Our midseason assessments of each team will roll out this afternoon. But I’m going to start the ball rolling this morning with our annual midseason All-NFC South teams.
As usual, the choices were ultimately mine. But, in addition to statistics and my own observations, these choices were made largely based on conversations with general managers, scouts, coaches and players.
I’ll have the defense and the offense a little bit later this morning. I’ll also come back later this afternoon with division-wide awards for Most Valuable Player, top rookie, coaches and general managers. But let’s start off the midseason honors with the special teams.
Kicker: Matt Bryant, Falcons. He’s done a nice job resurrecting his career and has missed only three field goal attempts.
Punter: Thomas Morstead, Saints. He’s averaging 46.9 yards gross and 38.7 yards net. He leads the NFC South in both categories.
Kickoff returner: Micheal Spurlock, Buccaneers: He’s averaging a division-best 27.5 yards per return and has had two returns of more than 40 yards, including an 89-yard touchdown against Atlanta.
Punt returner: Eric Weems, Falcons. With Reggie Bush out for much of the first half of the season, there hasn’t been a flashy punt returner in the division. But Weems has been the most consistent, averaging 13.6 yards per return.