Yesterday I took a look at the teams of the NFL, and today, I'll be looking at the players. Here is a list of my top 5 most surprising and most disappointing players of the young season so far. We will start with surprising.
5. Ladainian Tomlinson- The Chargers seemed convinced that LT was all washed up, so they got rid of him. The Jets figured he would be a solid short yardage guy, but that Green was their top guy. Well LT had something to say about that. He has performed above expectation, and is showing not just flashes of his old self, but multiple plays of it a game. With the addition of Santonio Holmes to the lineup, this Jets team seems to be getting better and better.
4. Austin Collie- Who would have thought that 4 weeks in, Collie would be the top wide receiver on this packed team. In the past, the Colts have operated with Reggie Wayne the #1 guy, Clark the #2 guy, then a variety of players at #3. While Pierre Garcon figured to be the #3 guy this year, Collie has had a breakout year so far, and is a player to keep in your starting line up in fantasy as a very productive #3 WR.
3. The Broncos WR core- When Brandon Marshall left Denver, this offense was left for dead. And rightfully so. He has been one of the top 5 WR's for the past two years, and his replacements, Eddie Royal and Brandon Lloyd, have been inconsistent at best in their careers. But both players have seemed to have found a home in Denver, with both players having multiple 100 yard receiving games so far this year. And in a division as weak as the AFC West, you can expect more and more production from these guys.
2. Arian Foster- Foster was considered a dark horse in a lot of fantasy leagues, but I don't think anyone saw this kind of production coming. Foster is the top running back fantasy wise so far this year, and he shows no signs of slowing down. He seems to have a Chris Johnson like aura around him, meaning he can break out for a big play at any time. Last week against Oakland, he was held in check until he busted out a 71 yard TD run. Expect more of the same from this young star.
1. Sam Bradford- To me, this is a no brainer. I, like many, doubted the Rams when they took the freshly injured QB at #1 this year. I also felt that he would struggle mightily on this horrible team, and there would be whispers of yet another #1 QB bust just two years into his career. But in 4 games, Bradford has already won more games for the Rams then they did all of last year. This kid is the real deal, and Rams fans for once have something to be excited for.
Now onto the list that no one wants to be on, the biggest busts of the 2010 season so far.
5. Ryan Matthews- Its hard for me to say this as the kid is just a rookie, but when Yahoo sports has you ranked as their #8 guy in the league, you need to put up better numbers then he has. He has now it seems been passed up on the depth chart my Mike Tolbert, who reminds me alot of Natrone Means. To his credit, he is only 4 games into his career, so he has a long way to go in this league.
4. TJ Housmandzadeh- This guy has been on big bust lists ever since he left Cincinnati. The one upside for him this year is that he made the big catch to beat the Steelers last year. But the fact is that he was thought to be the final puzzle piece for this offense, but when you have almost the same number of catches(5) as games played(4), thats never a good sign.
3. Carolina Running Backs- Last year, Deangelo Williams tore up fantasy, and Jonathan Stewart showed in the final few games that he is a big threat of his own. These two guys figured to carry the Panthers this year, and so far they have not done it. D Will was able to break out a big run against the Saints, but sadly for these guys, the Panthers passing game is so anemic that they will be seeing alot of 8 men in the box looks for the rest of the year.
2. The Cincinnati Offense- This was the most eagerly anticipated team coming into the league this year in my opinion. With TO across the way, and Cedric Benson in the backfield, this offense was supposed to be nearly unstoppable. But for the most part, this offense has been good for basically one big play every quarter. In this division, that just won't cut it. Benson needs to get more yards to establish the play action, and Carson Palmer needs to cut down on the turnovers. I'm willing to give this offense a few more games to get in the groove, but its not looking great right now.
1. Kevin Kolb- This is another no brainer for me. And in Kolb's defense, his #1 ranking on this list is not entirely due to his poor play. Though that is most of it. The fact is, I just don't see what the Eagles saw in Kolb that would warrant them trading a QB like McNabb in the division. Against the Packers, he looked like a rookie. Locking into his wide receivers, panicking too soon, simple mistakes. When he replaced Vick, he settled for Lesean McCoy on nearly every play. In the 1 drive that he lead to a TD against the Skins, he went to McCoy on at least 6 straight plays. He was simply not able to make any plays downfield. I think he has the talent to right the ship, but based on what I've seen so far, the trading of McNabb makes less then 0 sense to me.
Those are my thoughts on the individuals this year. Tune in tomorrow as I will post my final report, this time looking at bold predictions and key story lines coming up. Thanks for reading.
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