The Five Most Significant Players (MSP) of the 2008 NFL Season

Whew! What a year it has been thus far! Can you believe how well it's going for Turner in Atlanta? How about ranking second in the NFL in rushing yards (1421 on the season thus far) and first in rushing touchdowns (15).

Those are some pretty numbers in his first season as a Falcon.

But what makes Turner significant is that he has been a big reason why Matt Ryan has been able to do as well as he has this season. His rushing output has forced defense to respect the run, giving Matt Ryan some time to pass the football and not have tons of pressure in his face every play.

Ryan is playing well enough to be considered (and favored by some) for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

More importantly, the Falcons (9-5) are playing to clinch a wild-card spot after finishing 4-and-12 last season.

This is also pretty remarkable considering Turner's former team, the San Diego Chargers (6-8), is on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005. I know that Turner wasn't the only big loss for the Chargers, but one would think that Turner picked a good time to leave and play as a starter elsewhere, right?

I'm sure Atlanta is happy to have him around.

In case you're wondering where Leinart has been all season, this picture might give you a hint.

After struggling through last season in the five games he started and through the preseason this year, Leinart was benched in favor of Kurt Warner.

Tough break for a guy who was drafted 10th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. One would think that this successful USC product would translate to a similarly successful career in the pros.

But Leinart's career statistics tell a different story.

Leinart's career currently stands on 3,209 yards passing with 13 passing touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 56.0 completion percentage, and a career quarterback rating of 71.2.

Kurt Warner is faring much better this season, with 4,290 yards passing, 26 passing touchdowns, 13 interceptions, a 68.4 completion percentage, and a 97.5 quarterback rating.

The best part for Arizona is Warner has led this Cardnials team to it's first playoff berth and division title in at least five years.

I wonder what this season would have been like if Leinart started this season. I'm sure the Cardinals aren't thinking too much about that, especially with that division title they just won.

I mention these two players for something that happened during training camp. During training camp, Steve Smith was suspended by the Carolina Panthers for the first two regular season games (at San Diego and hosting Chicago) for punching his teammate, Ken Lucas, during one of the practices.

I give credit to an article I skimmed through in ESPN The Magazine that laid out what happened and the aftermath of the issue.

From my understanding, the article discussed how both players actually sat down a couple of days later and talked this issue between one another—which had been brewing ever since Lucas first practiced against Smith in 2005 (when he was acquired after being in Seattle).

The main argument laid out was simple: training camp is a time where players can get frustrated with one another, and squabbles like this can destroy a team if it's not handled well.

But these two handled it by talking things out—and Smith apologized and took responsibility for his actions. This was a large issue of significance because the players were able to speak out their thoughts on Smith.

This was also significant because the Panthers were able to win both games that Smith had missed by coming back in the final seconds to beat San Diego 26 to 24 and come back from 14 points down to beat the Chicago Bears 20 to 17.

Since then, Smith has been a force at the wide receiver position catching 70 receptions for 1,240 yards (third in the NFL) and six touchdowns. On top of that, Smith was recently named to the Pro Bowl.

Carolina is on top of their division with an 11-3 record and have a tough task this weekend against the Giants that most likely will decide who gets home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

I would think Steve Smith is going to be a big part of the Panther's game-plan offensively.

Okay, as a Bears fan, I'm used to quarterback carousels.

This, however, might just top any and all of the Bears quarterback situations.

As many of you know, at the end of the 2007 NFL season, Brett Favre decided it was time to hang it all up and ride out into the sunset that is known as 'retirement'.

Yet, for some players, "retirement" isn't permanent (hence the "quotes" around it)—and thus began the biggest saga of the offseason.

It was much like the past couple of offseasons...but worse. The general "Will he" or "Won't he" retire questions now mutated to to "Will he" or "Won't he" come back questions.

Then it progressed to "Will he" or "Won't he" start [in Green Bay].

When it was all said and done, though, here's what happened. The Packers decided to start and commit to Aaron Rodgers, draft two rookie quarterbacks, and trade Favre to the New York Jets. Then, Chad Pennington became expendable, but landed in Miami, where his team currently is in a three-way first place tie with the Jets and Patriots.

Let's put this into perspective:

The Packers stayed with the guy they committed to and wanted (and while they don't look so smart right now, I agree with the move 100%). They may be 5 and 9, but Rodgers has definitely played well enough to be the Packer's quarterback for years to come.

The Jets got the guy they wanted and have drastically improved their team from last year's terrible performance and their arch rival (::coughs:: The Giants ::coughs::) won the Super Bowl.

The Dolphins got a steady quarterback who can still play...and what do you know? 9-5 after going 1-15! That's pretty wonderful stuff.

We'll see how that plays out in the next couple of weeks.

I bet some of you don't even know who this man is.

Whether his play in week one (can you believe how long ago that was?) was intentional or unintentional...I think it's arguably the most significant play of this season.

Pollard, a safety for the Kansas City Chiefs, was rushing the Patriots as he was pushed into Tom Brady's leg, causing him to damage his knee to the point where he was later announce to be out for the season.

So, why is he number one on this list, you ask?

Simple: Pollard took out (arguably) the best current quarterback in the NFL (at least before that injury) and kept a team that had previously went undefeated in last year's regular season from reigning over many teams like they had the last couple of years.

This was a huge shift of power in the AFC, especially with the slow starts from Indianapolis and San Diego—all three teams considered part of the "trinity" of the AFC.

As it stands, the Titans (12-2) are currently the number one seed in the playoffs for the AFC, followed by Pittsburgh (11-3), The Jets (9-5), Denver (8-6), Indianapolis (10-4), and Baltimore (9-5). And there's still some huge games that will further decide how the playoff-picture will turn out.

The Patriots, however, are currently in a three-way-tie for first place in the AFC East.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs season hasn't gone so well. A dismal 2-11 record will probably set the Chiefs up for a high selection in next year's NFL Draft...again.

But remember, this is the time of year when the terrible teams have the potential to become even more terrible—by spoiling the teams trying to get into the playoffs.

Bernard Pollard just got a head start 15 NFL weeks ago.