Semester grades show variety

Superlatives

Most Valuable Player – Carson Palmer, Cincinnati. The Bengals still would be the Bengals without Palmer, who has completed 69.7 percent of his passes for 2,037 yards with 16 touchdowns, five interceptions and a 104.1 rating.

Offensive player – Edgerrin James, Indianapolis. The Colts might want to hurry up and sign him to a long-term deal. They are undefeated because James leads the league with 801 rushing yards.

Defensive player – Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis. The Colts are fourth in the league in total defense and Robert Mathis leads in sacks with eight because of Freeney, who has six sacks despite constant double teams.

Comeback player – Steve Smith, Carolina. Smith broke his left fibula in the 2004 season opener against the Green Bay Packers, but hasn’t missed a beat since returning. He is the same playmaker with 50 catches, 797 yards and eight touchdowns.

Offensive rookie – Kyle Orton, Chicago. Carnell Williams broke a rookie record with 434 rushing yards in his first three games, but he has only 33 since. Orton, who took over for Rex Grossman, has done enough to have the Bears in first place in the NFC North.

Defensive rookie – Odell Thurman, Cincinnati. The team’s middle linebacker has 44 tackles, one sack, four interceptions, two passes defended and a touchdown to get the call over Dallas linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who has 24 tackles and four sacks.

Coach – Bill Belichick, New England. This season, Belichick has done his best coaching job. He started the season with two new coordinators and has seven new starters since opening day, which explains why his defense is 26th in yards allowed. Yet, the Patriots (4-3) still lead the AFC East and will be a team best avoided in the playoffs.

Surprise team – Green Bay. Who expected the Packers to be 1-6 and alone in last place in the sorry NFC North? Three of their losses were to Detroit (3-4), Cleveland (2-5) and Minnesota (2-5).

Surprise player – Willie Parker, Pittsburgh. A former rookie free agent, he took advantage of injuries to Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley and has rushed for 602 yards, averaging 4.7 a carry.

Dumb move – Before the season opener, Philadelphia linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was ejected during pregame warmups for getting in a fight with Kevin Mathis.

Worst injuries

1. Brian Griese, Tampa Bay – The Bucs were 5-1 when he was injured. They are 5-2 now, having lost to lowly San Francisco on Sunday after their offense managed 275 yards and 10 points with three turnovers.

2. Rodney Harrison, New England – The Patriots’ leading tackler the past two seasons tore three knee ligaments in Week 3 against Pittsburgh. His backup, Guss Scott, is also out for the year, leaving rookie James Sanders to start at strong safety.

3. Javon Walker, Green Bay – Walker, who caught 89 passes for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, tore the ACL in his right knee in the season opener. Receiver Terrence Murphy and running back Ahman Green also are on injured reserve, and Robert Ferguson is out 2-4 weeks with a knee injury, leaving Brett Favre without many weapons.

4. Takeo Spikes, Buffalo – The two-time Pro Bowl linebacker, who is the Bills’ inspirational leader, tore his right Achilles tendon in a Sept. 25 game against the Falcons. The Bills, who were second in total defense last season, are 14th so far this year.

5. Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota – The three-time Pro Bowler, who threw for 4,717 yards, 39 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions with a rating of 110.9 last season, tore three ligaments in his right knee Sunday. He will be replaced by veteran Brad Johnson.

Rookie watch

The first five picks in April’s NFL Draft have had a season to forget. While other draft choices such as DeMarcus Ware, Odell Thurman, Heath Miller, Kirk Morrison, Brandon Jones, Mike Patterson and Jammal Brown have starred, the first five choices have struggled:

1. Alex Smith, San Francisco – The 49ers traded Tim Rattay to Tampa Bay, leaving Smith in charge. He started two games and was intercepted five times with no touchdowns before injuring his right knee, which kept him out of the lineup last week.

2. Ronnie Brown, Miami – The Dolphins are trying to figure out how to make best use of both Brown, who has 544 yards and three touchdowns, and Ricky Williams.

3. Braylon Edwards, Cleveland – He was hospitalized for four games following surgery Oct. 8 to cut out an infection in his right arm. Edwards missed two games. He has 14 catches for 228 yards and a touchdown.

4. Cedric Benson, Chicago – A 36-day contract holdout and veteran running back Thomas Jones have kept Benson off the field. He has only 32 carries for 108 yards.

5. Carnell Williams, Tampa Bay – He broke a rookie record with 434 rushing yards in his first three games, but a sprained left foot has limited him to 33 since.

Coaches on the hot seat

1. Mike Tice, Minnesota – Tice is in the last year of his contract and has a 26-32 record. If that isn’t enough reason for new owner Zygi Wilf to get rid of Tice, the Vikings had the Love Boat scandal last month.

2. Dom Capers, Houston – Recent expansion teams all made the playoffs by their fourth season, something the 1-6 Texans won’t do. They rank last in the NFL in total offense, and quarterback David Carr has regressed.

3. Brian Billick, Baltimore – The Ravens were preseason Super Bowl contenders, but they have yet to score 20 points in a game this season. Billick, 63-47 in his seven seasons, has lost his locker room.

4. Mike Martz, St. Louis – Martz, who has one year remaining on his five-year, $15 million deal, isn’t likely to return to the Rams. He is in a tug of war with Rams management that is expected to be resolved with a negotiated settlement.

5. Jim Haslett, New Orleans – Haslett apparently will not get a bye because of Hurricane Katrina. The Saints probably will have to make the playoffs for him to see a seventh season.

Ups and downs

Minnesota is down. On Oct. 6, in the now infamous Love Boat Scandal, 17 Vikings were on two rented party boats with several strippers flown in from Atlanta. On Sunday, they lost their starting quarterback when Daunte Culpepper tore three ligaments in his right knee.

New England linebacker Tedy Bruschi is up. Bruschi started at inside linebacker against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, returning 8 1/2 months after suffering a mild stroke. He is only the second known pro athlete to return to his sport after a stroke. The other was a pro rodeo calf-roper.

The NFC is up. The NFC has gone 18-17 against the AFC after going 20-44 last season. The NFC has not won the season series since 1995.

The Saints are down. New Orleans can’t catch a break, having had everything go against it since Hurricane Katrina hit in August.

Last year’s Super Bowl teams are down. Philadelphia and New England combined for a 27-5 regular-season record last year. They are 8-6 this year.

Peyton Manning’s touchdowns are down. The two-time league MVP set a record last season with 49 TD passes, but he has only 11 this season as teams are using prevent defenses against the Colts.