polamalubeast
07-22-2010, 05:50 AM
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/423251-2010-nfl-predictions-top-15-surprises-that-may-occur-in-the-afc#page/16
Each new season brings excitement, certain anticipation, and things fans consider to be expected. But with all the expectations come certain surprises as well.
Surprises such as unexpected players, the failure of teams everyone expects greatness from, and the Saints actually winning a Super Bowl.
Here are the 15 surprises that may occur in the AFC this season.
15. LT Has More Receiving Yards Than Rushing Yards With Jets
With the emergence of Shonn Greene to the top of the Jets depth chart as Thomas Jones departed for Kansas City, LaDainian Tomlinson seemed like the fit for a team that needed a veteran back.
Tomlinson failed to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career in 2009. It may be that he lost a step, or it may be that he was unhappy with his situation sharing time and having his abilities questioned.
Regardless of what it was, he is going to find himself in a similar situation with a young Shonn Greene coming into his own.
If Tomlinson is going to have an impact for the Jets, he is going to have to make the most of his time. A lot of it will come in third down situations where he will be just as valuable using his receiving skills as he will toting the rock.
LT has been a notoriously great double threat out of the backfield, averaging almost 500 yards a season receiving over the course of his nine years in the league.
With Mark Sanchez still figuring things out, it is going to be an invaluable asset having Tomlinson there to dump the ball off to out of the backfield.
While some are expecting LT to have a bounce-back year running the ball, he may surprisingly have more receiving yards than rushing yards as Shonn Greene continues to develop and he finds himself on the field in more and more passing situations.
14. Roddrick Muckelroy Cracks the Starting Lineup at Linebacker for the Bengals
The linebacker out of Texas has the potential to make an impact right away at the pro level.
His running times tested out slower than expected and they caused him to drop into the fourth round of the 2009 draft, but don’t be surprised if it is Muckelroy, not Brandon Spikes, that has slower times and makes an impact in the NFL.
Muckelroy’s keen awareness on the field is second only to natural instincts and ability to use his great size (6’2”, 246lbs), strength, and athleticism to shed blockers and attack the running game.
His cerebral approach to the game allows him to read and defend the pass extremely well despite his lack of straight-line speed. His use of angles makes up for that small lack of speed and allows him to excel in combination zone play.
At first Muckelroy will be expected to play special teams coverage, but as the season progresses he should see his way to the lineup if he plays up to the potential and natural ability he possesses.
13. Mike Wallace Has a Better Year Than Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes was a Super Bowl MVP and the Steelers' leading receiver in two of the last three seasons.
Mike Wallace was a third round pick out of Mississippi in 2009 and burst onto the scene with little fanfare to go with his 756 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie.
While many would argue that the attention Holmes and Ward drew away from the rookie allowed him to get open as often as he did, others would point out that Wallace is far superior than Holmes was at this point in his career.
In fact, during the 2009 season, Wallace was often so fast that he was under thrown on deep balls that cost him yards and touchdowns.
The Steelers obviously thought highly enough of Wallace’s abilities to rid themselves of Holmes’ off the field headaches by trading him to the Jets in 2009 for as little as a fifth round pick.
Holmes will no longer have the high-powered passing attack of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the arm of Ben Roethlisberger to depend on with the Jets. His addition to the Jets offense will help them, but Mark Sanchez is certainly not going to throw the ball 40 times a game in New York.
The increase in chances for Wallace with Holmes gone should not only allow him to break the 1,000 yard mark in his sophomore season, but also increase on his touchdown totals as well.
12. Damian Williams Proves To Be the Second Day Steal of the Draft for the Titans
While there are sure to be faster receivers, there may not be a better route runner in this year’s draft class.
Williams has drawn many comparisons to former USC standout Steve Smith, who led the NFC in receptions last season.
Williams is a tall, tough receiver whose frame will allow him to grow even bigger. Perhaps what stands out the most is his ability to chew up yards after the catch. Williams will bring all of this to the table as he teams up with last year’s first round pick, Kenny Britt.
Arellious Benn and Golden Tate seem like the second day values of the draft at wide receiver. Yet Williams may surprise a few people as he uses the motivation of slipping into the fourth round to have a breakout rookie campaign in an offense that truly needed another playmaking receiver to go with Britt.
11. The Baltimore Ravens Throw the Ball More Than They Run It
Baltimore has always been a running team with a great defense.
