Midseason Grades In: A for Favre F’s for Jets : Cower, Turner and Capers Post Best Coaching Jobs

You want intrigue? Try the AFC East race, where one game separates first from fourth.

You want heroes? Try Steve Young running for a game-winning touchdown off a bootleg with a groin pull. Or Jim Harbaugh continuing to play after serving as a human punching bag for a month and a half.

You want surprises? Just check out first place in the National Football Conference East and realize it’s not the defending-champion Dallas Cowboys, but their mortal enemies from the nation’s capital and a bargain-basement quarterback.

You want drama? Try overtime on a Monday night at Lambeau Field.

Halfway through another NFL season, and there isn’t much we haven’t seen. Shoot, we might even have ourselves the first 0-16 team before it’s all over. In fact, we might even have two of them.

So while we wait to see if the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons will ever win a game, a look back at the best and the worst of the first half . . . and a glimpse at what’s ahead:

Offensive MVP: Brett Favre, quarterback, Green Bay Packers. Favre told us not to bet against him this year in his comeback from a painkiller addiction, and he has done his part by averaging three touchdown passes per game.

Defensive MVP: Bruce Smith, defensive end, Buffalo Bills. He threatened to sit out the first part of the season in a contract dispute, but decided he would show team owner Ralph Wilson on the field why it’s in the Bills’ best interest to fork over a few million more after the season. Am I out of line to suggest that Smith is one of the top three defensive ends ever to play the game?

Three best coaching jobs: 1. Bill Cowher, Pittsburgh Steelers. You lose the starting quarterback from a Super Bowl team because you can’t match the Jets’ $25 million offer for Neil O’Donnell. You lose the best player on your defensive front seven because Greg Lloyd’s knee was not built to be torn in half. So all Cowher does is go with his gut and put in quarterback Mike Tomczak after Jim Miller’s opening-week loss to Jacksonville, and get his defense playing even better than last year.

2. Norv Turner, Washington Redskins. Team Owner Jack Kent Cooke kept telling everyone Turner is the second coming of Joe Gibbs. Well, maybe that’s stretching it just a bit, but Cooke’s faith in the ever-patient Turner is reaping huge dividends in what looks like a playoff year in D.C.

3. Dom Capers, Carolina Panthers. Forget about this second-year expansion team junk. Capers is the brains behind a very good football team, period.

Three worst coaching jobs: 1. Rich Kotite, Jets. After the Philadelphia Eagles improved to 7-2 midway through the 1994 season, Kotite said: “Judge me by my record.” Well, three wins and 28 losses later, the judgment is in: Kotite is not the answer for what ails the Jets.

2. Dave Shula, Cincinnati Bengals. There was enough talent on this team to make a playoff run. Now, Bengals will go with Bruce Coslet, who replaced the fired Shula on Monday.

3. Rich Brooks, St. Louis Rams. He had a defense that was adequately stocked with free-agent help and an offense that had loads of talent at the skill positions. And all he’s got to show for it is two wins.

Defensive rookie of the year: Zach Thomas, linebacker, Miami Dolphins. He’s the second coming of Chris Spielman, only shorter . . . and better.

Offensive rookie of the year: Eddie George, running back, Houston Oilers. The Oilers have been searching for the next-best thing to Earl Campbell for what seems like an eternity. At last, he has arrived.

Best free-agent acquisition: Spielman, linebacker, Bills. This run-stuffing specialist has helped elevate the Bills’ defense from decent to dominant.

Worst free-agent acquisition: Larry Brown, cornerback, Oakland Raiders. Nothing new here. Al Davis overpays for another overrated free agent.

Best trade: The Steelers were desperate for running-back help, so they shipped this year’s second-round pick and next year’s fourth-rounder to St. Louis for the Rams’ third-rounder this year and a fellow by the name of Jerome Bettis. I’d say it was worth the risk, wouldn’t you?

Worst trade: My, my, those Rams sure seem to be at the heart of matters. How about giving away Sean Gilbert to the Redskins for the sixth overall pick, which the Rams used to select Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips. Needless to say, Phillips has fallen considerably short of expectations.

Unsung hero: Bill Romanowski, linebacker, Denver Broncos. No one will ever mistake him for Lawrence Taylor, but Romanowski’s quietly effective leadership skills have helped transform the Broncos’ defense from a motley collection of misfits to the closest thing to the Orange Crush this side of the ‘70s.

The three biggest surprise teams: 1. Redskins: OK, so they have beaten only one team with a winning record. But after a 6-10 season in ‘95, a 6-1 start is a work of art.

