Nearly halfway through what has been a kooky NFL season, only one team - the Oakland Raiders - possesses more than a one game lead in their division, meaning things should only get crazier in the second half.
In that spirit, the following is an All-Star team of surprise players. Don't look for Marshall Faulk, Rod Smith, or Peyton Manning - they are Pro-Bowlers that already receive all the hype. These are the athletes that may have slipped in fantasy football drafts because they weren't given the respect they deserved. Now they're earning it.
Quarterback
Rich Gannon, of the Raiders, might not belong on this list, because he's already viewed as a top flight quarterback. But he certainly was ranked below Manning, Kurt Warner, Dante Culpepper, Donovan McNabb, Brian Griese, and Jeff Garcia at the beginning of the season. Well, he has a quarterback rating higher than all of them. His 98.3 rating tops the NFL, and though he's thrown for fewer yards and touchdowns than some of the other top QB's, he completes 66 percent of his passes and has only been intercepted once.
More importantly, he's the quarterback of the best team in football, and right now, no one is doing a better job of running an offense than Gannon.
Running Backs
Guess who has the second most rushing yards in the NFL? Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs. Sure, his team has been awful, but he has become a legitimate weapon as both a runner and a receiver. He has run for five touchdowns this year and has caught another one. The back is averaging 5.3 yards per carry and 8.0 yards per reception. If only the rest of the 2-5 team could figure out how to create some offense, the Chiefs might be dangerous.
A little further down on the statistics chart is a running back playing in Chicago. It's not Walter Payton and it's not Gale Sayers, but rookie Anthony Thomas is giving the Chicago Bears their first reliable running back since the 1980's. The rookie has 535 yards and four touchdowns on the year for the 6-1 Bears, but more importantly, his stats in the past three games - since he has become the featured back in the offense - are among the best in the league. In the last three weeks, he is averaging 137 yards and one touchdown. Everyone had the San Diego Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson pegged as the offensive Rookie of the Year, but Thomas is going to make it an interesting race.
Receivers
Two years ago, Cleveland Browns wideout Kevin Johnson looked to have a bright future. Last year, he was almost invisible in the Cleveland offense. But in his third season, Johnson has developed an on-field relationship with quarterback Tim Couch, and it has paid off to the tune of 494 yards receiving and five touchdowns. Johnson's improvement from last year, when he finished with 669 yards and zero touchdowns, is one of the major reasons the Browns are 4-3 and in the hunt for the AFC Central crown.
When New England Patriots wide receiver Terry Glenn missed most of last season, Troy Brown stepped up as Drew Bledsoe's primary target. Now with Bledsoe injured, Brown has become quarterback Tom Brady's favorite receiver. Brown is second in the league in receptions (53), third in yards (678), and tied for seventh in touchdowns (four). Brown's play is a major reason his team has surpassed expectations and is 4-4.
Tight End
Green Bay Packers tight end Bubba Franks is fourth in the NFL in receiving touchdowns - not fourth amongst tight ends, but fourth overall. Though the second-year man out of the University of Miami doesn't touch the ball much in the offense, when he does, it's normally in the endzone. He already has six touchdowns on the year, helping to make the Packers offense eighth best in the league.
Offensive line
The San Francisco 49ers offensive line rarely gets mentioned as among the best in the league, but by the numbers, it should be. The Niners accrue the second most rushing yards per game in the NFL, and have allowed a miniscule 11 sacks on quarterback Jeff Garcia - an impressive number considering Garcia is tenth in the league is pass attempts. And if you want obscure, how does this starting unit sound - Dedrick Deese, Ray Brown, Jeremy Newberry, Dave Fiore, and Scott Gragg.
Defense
Pittsburgh, Chicago, Philadelphia, they're supposed to have good defenses. Guess who's allowed the fourth fewest points in the league? The Green Bay Packers. The secret to yielding just 15 points per game is the Packers' stingy run defense, which gives up 97.3 yards per outing. Green Bay also has the second best pass defense, allowing just 156.3 per contest. Defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, a second-year man from San Diego State, is second in the NFL with ten sacks, while linebacker Bernardo Harris leads the team in tackles.The good
If it's better to be lucky than good, the Chicago Bears are in great shape. Down by 14 points against the Cleveland Browns last Sunday with around 30 seconds to play, quarterback Shane Matthews throws a touchdown pass to receiver Marty Booker. The Bears recover the onside kick, and with time expiring, throw a Hail Mary to the endzone. The ball gets batted backwards, but right before it lands, backup running back James Allen, who had been trailing the play out of the backfield, dove in and caught it, tying the game.
In overtime, the Bears get the ball first, but are forced to punt. On the Browns' ensuing third down, Couch's pass gets batted in the air, whereupon Chicago safety Mike Brown catches it and runs into the endzone for the game-winning score.
The kicker? The week before against the 49ers, Brown intercepted a Jeff Garcia pass off of a wacky deflection and ran it back for the game-winning score. It is the first time in NFL history that the same player intercepted passes and returned them for touchdowns to win overtime games in two consecutive weeks. Quite a record.
The bad
Your team is on the two-yard line at the end with a chance to win the game. An opposing player grabs your quarterback's face mask, so you decide to absolutely lose it. You attack him and everyone in the surrounding area before ripping off your opponents helmet and hurling it in the air. Of course, you get called for a 15-yard penalty, and your team loses. But at least you've protected the honor of your quarterback. If you missed it, the player was the New Orleans Saints' Kyle Turley against the New York Jets last Sunday. Very bad.
The ugly
The legal bills Dallas Cowboys guard Nate Newton will pile up trying to defend himself after getting caught with over 220 pounds of marijuana in his home. Well, that may not be as ugly as the Cowboys starting Ryan Leaf at quarterback this Sunday.
