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Although the official midpoint of the schedule won't come until the end of Sunday night's Dallas-Philadelphia tilt (the 128th game of the season), many publications and Web sites already have begun to cite early-line favorites for the NFL's various prestige awards, such as most valuable player, rookie of the year and comeback player, among others.

There is still half a season to be contested but, truth be told, some players clearly have separated from the pack when it comes to such honors.

And so have some league executives.

Given his body of work, and the fact Indianapolis has overcome so many key injuries to remain unbeaten, it's difficult not to vote for Colts president/general manager Bill Polian for the NFL's executive of the year, an award he has captured a record five times. But right there with him is New Orleans executive vice president/general manager Mickey Loomis, who won executive-of-the-year honors in 2006 and who could become only the fourth front-office executive (joining Polian, George Young and Jim Finks) to seize the title multiple times.

Often regarded by his critics as "just a bean counter," a salary-cap manager who was in over his head when it came to evaluating personnel, Loomis, like Polian, has assembled a terrific support staff: veteran director of college scouting Rick Reiprish, director of pro scouting Ryan Pace, and head coach Sean Payton and his assistants.

Most notably, Loomis is the person most responsible for bringing Payton (perhaps the NFL's premier playcaller) to New Orleans, and for signing free-agent quarterback Drew Brees when other suitors had backed off because of a shoulder injury. Also notable is that there isn't a single player on the 53-man roster, a bunch that could take the Saints (7-0) to the Super Bowl, who predates Loomis' appointment to the GM job by owner Tom Benson in 2002.

While Polian has built the Indianapolis roster mostly through incredible draft acumen and savvy use of undrafted free agents, Loomis has used every manner of acquisition available to him to cobble together the Saints' roster. The current roster includes 18 draft choices, 24 players signed as unrestricted or "street" free agents, six undrafted college free agents, four players acquired in trades and one veteran claimed on waivers.

As noted, it's still early in the season, and perhaps premature to begin touting folks for year-end awards. But given the Saints' performance to this point, and given what the franchise and its die-hard fans have overcome the past few years, Loomis certainly deserves a nod.

Bushrod makes his mark

Assuming two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jammal Brown returns in 2010 from the hip surgery that sidelined the 2005 first-round pick this season, Loomis and the Saints could face an intriguing decision next spring. Starting in place of Brown, third-year veteran Jermon Bushrod, a seventh-round pick in 2007 who didn't play in a single game his first two seasons, has performed exceedingly well. On Monday night, Bushrod held Atlanta right end John Abraham sack-less, and limited one of the NFL's top pass-rushers to one pressure. Two personnel directors mentioned to ESPN.com this week that they are watching Bushrod closely, and he is certain to attract more admirers if he continues to play well. One personnel man noted that he might take only two young left tackles, Joe Thomas of Cleveland and Ryan Clady of Denver, over Bushrod right now. It's doubtful Loomis will entertain trade offers for Bushrod or Brown (assuming he's healthy) next spring, but he'll get some inquiries.

Safety first

It still wasn't official Thursday night, but it's expected to be announced Friday that Pittsburgh starting free safety Ryan Clark will not play when the Steelers travel to Denver for the Monday night game. A combination of Clark's sickle cell trait and the high altitude in Denver created a life-threatening situation in 2007 and the gravely ill eight-year veteran eventually had his spleen and gall bladder removed. Clark and his wife, Yonka, were leaning toward his playing Monday, and doctors cleared him, but club officials decided against it. It's a classy, gutsy call by Steelers brass, especially with Clark unlikely to return to the team in 2010. The two sides had been working on a contract extension this summer, but a deal wasn't completed and Clark can be an unrestricted free agent in the spring. Veteran Tyrone Carter, who earlier this season started for an injured Troy Polamalu, will replace Clark in the lineup.

Achin' Abraham

It's clear the oft-injured John Abraham has been slowed a bit by the foot injury that has been hampering the 10-year veteran. Abraham, 31, missed 4.4 games per year in his first seven seasons, but has appeared in 39 straight the past 2½ seasons. In 2008, he notched a career-high 16.5 sacks, third-most in the league. But after collecting two sacks in the season opener in 2009, Abraham has only one sack since, and none in the past three games. Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder has been blitzing more, in part to manufacture a pass rush that isn't coming from the front four. The Atlanta defense really needs Abraham to get going again.

Bradford's place

Several league personnel experts queried this week were fairly adamant that, even with the recent surgery on his right shoulder, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, remains a first-round prospect. Said one college personnel director: "He could fall to the middle or the second half [of the first round], but unless there's something wrong with the shoulder that we don't know about, he's still in the [first] round." Of course, it's still very early in the evaluation process, and a lot of folks are fudging their true feelings.

