Mid-Season NFL Thoughts: Part 1

So at the mid-point in this 2006 season what do we know? Well we know the NFL is hard to predict year to year. Take a few players away, add a few players, get some bad luck, have key players underperform, and next thing you know you've got a Super Bowl champ with as many wins as the Raiders. I love this game.

I didn't see that coming: The Buccaneers, Steelers, Bengals, Redskins, Cowboys, and Rams are all doing much worse than I thought they would to start the season. On the other hand the Chiefs and Saints are better than expected.


Disappointing RB: Reggie Bush. His 2.6 yards per carry (207 total rushing yards) without a single rush over 18 yards is not exactly what I envisioned. I figured he'd make more people miss than he has. Sure he's been a good receiver but that's only part of why he was drafted.


Surprising RB(s): On the other hand rookies Joseph Addai (490 yards and 4.7 avg.) and Laurence Maroney 458 yards, 4.3 avg) have been the class of the rookie runners. Maurice Drew (320, 4.6) and even Wali Lundy (309, 4.2) and Mike Bell (305, 4.4) are running better than Bush . Granted they all have been given more carries than Reggie but even so they are still look more impressive.


Disappointing receivers: Chad Johnson and Randy Moss. In Johnson's case, Palmer's struggles are contributing to his lackluster numbers. ---And Moss is maybe the most talented receiver in the game but has lost interest in being a top wideout.


Surprising Receivers: New Orlean's Marques Colston. He keeps this up he will run away with offensive Rookie of the Year. Detroit's Mike Furrey also came out of nowhere.


Surprising Quarterbacks
Damon Huard, and Philip Rivers.

Disappointing Quarterbacks
Roethlisberger, Plummer, Leftwich, & Delhomme have all played much more poorly than I thought they would to this point. Palmer and Culpepper should be on this list as well but I kinda figured one of them, if not both, might end up with injury problems. They did make seemingly miraculous recoveries. And if Palmer's knee is healed, his head certainly isn't.


Disappointing Defensive player:
I thought Dwight Freeney would be more of a force this year. He just isn't getting to the QBs like he used to.


Surprising Defensive player:
Green Bay's Aaron Kampman has 9.5 sacks. Maybe it's because I don't follow Green Bay religiously but I have no idea who this guy is. And he's been in the league 5 years.