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Sports Illustrated Names Roddy White Midseason Offensive Player Of The Year

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Roddy White's performance this season warms Peter King's anti-Falcon heart, and he's rewarded with the midseason Offensive Player of the Year award.

As an Atlanta Falcons fan, one can become accustomed to being overlooked by the national media. No championships and only one Super Bowl appearance can make Atlanta easy to underestimate. One media member has risen above the rest for his, let's call it, distrust of the Falcons. Your friend and mine, Peter King, will always hold a special place in the hearts and minds of Falcons fans.

We all remember his preseason picks when he ranked the Falcons 16th in the NFL - eight spots lower than the Carolina Panthers.  He enjoys picking against the Falcons and has done so four times in seven games this season. He even picked the Browns to beat the Falcons in Week 5.

There's not a lot of evidence that King thinks the Falcons are a upper-echelon team. I know he ranked them 3rd in his Fine Fifteen after beating the Saints but let's not lose focus! Now where was I? Oh right, Peter King hates the Falcons. But he loves him some Roddy White. In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, King released his choices for the Midseason All-Pro team and the Falcons' Pro Bowler came away with a lot of (imaginary) hardware.

White was named Offensive Player of the Year and was one of three wideouts selected to the team. As King explains:

Matt Ryan can’t live without him: He throws to White 12 times a game. A two-time Pro Bowl pick in his sixth season, White is on pace for a mind-boggling 123 catches. His average game: eight catches, 107 yards. His biggest: 11 catches, 201 yards against Cincinnati.

 

In the preseason, Dunta Robinson said White reminded him of Texan receiver, Andre Johnson. After this season, Johnson may need to remind people of White. We've been on the "Roddy White is the best receiver in the NFL" bandwagon for some time so this is nothing new to the faithful, but it's rewarding to see him finally gain the national recognition he deserves.

White is not only the lone Falcon on King's Midseason team but he is the only member of the NFC South. It's bizarre the best team in the NFC, the Tampa Bay Raheem Morris', doesn't have a player on the list. Clearly an oversight.

The rest of White's teammates include:

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

QB: Peyton Manning, Colts

DE: Trent Cole, Eagles

RB: Arian Foster, Texans

DE: Vince Wilfork, Patriots

WR: Roddy White, Falcons

DT: Haloti Ngata, Ravens

WR: Brandon Lloyd, Broncos

DT: Jason Jones, Titans

WR: Davone Bess, Dolphins

LB: Clay Matthews III, Packers

TE: Antonio Gates, Chargers

LB: Cameron Wake, Dolphins

T: Jake Long, Dolphins

LB: Lawrence Timmons, Steelers

T: Marshal Yanda, Ravens

CB: Brandon Flowers, Chiefs

C: Alex Mack, Browns

CB: Nnamdi Asomugha, Raiders

G: Brandon Moore, Jets

SS: LaRon Landry, Redskins

G: Ryan Lilja, Chiefs

FS: Earl Thomas, Seahawks

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK: Billy Cundiff, Ravens

P: Shane Lechler, Raiders

KR: Brandon Tate, Patriots

PR: Devin Hester, Bears

 

AWARDS

MVP: Tom Brady, QB, Patriots

Offensive Rookie: Maurkice Pouncey, C, Steelers

Offensive Player: Roddy White

Defensive Rookie: Ndamukong Suh, DT, Lions

Defensive Player: Haloti Ngata

Coach: Bill Belichick, Patriots

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.