If it's already the second Sunday in November, it must be time for our midseason NFL report card, featuring the good, the bad and the baffling.

• MVP offense: This one might be too close to call at the moment, mostly because Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning and New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees appear to be in a dead heat, statistically and in leading their respective teams to unblemished records. Brett Favre also has to be included in the conversation, if only because no 40-year-old in the history of professional football has had this sort of immediate impact on a team that likely would be .500 without him.

• MVP defense: Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen has 7.5 sacks against the Green Bay Packers alone this season and leads the league with 10.5 for the year. He clearly is paying dividends on his six-year, $72 million contract that made him the highest-paid defensive player in the league when he signed two years ago. Loved his quote when the Bears obtained quarterback Jay Cutler in the offseason: ``Twice a year, I'm gonna peel the back of his head off the turf,'' Allen said. ``I love the guy, but business is business.''

• Offensive rookie of year: Back to Minnesota on this one. Former Florida Gators wide receiver Percy Harvin has had an immediate impact on the Vikings' offense and has become one of Favre's favorite targets, while also earning a reputation as arguably the most dangerous return man in the league. Hard to believe 21 teams passed on him in the first round of the draft before the Vikings called his name.

• Defensive rookie of year: Having covered his father, perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Clay Matthews, and his uncle, Hall of Fame offensive tackle Bruce Matthews, I'm a tad partial to Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews Jr., a tackling terror with all the right genes. Just wish his old man would tell the kid to invest in a haircut. Matthews was the Packers' second first round pick, the 26th player taken overall.

• Coach of year: You don't hear a lot about the Colts' first-year coach, Jim Caldwell, mostly because any coach with Peyton Manning on his side is supposed to win big. Still, Tony Dungy's replacement not only had a tough, Hall of Fame act to follow, but he also has had to plug plenty of holes on both sides of the ball. Meanwhile, the undefeated Colts just keep winning, so we will give him the midseason nod by a nose over another head coaching rookie, Denver's Josh McDaniels, the Bill Belichick protégé who has helped transform previously mostly mediocre Kyle Orton into a quality quarterback.

• Comeback player of year: Another close call so far. Favre's career seemed dead and buried when he missed the last five games with the Jets last year with a serious problem in his right arm, but look at him sling and wing it now. And Miami defensive end Jason Taylor padded his bank account but had a brutal, injury-hampered 2008 free agent season in Washington, only to come back into the Dolphins fold and once again demonstrate he still has All-Pro talent.

• Surprise of year: The Cincinnati Bengals are no longer the Bungles, now that quarterback Carson Palmer is healthy and receiver Chad Ochocinco takes enough time off from tweeting to focus on catching passes. The best offseason acquisition of the year has to be running back Cedric Benson, now fourth in the league in rushing and on pace for 1,600 yards.

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