this unit and the player who jumps off the screen when you watch him play is Harrison Smith.

Smith is having an All-Pro calibre year at safety for the Vikings. He leads the team in tackles, and sets the tone every single game with his jarring hits at the line of scrimmage. As long as Smith and the rest of the Vikings’ defence continue playing at the level they have through 8 games, they should feel confident of a playoff berth come January.

#7 Detroit Lions -Ziggy Ansah

Ziggy Ansah

It’s not been a good season for the Detroit Lions. Everyone except the Head Coach has been fired, or near as darn it. The quarterback is regressing. The defence is leaking.

They have the NFL’s worst scoring defence and its’ second worst scoring offence. They have a 1-7 record and they see Green Bay twice in the next four weeks.

If there’s been one bright spot amongst the dreary season, it’s the play of third-year defensive end Ziggy Ansah. Ansah has been one of the top five or six 4-3 defensive ends in the league this season. He’s T4th in sacks with 7 through 8 games, along with 3 forced fumbles.

If there is anyone who shouldn’t get the blame for the Lions' first half, it’s Ansah.

#6 Chicago Bears - Jay Cutler

Jay Cutler

Pernell McPhee is playing so well at outside linebacker that the Baltimore Ravens and Ozzie Newsome must be kicking themselves for letting him go. However, it is Chicago’s quarterback that has been the most valuable player so far in 2015.

Jay Cutler is playing well.

Well, believe it or not he is. Cutler still has those little Cutler tendencies that will always prevent him from being fully respected as an NFL quarterback; he still throws off his back foot too often and he still throws interceptions at key moments to kill games. But in each of the Bears’ three close wins this season, two of which were on the road to Kansas City and San Diego, Jay Cutler has shown the resilience and poise to lead his team to victory. Cutler is coming through at gut-check time.

#5 Green Bay Packers - Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers

I understand that Rodgers hasn’t been having one of his better seasons. I understand that he was held to a career low 77 yards throwing against Denver. I understand that he threw an interception that lost Green Bay the game against Carolina last week.

However, I also understand that Rodgers is getting very little help from his wide receivers, who simply aren’t separating from coverage on a consistent basis. His offensive line is a little banged up and isn’t protecting him the way he’s used to. He has faced 4 of the best scoring defences in the NFL already this season in Seattle, Denver, St Louis and Carolina. And he’s still thrown 19 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. He’s still lead the Packers to 6 wins in their first 8 games and he’s doing it without much help. And he’s still Aaron Rodgers.

#4 Washington Redskins - Jordan Reed

Jordan Reed

Jordan Reed is a headache for opposing defences. The NFL is all about creating “mis-matches” in the modern era, and there are few players that cause as many mis-matches as the Redskins speedy tight end.

Having missed two games with a concussion (both of which the Redskins lost, @ Atlanta, @ New York Jets), Reed still has the 3rd most targets on the team and leads the team with 4 touchdowns.

His 11 receptions and 2 touchdowns were a huge part of Washington’s 31-30 comeback win over the Buccaneers in week 7. As Kirk Cousins’ go-to target, Reed is going to be central to the Redskins’ effort to capture the NFC East this year.

#3 New York Giants - Odell Beckham Jr.

Odell Beckham Jr

Beckham Jr. is the focal point of the league’s 5th highest scoring offence. Ranked 6th in receptions (59), 4th in yards (759) and T2nd in touchdowns (7) despite drawing more attention from opposing defences than any other player in the NFL save for perhaps Rob Gronkowski, Beckham is simply picking up where he left off at the end of 2014. Without Beckham, the Giants would likely be among the league’s bottom half in points scored. He’s just that valuable.

#2 Philadelphia Eagles - Fletcher Cox

Fletcher Cox

While Philadelphia’s offence has been one of the league’s most disappointing units in 2015, the defence is a different story. Cox has garnered little attention, but is leading an Eagles' defence that is sneakily becoming one of the meanest units in the NFL. The relentless and dominant defensive tackle has more sacks (5) through 8 games than he did all of last season.

Add onto that his 3 forced fumbles already, as well as 2 fumble recoveries, and it’s easy to see this guy's having a career year. He is the best defensive player in the division, and one of the best in the league.

#1 Dallas Cowboys - Tony Romo

Tony Romo

The Cowboys haven’t won a game since Romo got hurt in week 2; that’s 6 straight losses. With the exception of the week 5 hammering at the hands of New England, Jerry Jones’ team has been close in every game but unable to come up with the W. What that tells me is that, with Romo under centre instead of Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel, America’s Team would be 6-2 instead of 2-6. And what’s more valuable than that?