Here's my observations about the 2009 Steelers (5-2) now that the season is halfway over:

• Team MVP: QB Ben Roethlisberger. I have been going to Steelers games since the mid-1980's, and during that time, I cannot think of one player who was at any point more important to the team's success as Ben is now.



• Biggest Surprise: WR Mike Wallace. The rookie speedster has come out of virtually nowhere to claim the important #3 receiver spot, and he has clearly earned the trust of his quarterback. He has shown maturity beyond his years too, like when he dropped a wide open pass in week 5 but came back to catch a long touchdown later in the game. If there is sports betting on the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, my money would be on Wallace.



• Biggest Disappointment: WR Limas Sweed. You would think after claiming this award last year that the expectations would have been low enough so as not to classify Sweed's performance as "disappointing". However, when Nate Washington left for Tennessee, Limas was expected to rise to the occasion, not give the role away to a 3rd round draft pick and continue to drop passes.



• The Duce Staley Sweatpants and Clipboard Award: In honor of reader Jason M., who invented this category, this year's award goes to FWP. You would have thought that in a contract year, he would at least be on the field. Instead he has been AWOL, and then he has had the nerve to insinuate that once he feels ok, Rashard Mendenhall will go back to the bench so that he can start. Look, I love FWP. He has helped our beloved team win two Super Bowls. But unfortunately, he just doesn't have it anymore.



• The Jamain Stephens Award: This annual award for stupidity goes to TE Matt Spaeth for his public urination citation outside of a sports bar on the Northside. If you are a professional athlete who makes millions of dollars a year and who has a responsibility to uphold a certain standard, is it really asking too much to simply use a restroom like everyone else?



• Best Game: In week 7, the Steelers beat the undefeated Vikings before a record crowd at Heinz Field.
  
  Runner-up: In the week 1 NFL Kickoff game, the Steelers came from behind to beat the Titans in overtime.



• Worst Game: In week 3, the Steelers blew an 11+ point lead for only the second time in two decades and lost a key divisional game at Cincinnati.
  
  Runner-up: In week 2, the Steelers blew multiple 4th quarter chances to ice the game (including two missed Jeff Reed field goals) and eventually lost to Chicago on a last-second field goal by Robbie Gould (Penn State sucks).



• Best Play: It was actually a pair of plays in the 4th quarter of week 7. In the first, Brett Keisel stripped Brett Favre and LaMarr Woodley returned it 77 yards for a touchdown. Minutes later, with Minnesota threatening to take the lead, Keyaron Fox picked off Favre and returned it 82 yards for the game-winning touchdown.



• Worst Play: In week 3, Limas Sweed dropped a wide open touchdown pass. As unfair as it may seem, Sweed may have completely killed his career in Pittsburgh with that one play.



• Nicknames of the Year: After the aforementioned Limas drop, I asked readers to give me some ideas for a nickname for the beleaguered wide receiver. Here were some of the best responses:
  • The Injury-Faking Limas Sweed
  • The Bobbling Sweed (because it sounds like a Norwegian circus act, which would be appropriate)
  • "Hands of Limastone" Sweed
  • The Distracted Limas Sweed
  • Limas "Dropped the Ball" Sweed
  • Limas "Hot Potato" Sweed


• Brilliant Quote of the Year: The lawyer for Andrea McNulty, the Harrah's employee who accused Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault, stated that his client's only interest "has been and is to regain the dignity that was taken from her." Feel free to insert your own joke here.



• Funniest Quote of the Year: Brett Keisel on playing against future Hall of Famer Brett Favre before the Steelers-Vikings week 7 game: "Last time we played him [in Green Bay in 2005], I went up to get a picture with him after the game was over, but [in the picture] my eyes are closed and he is kind of grabbing his junk, so hopefully I'll get another one this week."



• Hollywood Quote of the Year: Actress January Jones (Mad Men) explained her plan to dress up as Troy Polamalu for Halloween this year: "I'll get the wig. Put on some bronzer. And I'll just cross myself all night."



• Most Incongruous Career Decision: Former Steeler Jerome Bettis debuted a weekly column on SI.com in which he gives "hard-hitting" and sometimes controversial opinions. The Bus is just is not well-suited for a role like this. He should be pitching innovative eating products or starring as the dad in some lame network sitcom, not blasting Frank the Tank Summers.




• Best Stat of the Year: In week 7, the Steelers scored two defensive touchdowns in the same game for the first time since 1998, when the immortal Dewayne Washington returned two pic-six's against Jacksonville.



• Ugly Stat of the Year: In week 6, the Steelers and Browns combined for four fumbles within the span of 85 seconds.



• Best Coaching Job of the Year: After second-year RB Rashard Mendenhall slacked off in practice leading up to the week 3 game at Cincinnati, Mike Tomlin sent a stern message by making him sit the bench. The next week, Mendenhall responded with not only a better week of practice, but also a huge 165-yard game against the Chargers.



