Swammi's AFC Midseason Awards Picks
	Award	Baller
	Off. Player Of The Year	Coach Canty
	Def. Player Of The Year	T.O.
	Rookie Of The Year	Alex Penrod
	Underachieving Award	Aaron Cain
	Overachieving Award	iLocanostylze

Baltimore Ravens (2-5)
Darth In Arizona got the Ravens off to a horrid 1-5 start before having to step down at midseason due to family commitment's. Now #18 ranked Player Coach fills in to complete the season with the Ravens, taking them at 1-5 in a tough division still with the hopes of making a playoff run. Darth was never able to get the Ravens on track. The end result was the Ravens losing lopsided games early in the season. Now with the more seasoned online baller Player Coach at the helm, look for Baltimore to make a run and cause problems for some of the bubble teams in the AFC particularly Cleveland, who is still clinging to hopes of making the big dance.
Grade: D (First-quarter: F; Midseason: D)

Buffalo Bills (7-2)
Nate Diezy is one of the surprises of the AFC. Diezy came into the PFL Online as a relatively obscure baller. Now, because of his excellent play early in the season, he is recognized as one the top ballers in the AFC. While Diezy's schedule may have been suspect early, contributing to his 6-0 start, Nate showed that he can ball with the best of them last week when he soundly defeated Kansas City 31-13 in a game that he needed to keep pace with Coach Canty for as they battle for the AFC East lead.
Grade: B+. (First-quarter: A-minus; Midseason: B-plus)

Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
Since starting out 0-2 in his first two games, T.O. refocused and has gone on a 6 game tear. No question T.O. has the pride and heart of winner. While knowing he was playing with one of the weaker teams on the game, he could have easily made excuses and tanked the season after digging himself a 0-2 hole. But that was not the case for the resilient one. He avenged his early season loss to Baby Boy's Browns last week, and has beaten one time division leader B.B.'s Steelers along the way to taking first place for himself. T.O.'s has a tough schedule down the line, but at the rate he is playing, it may be the opponent with the tough schedule when they look down and see the Bengals upcoming. T.O. is the only baller in the league to be in the top 5 in scoring offense AND scoring defense.
Grade: A-minus (First-quarter: C+; Midseason: A+)

Cleveland Browns (5-4)
Although their is plenty of football left to be played, Baby Boy may have lost the biggest game of the season last week to T.O. The loss placed his Browns at 5-4, while T.O. and B.B. moved to 6-2 and 7-3 respectively. And now with the Browns next five games being vs. Special K (8-2), Wacavelli (8-2), Ice Ellis (6-2), and Player Coach, Baby Boys biggest challenge may not be making the playoffs, but finishing .500.
Grade: C-plus. (First-quarter: B-minus; Midseason: C+)

Denver Broncos (2-7)
Cain has the talent to be causing defensive coordinators fits with the Broncos, but he has not been able to execute effectively, nor put together the type of scheme to get W's on the board. The Broncos are all but out of the playoff race and are down to playing for pride or playing the spoiler role for a bubble team. Cain will really need to lab it up on the offseason, to bring the Broncs to respectability in the PFL Online League.
Grade: D-minus. (First-quarter: D-minus; Midseason: D-minus)

Houston Texans (3-2)
Powder 84 seemed to be the perfect fit for the Texans. After trading up in the PFL Online Draft to get the #2 pick to take his beloved Eagles, Powder traded down with perhaps a bigger Eagle fan after T. Philly White made him an offer he could not refuse. Nevertheless, Powder ended up taking the Texans, and was off to a respectable 2-2 start before he got his Military Orders which meant relocating to California from South Carolina. The move has caused Powder to have to step down and take a leave from the PFL Online. Demond Wilson of the Carolina Madden League promptly came to terms with Powder and the league office and the deal was done. Now with the new Wilson at the helm, there is alot of catching up to do. And that seems to suit Wilson just fine as he is thrilled to be playing in the PFL Online.
Grade: B. (First-quarter: B-minus; Midseason: I)

Indianapolis Colts (6-4)
Alex Penrod's shotgun barrel has cooled quite considerably since the early weeks of the season. Penrod came out, guns a blazing, scoring 32 PPG in the early part of the season. However, a midseason slump found Penrod losing 3 of 4 and going from a crisp 3-1 to 5-4 before he could blink his eye. Now at 6-4, Penrod is trying to get back to what got him off to his early start. A red hot offense, and minimal turnovers. The Colts schedule down the stretch is not as difficult as some of the other teams jockeying for playoff position, which means they could steal a Wildcard spot along the way, if they win the games they are supposed to win. One thing for sure, Penrod's margin for error is very slim with 7 other teams with 3 losses or less.
Grade: B. (First-quarter: A; Midseason: C)

