I've seen some people putting out awards for the first half of the NFL season and it got me to thinking we would have some tough choices if we did this internally for the Bengals.  Here's the categories and the players I was thinking could qualify, please feel free to add any you think I missed.  I always have trouble trying to put up poles, therefore I just wrote them out along with my opinion so they can be debated, if anyone else wants to put up a pole, please be my guest.

Defensive lineman of the year so far

Candidates - Calos Dunlap, Geno Atkins, Michael Johnson, Frostee Rucker - My pick is Carlos Dunlap (he's just been flat out dominant)

Linebacker of the year so far

Candidates - Rey Maualuga, Thomas Howard, Manny Lawson - My pick is Thomas Howard (consistently great against both run and pass)

Defensive back of the year so far

Candidates - Reggie Neslon, Leon Hall, Nate Clemens, Chris Crocker - My pick is Nate Clemens (not the best but he's been the most consistent and has done well filling in for JJoe, while everyone else has seemed to be  more inconsistent)

Offensive lineman of the year so far

Candidates - Andrew Whitworth, Andre Smith, Kyke Cook - My pick is Andrew Whitworth (He's just a stud)

Wide Receiver of the year so far

Candidates - AJ Green, Jermain Gresham, Jerome Simpson - My pick is AJ Green (Rookie phenom)

Running back of the year so far

Candidates - Ced Benson, Benard Scott, Brian Leonard - My pick is Brian Leonard (no one else has really stood out and he's just a first down machine)

Coach of the year so far

Candidates - Jay Gruden, Mike Zimmer, Marvin Lewis - My pick is Jay Gruden (another tough choice but he's working magic with 2 rookies)

Rookie of the year far so far

Candidates - Andy Dalton, AJ Green - My pick is Andy Dalton (exceeding all expectations at the hardest and most important position on the field)

Best Aquisition of the year so far

Candidates - Manny Lawson, Thomas Howard, Nate Clemens, Donald Lee - My pick is Thomas Howard (he's been awesome when he's been healthy)

Most improved player

Candidates - Nate Livings, Rey Maualuga, Frostee Rucker, Andre Smith - My pick is Nate Livings (really wanted to pick one of the other guys but Nate went from really bad to pretty descent)

Special teams player of the year so far

Candidates - Mike Nugent, Kevin Huber, Brandon Tate, Andrew Hawkins, Ced Peerman - My pick is Ced Peerman (All these guys have been great and I really couldn't decide, therefore I went with the guy who made the best hit of the year:)