Full Atlanta Falcons Awards at Halfway Point of 2014 Season
At 2-6, the Atlanta Falcons don't look like a team that deserves to have awards being thrown their way. However, there are some bright spots to what is looking like a lost season.
Steven Jackson's 11,000th yard is just one of the good things that have come from this season thus far. Jackson has an argument for a Hall of Fame-caliber career already, and this is just another milestone to put on his already excellent resume.
On top of Jackson, there are a couple of other bright spots on the team that have given the Falcons positive performances despite the lack of proper coaching. Atlanta has the potential to be a playoff-caliber team even this season, but it needs to turn it around fast with these guys leading the charge.
Most Valuable Player of the Half
1 of 7
QB Matt Ryan
Without Matt Ryan, the Falcons would get blown out of every game. With Matt Ryan, the Falcons have either been down one score or had the lead heading into the fourth quarter in six out of the eight games Atlanta has played.
The Falcons need to perform better in the fourth quarter, and that includes Ryan. But in order to do that, Atlanta needs to give the Falcons signal-caller better protection. Through the first four games, Ryan was sacked just five times. Since then, he's been sacked 12 times through four games.
The best the line performed since those first four games was this past week in England. Ryan needs that protection desperately, because he's 51-of-100 (51.0 percent) for 692 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions when he's under pressure.
However, when he's got protection, he's 147-of-205 (71.7 percent) for 1,614 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. If Atlanta can keep Ryan upright—especially in the fourth quarter—it could wind up going on an unprecedented run to close the season out.
Defensive Player of the Half
2 of 7
CB Desmond Trufant
Desmond Trufant has been one of the bright spots on one of the worst defenses in the NFL. He's been a lockdown cornerback who's shown the ability to perfectly play the coverages called. Outside of two long bombs that he allowed early in the season, Trufant has been one of the top corners in the NFL.
He's had seven pass deflections through the first eight games. His only real weakness in coverage has been his inability to catch. Of those seven deflections, four of them were catchable balls that would have turned the tide for the Falcons in the game.
If Trufant can continue to play coverages with the same quality that he has been all season, but starts to make plays on the ball and catch the dropped interceptions, he could have a legitimate case to be called the top cornerback in the NFL after this season.
Offensive Player of the Half
3 of 7
WR Julio Jones
Julio Jones has shown that he's a top five receiver in the NFL through the first half of the season. When Matt Ryan had time to throw, the current leader in 20-plus-yard receptions was able to victimize defenses through the intermediate parts of the field.
Jones has proven to be an extraordinarily reliable weapon in the offense, but he did get a case of the drops in the last few games. He's uncharacteristically dropped six balls through the last four weeks despite leading the team in targets with 42.
Jones needs to turn it around the second half of the season and start hanging onto every ball. He's been trying to do too much to try to help overcompensate for the poor offensive line play. Atlanta has to get him to relax and just go out there and be Julio to close the year out.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Comeback Player of the Half
4 of 7
FS Dwight Lowery
When he was signed, Dwight Lowery looked like nothing more than a one-year stopgap for the Falcons. However, once William Moore went down, someone had to take over as the veteran in the secondary. Lowery has done that, showing his talent as a stabilizing force in the secondary.
In 2013, Lowery got knocked out for the season with a massive concussion, but this year, he's been healthy for the majority of the snaps through the first half of the season. Statistically, he's already on pace for the best season of his career in everything but interceptions and pass deflections.
The paces of 80 tackles, two fumbles recovered, six pass deflections, and four stuffs—tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage—have the veteran safety on pace for what would be considered a respectable season by any safety in the NFL. That's definitely a strong comeback after playing just three games in 2013.
Rookie of the Half
5 of 7
OT Jake Matthews
This one is a bit by default. Despite a great first quarter of the season where Matthews looked like a completely competent left tackle, injuries seemingly slowed him down, as he was on the injury report with an ankle injury for the Chicago game.
He looked like he was struggling with it versus the Giants, though. And he just started looking fully recovered against the Lions when he was going against Ziggy Ansah. With the bye week, Matthews should be able to return to his early-season form.
If Matthews can do that, he should be able to stabilize the left side of what looks to be a makeshift line. Matthews and Justin Blalock on the left side would work well. The real question is whether James Stone can make a run for rookie of the year with competent play at center.
Breakout Player of the Half
6 of 7
DE/OLB Jonathan Massaquoi
Most of his breakout came over the course of the last three games. It's also when he saw his snaps increase from an average of 23.5 snaps per game to 40.8 snaps per game. Those additional 17 snaps per game were mainly for pass rushing, as his pass rushes per game increased by 10.5.
Through the first four games, Massaquoi was averaging one quarterback disruption for every 7.25 snaps. That was the best mark on the team. Since then, he's only increased his disruption rate to once every 5.46 snaps despite playing more snaps.
If Atlanta wants to see Massaquoi truly turn into their primary pass-rusher, they'll make sure to give him at least 70 percent of the snaps from here on out. Massaquoi has the potential to hit 10 sacks on the season if the coaches let him have a shot at it.
All advanced data comes from Pro Football Focus (Subscription Required).
Most Improved Player of the Half
7 of 7
RB Antone Smith
After four years of not even being used, Antone Smith has turned into one of the more explosive options in the NFL. During the first four seasons that Smith made the Falcons, he showed his value as one of the best gunners in the NFL.
In his first four years, he had just one touch: a negative-3-yard carry in 2010. Last year, he was finally given a handful of carries and a pair of catches, and he rewarded the Falcons with 155 yards and two touchdowns on them. This year, he's proven to be worth at least 10 snaps a game on offense.
With just those 10 snaps a game, he has produced 360 yards on 31 touches for five touchdowns. If the Falcons just doubled his touches and snaps per game to bring him into the Jacquizz Rodgers range and role, Atlanta could have an even more dynamic offense.
All stats used are from Pro Football Focus' Premium Stats (subscription required), ESPN.com, CFBStats or NFL.com. All combine and pro day info is courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac and Rotoworld.
Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, college football, the NFL and the NFL draft. He also runs DraftFalcons.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
