Here's my observations about the 2007 Steelers (6-2) now that the season is halfway over:

• Team MVP: QB Ben Roethlisberger. It's just amazing to watch him make plays week after week. There is NO way the Steelers would be where they are without him.



• Biggest Surprise: RB Najeh Davenport. After contributing very little last season, Davenport has already scored more touchdowns over the first half of this season than FWP. Some folks might want to put LB James Harrison into this category, but I fully expected him to play well.



• Biggest Disappointment: First-round draft pick Lawrence Timmons. Is he ever even on the field? I haven't seen him hardly at all this year.
  
  Runner-up: The entire offensive line, which has been inconsistent at best.



• The Jamain Stephens Award: This annual award for stupidity goes to Ike Taylor. In week 4, Taylor became possibly the first defender ever to be flagged for taunting his opponent AFTER that opponent had just smoked him for a first down.
  
  Runner-up: To all the fans at Heinz Field in week 5 who kept downing beer despite the fact that temperatures were climbing into the high 80's. At least nine people had to be taken to local hospitals because of heat ailments and dehydration.



• Best Game: In week 9, the Steelers absolutely beat the living crap out of the Baltimore Ravens. And they did it on Monday Night Football on a night where the franchise was celebrating its 75 years of glory.
  
  Runner-up: In week 5, the 3-1 Seahawks came to Pittsburgh being touted as one of the top five teams in the NFL. The Steelers on the other hand were coming off of a loss and more significantly, they were missing both of their starting wide receivers and their two best defensive players to injury. So what happened? The Steelers beat the Seahawks 21-0, posting the first shutout in the history of Heinz Field.



• Worst Game: In week 7, the Steelers played awful defense, committed way too many turnovers on offense, and outsmarted themselves from a coaching perspective before losing on a walkoff Jason Elam field goal in Denver.



• Best Play: In week 8, Ben Roethlisberger was getting hauled down by his ankle on 3rd down but still managed to flip the ball forward for a first down completion. It was just one of many huge plays Ben has made on 3rd down so far this season.



• Worst Play: In an eerie flashback of the 2001 AFC Championship Game, the Steelers (specifically Carey Davis) committed a penalty on a punt which allowed Arizona to do the play over and subsequently return the kick all the way for the game-winning score.



• Bad Idea of the Year: Steely McBeam. The whole mascot thing was a comedy of errors that just kept intensifying with every step. First the Steelers introduced us to a freakish looking drunken steelworker. Then after a contest to name the thing, they chose the dumbest name possible. Furthermore, the mascot drew complaints from local marketing professionals who have been trying to shed Pittsburgh's image of being an old, smoky steel town.



• Historic Achievement of the Year: With their week 1 victory over Cleveland, the Steelers took the all-time series lead against the Browns for the first time in the 57-year history of the rivalry.




• Last Laugh of the Year: After being passed up for the Steelers head coaching job, Arizona coach Ken Wisenhunt dismantled Pittsburgh in week 4.



• Reach of the Year: After the Patriots got caught taping the Jets, veterans Deshea Townsend and Hines Ward speculated that New England used the same tactics to defeat Pittsburgh in the 2001 AFC Championship Game. Really? Did Troy Brown know exactly where to run on his punt return score? Did Brandon Mitchell know exactly where Kris Brown was going to kick the ball on the blocked field goal? C'mon guys.



• Curious Coaching Decision of the Year: In week 7, the Steelers decided to rely heavily on the passing game even though the Broncos sported the league's worst rushing defense.



• Stat of the Year: In week 5, the Steelers held the ball for 25 minutes in the 30-minute second half.



• Trigger-Happy Reaction of the Year: After a week 1 loss to the Steelers, Cleveland traded their starting quarterback to the Seahawks.



• Crybaby of the Year: Cardinals QB Matt Leinart sulked after his team beat the Steelers in week 4 because he had to split playing time with Kurt Warner. "I know coaches want to win now, and they have their reasons, but I don't understand," said Leinart. He doesn't understand why coaches want to win now?!? Ummm…. Maybe it's because they will lose their jobs if they don't! You see, Matt, your coaches don't have everything handed to them on a silver platter just because they have been the star Hollywood quarterback their whole lives. They actually have to deal with adversity, something you obviously have never had to worry about seeing as how you whined about one of the bigger wins in your franchise's recent history!