Giants killers

The defensive failures of the New York Giants in the past three weeks (all losses) -- surrendering 112 points, 840 passing yards and an opponent quarterback rating of 123.0 -- have been across the board. The secondary is suffering from the season-ending injury to free safety Kenny Phillips and the hamstring tweak that has kept cornerback Aaron Ross out of the lineup. The linebackers are missing a ton of tackles. And the front four, expected to be among the NFL's deepest and able to generate a pass rush without the blitz, has produced only two sacks during the three-game skid.

Next man up

The Indianapolis Colts went to training camp this summer with a plan for their always-transient linebacker position: Strongside linebacker Clint Session would move to the weak side and be replaced by second-year veteran Philip Wheeler, with Gary Brackett remaining the starter in the middle. But the best-made plans were disrupted when fifth-year pro Tyjuan Hagler beat out Wheeler for the starting job. Only problem is, Hagler sustained a season-ending biceps injury last week, and so it's back to Plan A, with Wheeler, a third-round pick in 2008 with zero starts on his résumé, taking over. One idea briefly kicked around by the Colts' staff was to return Session to the strong side, and move fourth-year veteran Freddy Keiaho, who logged 14 starts in 2008 and posted 105 tackles, into the lineup. But the Colts believe in their ability to unearth linebacker prospects, and to play them when necessary, and they thrive on a "next man up" philosophy. And that next man up is Wheeler.

Ugoh a no-go

Third-year veteran Tony Ugoh, who started 23 games at left tackle for the Colts his first two seasons, has been all but buried behind former sixth-round draft choice Charlie Johnson as Peyton Manning's blind-side protector. Ugoh, a second-round pick in 2007, hasn't played a snap in two straight games and three of the past four. Word from Colts insiders is that the former Arkansas standout simply isn't tough or physical enough to warrant playing time. Indy surrendered its first-round pick in 2008 to move up for Ugoh in '07, desperate to corral an heir apparent to Tarik Glenn, who abruptly retired after Super Bowl XLI. Three seasons later, Ugoh is barely an afterthought for the team.

Williams not precise

The performance of wide receiver Roy Williams, and this week's rant directed at quarterback Tony Romo, are mystifying to some Dallas players, who felt the six-year veteran was poised for a big season after a strong training camp and getting outside of Terrell Owens' lengthy shadow. But Williams is not a great route-runner, has inconsistent hands and doesn't fight through the tough coverages to work back to the ball. Instead, it has been the unheralded Miles Austin, the one Cowboys wide receiver who hasn't lost a step, who's become the star. Austin has 21 catches for 483 yards and five touchdowns the past three games. In 16 games with Dallas, including 12 starts, Williams has 33 receptions, 447 yards and three touchdowns. Romo, by the way, has now thrown 119 passes without an interception, the longest such streak of his career.

Punts

Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin, whose team travels to Denver on Monday night, is 4-0 in MNF games. … By the end of the season, Indianapolis' Hagler, who went on injured reserve this week, will have appeared in only 43 of a possible 80 games in five seasons. That's only a slightly better percentage than standout strong safety Bob Sanders, who has played in 47 of a possible 87 contests. … So decimated is Washington at left offensive tackle that veteran Levi Jones, the former Cincinnati standout signed off the street only two weeks ago, could be a starter Sunday at Atlanta. … As bad as Kansas City is, it's still hard to believe the Chiefs waived starting strong safety Bernard Pollard before the season. Pollard, the man who wrecked Tom Brady's knee last year, was signed by Houston, and has provided toughness against the run to the interior of the Texans' secondary. … It might not be a good year to have the Turner surname. Chicago offensive coordinator Ron Turner is drawing plenty of heat for the unit's shortcomings. His older brother, San Diego head coach Norv Turner, could also be in trouble if the Chargers fail to earn a playoff spot. … Cleveland owner Randy Lerner, who abruptly canned first-year general manager George Kokinis this week, is again seeking advice from league officials on how to proceed in trying to right the franchise.

The last word

"He left on his own terms and I like that. When I came into this league, I modeled myself after [Hall of Fame running back] Jim Brown, and I always wanted to follow in his footsteps in everything he did. One of my main goals was to leave when I wanted to. My plans pretty much worked out the way I planned them 10 years ago." -- Cleveland Browns tailback Jamal Lewis on his plans to retire after the 2009 season, his 10th year in the league

Len Pasquarelli, a recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's McCann Award for distinguished reporting, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.