As we near the half-way mark of the ‘08 season, NFL action continues to startle and excite each and every Sunday. This week, the Titans steamrolled the Chiefs with a versatile ground attack, and two quarterbacks in the Big Apple found their way onto our list for disappointing performances.

Mewelde Moore makes Steelers fans think “Willie Who?” and an MVP day for what seemed to be an ‘08 bust in Steven Jackson as his Rams put a hurtin’ on America’s Team. Willis McGahee and Ryan Grant also show up big in Week 7, as this could be deemed the week of redemption for guys struggling to get on track.

Be sure to check out this week’s Bonus Hardware after the Highlight Reel. Some performances were so bad they didn’t fit into our standard list of awards.

Sunday is complete and Big Bertha is back with more kudos and scoffs in the form of Week 7 hardware.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

Steven Jackson, RB, St. Louis Rams
Jackson returned to form as he finally showed up and started earning some of the new contract the Rams rewarded him. Running for 160 yards and three scores is a good way to get noticed, but doing it in a 34-14 shellacking of the Dallas Cowboys is in a completely different realm. I’m pretty sure this performance was so big you could see it from space.

Runners-Up

LenDale White/Chris Johnson, RBs, Tennessee Titans
Kansas City is bad. Really bad. You expect a quick guy like Johnson to rack up some yardage and a big power back like White to pound in some scores. I don’t think anyone envisioned both men eclipsing the 150-yard mark and combining to punch it in four times. These guys looked good in Week 7 as they rolled the Chiefs for an easy win.

Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions
Although Johnson’s performance couldn’t erase the goose-egg from the Lions’ win column, it did make for an exciting Week 7 game in Houston. Johnson caught two passes: a 96-yard touchdown and a 58-yarder on top of that. It’s probably a lot easier to catch touchdowns when your quarterback isn’t running out of his own end zone.

Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
After two consecutive lackluster performances, the real AP showed up, to the tune of 121 yards and two touchdowns. He could have had a third, but veteran Chester Taylor stole one just before halftime. Peterson should continue to shine as he’s looking at New Orleans and Detroit, two teams that can be defined by their defensive ineptitude, in his next two matchups.

MOST SURPRISING PERFORMANCE

Mewelde Moore, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
From now on, Mewelde Moore will be known as “Speaker of the House” in my book. After starter Willie Parker went down and rookie backup Rashard Mendenhall broke his shoulder, the Steelers turned to Moore as the third viable option in the backfield. Moore took 20 carries for 120 yards and two scores on the ground and reached paydirt a third time by catching a touchdown from Big Ben. He’s not even owned in half of Yahoo! leagues.

Runners-Up

Antonio Bryant, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Bryant went for more than 100 yards and a score against the Seahawks on Sunday night. This was certainly more than most expected from Bryant, but the fact that it was against the Seahawks dillutes the element of surprise.

Willis McGahee, RB, Baltimore Ravens
After having another knee surgery this off-season, many people were questioning how well McGahee would perform in ‘08. McGahee and the Ravens coaching staff assured the press that he was back at full strength and would be ready to go for this year. Nothing could have been further from the case until the former Hurricane showed up in Baltimore’s big Week 7 victory. He eclipsed 100 yards and scored a touchdown as the Ravens beat Miami.

Ryan Grant, RB, Green Bay Packers
Packers fans and fantasy owners starting Grant at the start of ‘08 were all collectively hoping he wouldn’t be a one-hit wonder. So far this year, he has fallen considerably short of expectation. However, he ran for 105 yards and a score in the Packers win over Indy on Sunday, a line that surely impressed, and surprised as it ticked by on the bottom line.

MOST DISAPPOINTING PERFORMANCE

Brett Favre, QB, New York Jets
All summer we had to sit through television marathons devoted to the Brett Favre story. How he’s such a great NFL quarterback and it’s so great that he’s going to be back for a 17th year and how sorry the Packers will be when he turns in another Pro-Bowl performance. Well, guess what: 197 yards and two picks isn’t going to cut it, especially considering it was in five quarters against a Raiders defense that ranks 22nd against the pass.

Runners-Up

Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
For the second straight week, Eli looked like the Eli of old. Luckily for Giants fans, it came in a Week 7 matchup against the Niners so they were able to squeak out a win. Not so lucky, however, were Eli’s fantasy owners who likely fell to opponents when the lesser Manning threw for only 161 yards and one score. He was also making his “I’m scared and a little confused” face on the sideline again when the Giants came out of the gate looking awful. Not a good sign for those who are starting Eli on their fantasy squads.

Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers
The Niners have not been a good football team this year. The bright spot for them was that Gore had been turning in consistent and impressive performances all season. In Week 7, however, Gore carried 11 times for a whopping 11 yards. One yard per carry?! I guess that’s what happens when your starting quarterback has been on seven teams in six years, your No. 1 wideout is a rookie you drafted in the sixth round, and teams can put nine or 10 guys in the box against you.

Ronnie Brown, RB, Miami Dolphins
Seems as if the Dolphins and their trickery couldn’t fool a powerful Ravens defense in Week 7. Brown took 13 carries for 27 yards and didn’t score, leaving fantasy owners hurting in their weekend matchups.

CUTTABLE PLAYER

Ricky Williams, RB, Miami Dolphins
How Williams is still owned in over 57 percent of leagues on ESPN.com is a mystery I will never fully understand. He’s not a good fantasy option. He’s not getting a significant amount of carries and isn’t doing anything notable with the touches he does get. Cut him. Now. And find a touchdown vulture or backup with some upside.

WAIVER WIRE SPECIAL

Any Saints Wide Receiver
Reggie Bush is going to miss 3-to-4 weeks of action. This does make it a little more difficult for the Saints to spread defenses out and create mismatches. However, it also means that Sean Payton will call upon Brees and company to shoulder Bush’s production by airing it out and spreading the ball around. Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson and Jeremy Shockey will all be catching a lot of passes over the next month. If you’re thin at wide receiver (or tight end), roll the dice and pick one of them up.

DREAM LINEUP
QB - Kyle Orton, CHI
RB - Steven Jackson, STL
RB - LenDale White, TEN
WR - Steve Smith, CAR
WR - Calvin Johnson, DET
TE - Owen Daniels, HOU
K - John Kasay, CAR
D/ST - Chicago Bears

NIGHTMARE SQUAD
QB - Brett Favre, NYJ
RB - Ronnie Brown, MIA
RB - Frank Gore, SF
WR - Jerricho Cotchery, NYJ
WR - Plaxico Burress, NYG
TE - Vernon Davis, SF
K - Adam Vinatieri, IND
D/ST - Minnesota Vikings

HIGHLIGHT REEL (Best Play)

Back to normal as I’m dishing out the highlight reel hardware for Week 7.

First we’ll give the Golden-Boot award to Sebastian Janikowski for his 57-yard, game-winning kick in overtime to lift the black and silver over the J-E-T-S. That kick might have been good from 65 out. That’s not at all an exaggeration.

Secondly we’re going to give the Steel-Train award out to Hines Ward for his ridiculous hit on Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers. Although it is a shame that Rivers broke his jaw on the play and will miss the rest of the season, the block was legal, sprung Mewelde Moore for a touchdown, and earned Ward first runner-up in this week’s highlight reel.

Finally I’ll grant the Chicago Bears team the honor of receiving the “The-Best-Offense-is-a-Good-Defense” award for scoring on a blocked punt and a muffed punt.

Week 7 Bonus Hardware

BIGGEST SHOES TO FILL; SMALLEST FEET AWARD

Brad Johnson, QB, Dallas Cowboys
The seasoned vet threw three picks as he went 17-for-34 in the Boys’ loss to the Rams on Sunday. I guess we can expect Romo to hurry back now, right?

I’M TECHNICALLY A QB BUT MY TEAM CAN’T RUN THE BALL AWARD

Tyler Thigpen, QB, Kansas City Chiefs, and J.T. O’Sullivan, QB, San Francisco 49ers
These passers are taking home hardware because their teams couldn’t establish anything remotely resembling a running game in Week 7 and they both led their respective teams in rushing.

MY TEAM IS ATROCIOUS BUT I’M NOT HALF-BAD AWARD

Tony Gonzalez, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
This week, the NFL’s trade deadline came and went. Along with it went the dreams, hopes, and aspirations of Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez. He asked to be traded and it appeared as if the Giants were a reasonable suitor until the Chiefs wouldn’t back down from their demands and couldn’t pull the trigger on a deal. Gonzalez, who is near the end of his prolific career, was hoping to make a run at a ring on a legitimate contender. That all passed with the deadline on Tuesday, and Gonzalez still went out and caught six passes for 97 yards in KC’s loss to Tennessee. Kudos to Gonzalez for showing up … even if his team didn’t.