Ted Johnson Hands Out Midseason Awards for Patriots

With the first eight weeks behind them, the Patriots are in a good spot, sitting atop the AFC East standings at 5-2. They’ve gotten to where they are for both good and bad reasons.

Former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson broke down this year’s MVPs and biggest disappointments on SportsDesk.

Biggest Offensive Surprise: Tom Brady
“He was the AFC Player of the Month for October, and I just see him getting better.”

Biggest Defensive Surprise: Brandon Meriweather and Brandon McGowan
“Those two guys have played stellar up to this point and really have surprised me with the way they’ve been playing.”

Biggest Offensive Disappointment: Joey Galloway
“They brought him in expecting him to be the X receiver, to give [Randy] Moss and [Wes] Welker a break. He didn’t turn out the way they wanted him to. That’s a huge disappointment. They could have used an X receiver like him to be productive.”

Biggest Defensive Disappointment: Adalius Thomas
“[The Patriots] brought him in with a lot of expectations — he was a stud for Baltimore — but up to this point he just hasn’t played up to the hype.”

Offensive MVP: Wes Welker
“Wes just seems to be the cog that makes this thing go. He led the NFL in receptions [before the bye week], and he’s missed two games.

The two losses the Patriots had, Wes didn’t play in one and was limited in the other one.”

Defensive MVP: Brandon Meriweather
“I think Brandon has set the tone for that secondary. … He’s kind of brought a physicalness and a toughness to that secondary that they desperately needed with Rodney Harrison gone.”

The entire interview with Cole Wright can be seen below.