THINGS TO WATCH IN THE AFC

1. How Coach Canty performs down the stretch will be the determining factor as to whether or not the Pats can hold down homefield in the AFC. With the top record in the conference and only Detroit and Buffalo as his toughest games, Canty could earn the homefield. Imagine going on the road to frigid, snowy New England for a playoff game, 2. Never count out the National Champion who only has two blemishes on his record. With Dallas, Cleveland, Cincy, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis left on the schedule, the plot will thicken for the Jags. Ice will really show what he is made of over the home stretch of the season, 3. T.O.'s journey to the AFC North crown will no doubt be a bumpy one as well. Pittsburgh, Carolina, Jacksonville, New Orleans, and Buffalo. Throw in new comer Player Coach and the Ravens, and T.O. by far has the toughest schedule of any baller in the league for the final six games. How the Bengals come out of this will be intriguing. 4. The West is a two team race between Mike Dixon and iLocanostylze. Dixon's last three games are tough, but in his next three games he should take care of business. Miami, Denver, and Oakland should not be a problem for the bolts. However the game in week 16, a rematch vs. iLocanostylze will be pivotal for it may not only decide who wins the West, but who will be home watching the playoffs come January. 5. Nate Diezy is still in the thick of things in the AFC East. And if by chance he doesn't win the east, he has the best shot to grab a wild card spot. With only two losses, Diezy is looking forward to his rematch with Coach Canty, a game he feels he could have and should have won. Diezy's schedule down the stretch is a little tougher than Canty's as he faces the Pats in that rematch, and closes out with Cincinnati after facing San Diego in two weeks. 6. Brian Bond will be counting on T.O.'s tough schedule and some help from some other ballers to bring the Bengals back down to earth. Although he only trails the Bengals by a half game, his loss to the Cincy a couple of weeks ago gives T.O. the edge. Bond starts his run for the division crown this week when he faces the Bengals. However, after this week, Bond's biggest challenge may be only Jacksonville and Carolina. The remaining teams down the stretch are out of playoff contention and have losing records. 7. iLocanostylze, Alex Penrod and Baby Boy Blitz are still clinging to outside chances to make the playoffs. If one these three do get in, they will need to hope the top teams knock each other off as the season takes its stretch turn. Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Cincinnati all have to face each other down the stretch. This will find these three teams rooting for the same team to win one week, that they may root for to loose another week.

Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)
For a brief moment it seemed as though we were going to witness the fall of the NOMB right before our online eyes when 504 Will and Ice Ellis both hit skid road, particularly Ice after week 2. Since then, the defending National Champion has gone on a 4 game winning streak, and has played his way back to the top of his division. His signature game may have been the 59-14 lambasting he put on Washington's Moze Dawg. Ellis now seems to have his offense back on track, while his defense is not giving up nearly as many points per game as he was early in the season. The Champ has made his statement, that he wants two crowns....Nationals he already has, now he sets his sights on the PFL Online.
Grade: B. (First-quarter: C Midseason: A)

Kansas City Chiefs (6-3)
The Chiefs are not in first place in the NFC West, but iLocanostylze has to be happy with his play thus far in the season. The Chiefs have loss to arguably three of the better teams in the AFC in Buffalo, Jacksonville, and New England. Which brings you to the next point. How good is K.C.? Are they good enough to match up with the tier 1 teams in the AFC, or just good enough to beat the average teams? You can make a case for both actually. K.C. handled San Diego quite impressively, however they struggled with teams leading their divisions. This week should be crucial for iLocanostylze when he faces Joe Hilton. Hilton is 7-3 trying to keep pace with the 10-0 John B. Another loss for Stylze could place his playoff spot in jeopardy. San Diego is a cinch to move to 8-2 when they face Miami next week.
Grade: B. (First-quarter: B;Midseason: B)

