Atlanta Falcons’ Mid-Season Awards

Regular readers, will remember last week we graded every player on our team. In case you missed it, click on the area of the team to see what i gave the Defensive Line,Linebackers, Defensive Backs, Offensive Line, QBs/RBs and WR/TEs.

Following on from that we will hand out some midseason awards to some of the most deserving Falcons.

Follow the jump to see, to see who the winners are.

• Offensive POY – RB Michael Turner – With the passing game stuttering earlier in the season, the secret to the Falcons’ success has been running the football. Through 8 games he has 692 yards with 7 touchdowns. His rushing average is also 0.3 yards a carry up from last year to 4.4 in 2011. His presence has been invaluable and without him in some games this season, we would have been in a lot of trouble.
• Defensive POY – LB Sean Weatherspoon – Blogging Dirty readers will know that I am a huge Sean Weatherspoon fan because he brings so much to the table. His speed and tackling were always there, that talent could be seen in college. The reason why he has become so good this year for the Falcons has been his improvement in play recognition and awareness. It seems like he is really putting in the work in the film room to get fully prepared for an opponent, which allows for his athletic prowess to shine. To boot, he is also developing as a great leader for this defense. We will possibly look back in a few years, and say that the selection of Spoon could well be one of the greatest picks in the Dimitroff Era.
• Rookie of the Year – WR Julio Jones – It just has to be this guy right? This guy is such a dedicated worker and so talented, that I do not know how great he can be. His explosive week 9 performance was just a taste of what is to come for Falcons fans.

• Best Free Agent Acquisition – CB Kelvin Hayden – The other contender for this award would be Ray Edwards, but the signing of Hayden was a lot better value (Signing for little money on a 1 year deal). Playing exclusively as a nickelback covering the slot receiver he has recorded 2 interceptions including one against his former team the Indianapolis Colts.
• Coach Of The Year – LB Coach Glenn Pires – Probably not one of the coaches you recognise, but Glenn Pires has done such a great job with the linebacking crew. We’ve talked about before how much Weatherspoon has come on, Middle Linebacker Curtis Lofton is also playing at an incredibly high level. Pires is doing a great job with the rest of the group, getting the best out our older LBs Stephen Nicholas and Mike Peterson, whilst developing our younger linebackers Akeem Dent and Spencer Adkins.
• MVP – CB Brent Grimes – Now whilst corners tend not to get recognized as the MVP, Brent Grimes is a rare case that he thoroughly deserves it. His performance when it comes down to shutting down receivers this season, has allowed the Falcons do a lot of different things on Defense. His notable performance was holding Calvin Johnson to under 40 yards aside from one big play, which was more of a bad playcall and not Brent Grimes’ fault. Also, stopping DeSean Jackson against the Eagles, who was very ineffective throughout that game. So far this season, he has got one pick and one forced fumble.

What do you guys think? Who should have won what?