• Funniest Image of the Year: In week 2, Bears QB Jay Cutler got nailed in the face by an official.



• Dumbest Move by an Opponent: In week 5, Lions QB Duante Culpepper got flustered by pressure from the Steelers front seven and heaved a pass all the way across the field that was easily picked off by Ryan Clark, killing a Detroit drive that would have gotten them back into the game. Had a rookie made that kind of mistake, it may have been semi-excusable. But an 11-year veteran?!



• Strangest Move by an Opponent: In an effort to get his players to block out the pressure of playing the Steelers in week 7, Vikings coach Brad Childress dressed up as a female flight attendant during the team's flight to Pittsburgh. Childress donned a wig and blue nylons, and he even wore lipstick. The tactic failed as Minnesota lost the game anyway.



• Best "It Could Only Happen to Cleveland" Moment of the Year: In week 6, the Browns stopped the Steelers on a 4th and 1 play. When the referees came out to measure, the stick looked to be short of where the ball was spotted, but they signaled for a first down anyway! The league later cited the television "camera angle" as why the rest of the world realized what the refs did not - that the Steelers never made that first down. On the bright side, at least it didn't impact the NFL point spread like last year's ref debacle against San Diego.



• Most Overrated Acclamation: Steelers fans were widely praised as being "intelligent" because we gave punter Daniel Sepulveda a huge ovation upon his return to Heinz Field after missing all of last season with an injury. The thinking was only die-hard educated fans would realize the importantance of having a good punter, but it honestly doesn't take a genius to realize how awful the Mitch Berger Experiment truly was.



• Most Discouraging Trend: After sporting the league's best kickoff return coverage last season, the special teams were up to their old tricks again, allowing a kickoff return touchdown in two straight home games in weeks 6 and 7.



• Biggest Personnel Hit: In week 5, DE Aaron Smith injured his shoulder and was lost for the season. Smith is vital to the D-line and the rest of the defense will have to step up big time to account for his loss.



• The "Everyone Knows It But No One Wants To Say It" Story of the Year: Steelers announcer Bill Hillgrove, who has called three of the team's seven Super Bowls, has been way off this season and has even seemed unable to follow the play at times. Like most of Steeler Nation, I love Hillgrove and have enjoyed his calls over the years, but maybe it is time to start thinking about hanging it up. Both Jack Flemming and Myron Cope stayed in the booth longer than they should have, and Hillgrove is risking doing the same.



• Comeuppance of the Year: Titans RB LenDale White made headlines by stomping on a Terrible Towel last season and talked openly of doing so again prior to the week 1 opener. "If there's a towel in the stands, I will stomp on it," boasted White. "I don't care who gets mad. If they throw a towel at me, I'm going to kick it and stomp all over it." Before White's little stompfest last season, his team was the best in the league with a record of 13-2. Since then, they are 0-8 and lost their most recent game by 59 points. Don't you EVER mess with The Towel again, you fat piece of trash!!



• Most Nonsensical Celebration: Santonio Holmes has been flexing his biceps after long receptions. That celebration doesn't even make sense. Albert Belle (the reviled Cleveland baseball player) used to do that back in the 90's, but at least he was making a point - as in "I am strong and can hit a baseball very far." What is Holmes saying? "I am very strong at catching the ball and holding it while I use my legs to run??" If you're going to act like a clown, at least do something logical!



• The Mitch Berger "No Chance in Hell" Award : This inaugural award for player who has absolutely no chance of being back in a Steelers uniform next year goes to FWP. The only way that happens is if he takes a massive pay cut to be the #2 guy, and I'm not even certain the Steelers would want to do that when they have Mewelde Moore.
  
  Runner-up: Jeff Reed, who is slowly Vanderjagting his way out of town.



• Homefield Advantage of the Year: When the Steelers play in Denver in two weeks, Ryan Clark will most likely have to be a healthy scratch for the game since he almost died the last time he played there (in case you don't remember, Clark's body could not handle the altitude in a game two years ago, and afterwards his spleen and gall bladder had to be removed). The Steelers will have to go without their starting free safety because of the fact that Denver is high! I wonder how that will play with the Monday Night Football betting crowd?



• Biggest Recipe for Disaster: The week 1 game did not start until almost 9:00 at night and was preceeded by all kinds of celebrations, concerts, and parties. This allowed for a considerable amount of drinking to take place between the time people left work and the time they stumbled into Heinz Field for the game. It took all of three plays for a fight to break out in my section.



• Shocker of the Year: The offensive line has opened up holes for the running game and has done an adequate job at giving Ben time to throw the ball.



• Sarcastic Shocker of the Year: Jeff Reed embarrassed the team yet again, this time by allegedly assuming a "fighter's stance" towards a police officer.



• Something Different: Ben and Hines being amongst the league leaders in yards, games played in the daylight



• Same Old Crap: Josh Cribbs returning kickoffs for touchdowns against us, Ben being completely ignored by the media



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