Miami Dolphins (1-8)
Brian Cook was able to get off the schnide vs. TDK a few weeks back. That may be the only thing that keeps him from grading out at an F for the year thus far. What are Miami problems? Lack of a running game, and turnovers. In his game vs. Baltimore, Cook had 0 yards rushing with Ricky Williams. This type of offensive production will keep Cook in the L column. Cook can now use the rest of this season to scrimmage and prepare for his PFL season in S. Florida because the Dolphins were bounced from playoff contention weeks ago. Although his online season has been horrendous, look for Cook to play much better in the local head to head PFL league which begins in February.
Grade: D-minus. (First-quarter: F; Midseason: D-minus)

New England Patriots (8-2)
Coach Canty has been nothing less than impressive the past eight weeks. After starting out 0-2, he has reeled off 8 in a row, to move to the top spot in the AFC with the best record. What has been the key? A potent offensive attack that has Canty averaging 32 PPG. Wins over K.C., San Diego and Buffalo have solidified that Canty is for real. The next three weeks will be gut check time for the Pats. Minnesota, Detroit and the Buffalo rematch, all back to back.
Grade: A. (First-quarter: B; Midseason: A-plus)

New York Jets (3-6)
The Jets seemed as though they would be the story of the league after upsetting Ice Ellis in week 4. After all, The Swammi picked the Jets to finish last in the AFC (even behind Brian Cook). All of a sudden they loss a close one to Nate Diezy in ther, then went on to defeat New England, Miami and Ice Ellis. But the walls came crashing down when TDK went on to lose five of his next six games. The losing streak brought a crashing halt to any thoughts of a Cinderella season, not to mention TDK's playoff hopes. The Jets have all but sealed their fate. But TDK is the kind of baller that will play the spoiler role as he tries to salvage what looked to be a bright promising season.
Grade: D. (First-quarter: B-minus; Midseason: D-minus)

Oakland Raiders (2-5)
After shocking the Steelers in week 2, the Raiders stock was looking promising. But after the heartbreaking losses 2 Bold has suffered the past few weeks, Oakland's value for playoff potential has plummeted. Oakland has been in all of its games, but 2Bold just can't seem to win the big one. Playing the likes of John B, Coach Canty, and Mike Dixon among others to 7 point games which ended in losses has cost the Raiders a shot a making the playoffs. Then a two week layoff for 2Bold didn't help much as he just couldn't seem to pull out the close games. The Raiders still have a few games to make up before they are caught up for the season.
Grade: I. (First-quarter: C; Midseason: I)

Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3)
The Steelers have managed to quietly stay right in the thick of things despite a couple of disappointing losses to Oakland and Cleveland. Brian Bond has the team playing well and consistent for the most part, but his biggest question is whether he can finish better than the Bengals down the home stretch. Bond gets to answer that in his next game when he faces T.O. In a meeting that could swing the momentum in the AFC North. A Bengal win could give T.O. a commanding lead in the AFC. A Steeler win keeps them in the division race. And with Jacksonville and Carolina remaining on the schedule, the Steelers margin for error is growing smaller and smaller.
Grade: B-plus. (First-quarter: B-plus; Midseason: B-plus)

San Diego Chargers (7-3)
Mike Dixon is holding his own with the Chargers. Dixon has been somewhat of a surprise this season since he is new to the MWS. But he has introduced himself in grand style with a crisp 7-3 record with his only losses coming to K.C., New England and St. Louis. The Chargers still need to tighten up the defense somewhat averaging 22.9 PPG. In addition the offensive scoring production has come down from the 30's early in the season to 24.4 PPG. Dixon has the easiest road to winning the west between he and the Chiefs. However, Dixon has a rematch vs. K.C., with Buffalo, and Seattle down the stetch may decide the division if the Chiefs can stay close to Dixon.
Grade: B. (First-quarter: A-minus; Midseason: A-minus)

Tennessee Titans (0-8)
Wow...what can you say? 1976 Tampa Bay Bucs? While John B may be chasing history with his 10-0 Rams, Ralph Vina is chasing another type of history of dubious proportions. Vina has had his shared of shellackings this season, but he has also played well in spurts. Just not well enough to win a game thus far. This has only made The Swammi upset (aif) because Vina plays well enough to ruin Swammi's pt. spread, but not well enough to get the W. What's next for the Titans? The most exciting part of following Vina is seeing which PFL Online team will let him off the schnide. And with that said, we can all rest assured that Vina is dying to make someone his first victim. Although Vina's on field performance is not passing, his commitment and sportsmanship in the league is certainly an A+.
Grade: F. (First-quarter: F; Midseason: F)

The Swammi is the senior MWS writer for .