2. Broncos: I knew they would be a good team this year. But Super Bowl good?

3. Minnesota Vikings: OK, so they choked in Tampa two weeks ago. But really, now, could you ever have imagined they’d be only a game behind the Packers--with a win over Green Bay, no less?

The three biggest disappointments: 1. Chicago Bears. They torch the defending champs in the Monday night opener, then watch helplessly as their season goes up in flames.

2. Bengals. I guess the good people of Cincinnati are used to this, but it shouldn’t have come to this.

3. Jets. Leon Hess spent nearly $1 million for every year he has spent on earth in an attempt to buy a contending team. But he’s 83 now and still not getting any results.

Most decisive moment of the season: The Jeff George benching/blowup in Week 4 against the Eagles. George told Coach June Jones he wasn’t a very nice man--or something to that effect--and Jones suspended George for four games, before George was released on Tuesday. I have never seen a season unravel that quickly in all my life.

Most improved player, offense: Gus Frerotte, quarterback, Redskins. You want the No. 1 answer for why the Redskins are in first place? Look no farther than Frerotte, a seventh-round draft pick two years ago, who is about to become a rich man in a few months after finally settling the quarterback controversy with Heath Shuler.

Most improved player, defense: Jeff Brady, linebacker, Vikings. Brady is working on his sixth team in six seasons, but has finally found a home in the middle of the Vikings’ defense. He is tied for the team lead with three interceptions and has become a solid run-stopper.

Comeback player of the year: Bettis. He ran out of Brooks’ doghouse in St. Louis and right into contention for MVP honors with the Steelers. Your loss, Rams.

Best game: Packers 23, 49ers 20, (in overtime), Week 7. Who says you need great offense for great football?

Worst game: Giants 13, Jets 6, Week 4. New York football isn’t exactly teeming with excitement these days . This one certainly captured that spirit.

Most valuable assistant coach: Fritz Shurmur, Packers defensive coordinator. If Green Bay is to return to the glory days of Lombardi, it will be in large part because of this man’s wondrous schemes.

Least valuable assistant coach: Jim Vechiarella, Jets defensive coordinator. The Jets spent piles of free-agent money loading up on offense; too bad Vechiarella’s outdated ideas couldn’t keep the Jets competitive on the other side of the ball.

Executive of the year: Bill Polian, Panthers general manager. The seeds Polian planted over the last two years have germinated into a strong, young tree. In the not-too-distant future, it’ll grow into a mighty oak. Close second: Redskins general manager Charley Casserly, whose offseason trade for Sean Gilbert has been a huge factor in Washington’s success.

Seven games you can’t afford to miss in the second half of the season: 1. Dolphins-Cowboys, this Sunday. Memo to Jerry Jones: Don’t ruin this one by hugging Jimmy before the game. Smack him in the face or something, but please, keep the venom flowing.

2. Broncos at Raiders, Week 10. It is the closest thing to actual combat the NFL has to offer.

3. Packers at Chiefs, Week 11. Some say it will be a preview of things to come in January. But it won’t be, because the Packers will expose the Chiefs’ Achilles’ heel--the running game.

4. Packers at Cowboys, Week 12. If the Packers want a shot at the Super Bowl, they’ll have to figure out a way to beat the ‘Boys for the first time in eight tries.

5. Redskins at Dallas, Thanksgiving Day. Redskins Coach Norv Turner beat Dallas twice last season--and that was with a lousy team. This one could be for the NFC East title, though they play again in the season finale.

6. 49ers at Steelers, Week 16. It’s all you can ask for--steam-through-the-facemask football at Three Rivers.

7. Lions at 49ers, Week 17. Don’t you just love seeing that pained expression on Wayne Fontes’ face as he tries to stay one step ahead of the posse and sneak into the playoffs again?

Seven predictions for the second half:

1. One of these days, Mike Tomczak will wake up and realize who he is. Then again, it might not happen until after the Super Bowl.

2. John Elway is going to give us some of his Mile High magic in January, and it’s going to be a wonderful sight to behold.

3. Sorry, folks. Despite Jim Kelly’s recent problems, the Bills are just not going away.

4. The Panthers will become a playoff team before long. Like, before the season ends.

5. The Jets will somehow find a way to become the first team to go 0-16. Just their luck: Peyton Manning likely will be the first pick in the draft and the Jets just poured all that dough into O’Donnell.

6. Jeff George will sit out the rest of the season, and every G.M. will publicly swear he won’t sign him in the offseason. A few hours into the free-agency period next February, the $30 million offers will start pouring in.

7. Count on Troy, Emmitt and Michael to be in New Orleans January 26 to accept their fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy.