MILWAUKEE — The National Football League officially reached the midpoint of its season this week as each team had played at least eight games.

As usual, it's been an interesting season to this point. There have been some surprises (the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions) and some disappointments (San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears). Likewise, there have been a few good stories (Brett Favre`s resurgence, Tom Coughlin`s transformation) to offset the bad (Spy-gate, Michael Vick, more off-field arrests, Andy Reid`s troubles).

Let's stay on the field and look at how the races for the post-season awards stack up, and how the playoff picture might play out.

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Most valuable player: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots. No discussion needed. He leads in the league in just about every passing statistic and is on pace to shatter the single-season touchdown record. Brady also happens to be leading a 9-0 team. Honorable mention: Brett Favre, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning.•

Offensive player of the year: Brady. He's completing 73 percent of his passes, is on pace to throw for 4,775 yards and 58 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Honorable mention: Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss, Favre.•

Defensive player of the year: Bob Sanders, S, Indianapolis Colts. His statistics (44 tackles, 2Z\x sacks, 1 interception) might not open many eyes, but his play certainly does. One of those players that makes everyone better by just being on the field. Honorable mention: Albert Haynesworth, Mike Vrabel, Sean Taylor, Julian Peterson.•

Offensive rookie of the year: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings. Despite having fewer than 20 carries in three games, Peterson still leads the league with 1,036 yards, which is 268 more than his nearest competitor. Oh, and he's already broken the NFL's single-game rushing record. Honorable mention: Joe Thomas, Marshawn Lynch.•

Defensive rookie of the year: Patrick Willis, LB, San Francisco 49ers. Fast, smart and athletic, he's got everything to be the league's next great linebacker. Willis also happens to lead the league with 83 tackles. Honorable mention: Jon Beason, Aaron Ross.•

Comeback player of the year: Moss, WR, New England Patriots. By the time he finally got out of Oakland, Moss' reputation was so sullied by his perceived attitude and constant injury problems that the Patriots were able to get him for a fourth-round pick. Moss now leads the league in receiving yards and touchdowns and has surpassed all of his stats from a season ago. Honorable mention: Favre.•

Coach of the year: Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers. With a 4-8 record through 12 games last season, most were wondering whether McCarthy would last another season. Since then, the Packers have gone 12-1, including a 7-1 start to this season. Even Favre can't figure out how his team keeps winning, but it finds a way every week. And McCarthy's responsible for that. Honorable mention: Rod Marinelli, Dick Jauron, Romeo Crennel, Tom Coughlin.With the hardware passed out, here's a look at who will take home the big prize come February and how the post-season might shake out.•

Playoff teams: AFC — New England, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Cleveland, Tennessee. NFC — Dallas, Green Bay, New Orleans, Seattle, Washington, Detroit.•

Wild-card round: Pittsburgh over Tennessee, San Diego over Cleveland; New Orleans over Detroit; Washington over Seattle.•

Divisional: New England over San Diego, Indianapolis over Pittsburgh; Dallas over Washington, Green Bay over New Orleans.•

Conference: New England over Indianapolis; Dallas over Green Bay.•

Super Bowl XLII: New England 42, Dallas 24.