• Frauds of the Year: The Cincinnati Bengals desperately needed a home win over the Steelers in week 8 to save their season. They talked all week about needing to put on their "big boy pads" to match the Steelers' moxie. But when push came to shove, the Bengals were once again exposed as frauds. They went with a gutless field goal attempt at the end of the first half rather than going for the game-tying touchdown, and the Steelers showed them what real teams do by responding with a last-minute touchdown drive before halftime which iced the game.



• Mistaken Identity of the Year: In week 2, I was loudly booed by an inebriated young lady at Heinz Field who mistook my blue and red Troy Polamalu Pro Bowl jersey for a Buffalo Bills jersey.



• Dumbest Move by an Opponent: In week 1, the Browns were flagged for four penalties on the same play.



• Plagiarism of the Year: Gerry Dulac clearly read this America Loves Countdowns list (published on this site over a year ago) before writing this recent story for the PG. He uses the same list of people and even uses the exact same signature story to highlight McNair. I really thought the PG was capable of originality, but I guess not.



• Revelation of the Year: In Dan Rooney's new book "Family Business", there is a section on the 1983 NFL Draft. According to Rooney, Pittsburgh Press writer John Clayton (the same guy who now works for ESPN) suggested that the Steelers draft Dan Marino and then trade up in the second round for Gabe Rivera. When Rooney passed on the idea to Chuck Noll and the scouts, they thought it was a great plan - until Rooney told them it came from Clayton, that is. When they found out it was a writer's idea, they discarded the thought, drafted Rivera instead of Marino in the first round, and forever regretted it.



• The Greg Lloyd Award for Insanity: In week 2, LB James Harrison went down with a neck injury right before halftime. He lay motionless on the field for almost 20 minutes. The medical team strapped him to a board and carried off the field. About 15 minutes later, Harrison was not only back on the sideline, but he was also pleading with the docs to let him back into the game. "You have to understand something about James," said teammate Larry Foote. "He's nuts."



• Brilliant Quote of the Year: This year I am going with a series of over-reactionary quotes which I saved from the PG's "Blog N Gold" message board the day after Mike Tomlin was hired as head coach (my comments are in blue):
  

  "Tomlin, The Beginning of an Era, The Destruction of a Franchise." [how clever]

  "Why would we put our team in a position to fail with a 4-3 [defense]? This is not what the Steelers are known for." [unless you count those 4 Super Bowls in the 1970's of course]

  Almost as big a mistake as cutting Johnny Unitas or not drafting Dan Marino. The Rooneys blew it in their frantic desire to adhere to the "Rooney Rule". [he forgot to mention the year we drafted Huey Richardson 9th overall]

  Well Super Bowls are out of the question. All Steeler stuff in the Garbage, not wasting my time following this waste of time. Ruin a good team cause you are too cheap to pay. [nice multiple usage of the phrase "waste of time"; also, why did he capitalize "garbage"?]

  Hopefully, Steelers fans, I am wrong, but this man's opinion is we are headed for another 30+ years resembling the 1933-1969 era. [wow, Tomlin already ruined the next 30 years!]

  We will be lucky to go 2 and 14 in 2007. [this must be the luckiest season ever then]

  My thoughts go out to Nate Washington, Willie Parker, Brett Keisel, and other players who were up and coming with Cowher..... It's scary that the Rooneys would sell their players out like this. [I can't believe they sold out Nate Washington like that!!]


• Shocker of the Year: The Steelers tight ends have accounted for 9 of the team's 20 receiving touchdowns.



• Sarcastic Shocker of the Year: Joey Porter's "leadership" has helped fuel the Miami Dolphins to an impressive 0-8 record.



• Something Different: new head coach for the first time in ages



• Same Old Crap: special teams kick coverage has been shaky at best



• Grades:
• Rush Offense: A
• Pass Offense: A
• Rush Defense: A
• Pass Defense: B
• Special Teams: C+
• Coaching: A-