The Ravens’ quarterbacks used to play to not lose, rather than to play to win. Game managers that would hopefully protect the football and make few enough mistakes to win games, like Trent Dilfer.
All that has changed in recent years. While they have yet to become a pass-first team, the emergence of Joe Flacco will be met with gifted receivers like Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, and Donte Stallworth.
As always, the sure handed Todd Heap anchors the tight end corps and now has two exciting young rookies in Ed Dickson from Oregon and Dennis Pitta from BYU.
Still not sure the passing numbers are on their way up in Baltimore?
The team’s leading rusher last season was Ray Rice. Guess who also had over 700 yards receiving and was second on the team in receiving in 2009?
While defense with Ray Lewis and running the ball with Jamal Lewis has been the equation for winning football games for the Ravens so far, Jamal is gone and Ray is aging to say the least.
With issues at cornerback and Ed Reed beginning to take issue with his contract, the Ravens defense, while still strong is not the dominant force it once was.
The Ravens are going to have to put up some points if they want to win games and the high-powered passing attack in Baltimore will afford them the ability to do so.
10. Tim Tebow Beats Brady Quinn for the No. 2 QB Spot in Denver
Despite his pedigree and reputation coming out of Notre Dame, Brady Quinn has been a major disappointment thus far in his pro career.
His inconsistency has been matched only by his inability to stay healthy, and despite many opportunities to keep the starting job in Cleveland, Quinn has proven to be less than stellar under pressure.
The pressure faces him in Denver, as he will be competing against arguably the best college football player of all time, and the much-hyped Tim Tebow will be immense to say the least.
A guy who has the tools, but has a hard time staying healthy and living up to the pressure, against a guy that thrives under pressure and proving his naysayers wrong, will be the storyline to follow during training camp.
9. Cincinnati Bengals Miss Playoffs After Winning AFC North Last Season
The Bengals swept the AFC North last season, but don’t count on such a performance again this season.
The Baltimore Ravens are much improved on offense with the additions of Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth. The expectations of a much better passing game combined with the explosiveness of Ray Rice out of the backfield will make the task of beating the Ravens that much harder in 2010.
While the Steelers will be without Ben Roethlisberger to start the season, the Bengals have no such luck as to play them during the six-week stretch, or for another three weeks after his return.
The Steelers' defense will be much improved with the return of Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith, along with the reacquisition of Bryant McFadden at the cornerback position.
Roethlisberger will be back with enough time to shake off whatever rust may be left from his layoff, and should be in some form of rhythm by the time the two teams meet in Week Nine.
The North will be a much tougher test for the Bengals this season. Add that to the fact that they play the NFC South, who are always tough despite recent records, and it is not hard to imagine the Bengals missing the playoffs in 2010.
8. Monterio Hardesty Wins Offensive Rookie of the Year Honors
There are some rookie runningbacks in the AFC that have high expectations coming into the 2010 season, but the biggest surprise may be the emergence of Monterio Hardesty over the likes of CJ Spiller and Ryan Matthews.
Jerome Harrison lacks the size to be a featured back by himself, and Hardesty has proven to be the big powerful runner that the Browns need to complement him for the short term.
By season’s end, Hardesty should prove to have the tools not only to get the short yardage carries, but also the speed and cutback ability to be an explosive every-down back.
Each new season brings excitement, certain anticipation, and things fans consider to be expected. But with all the expectations come certain surprises as well.
Surprises such as unexpected players, the failure of teams everyone expects greatness from, and the Saints actually winning a Super Bowl.
Here are the 15 surprises that may occur in the AFC this season.
15. LT Has More Receiving Yards Than Rushing Yards With Jets
With the emergence of Shonn Greene to the top of the Jets depth chart as Thomas Jones departed for Kansas City, LaDainian Tomlinson seemed like the fit for a team that needed a veteran back.
Tomlinson failed to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career in 2009. It may be that he lost a step, or it may be that he was unhappy with his situation sharing time and having his abilities questioned.
Regardless of what it was, he is going to find himself in a similar situation with a young Shonn Greene coming into his own.
If Tomlinson is going to have an impact for the Jets, he is going to have to make the most of his time. A lot of it will come in third down situations where he will be just as valuable using his receiving skills as he will toting the rock.
LT has been a notoriously great double threat out of the backfield, averaging almost 500 yards a season receiving over the course of his nine years in the league.
With Mark Sanchez still figuring things out, it is going to be an invaluable asset having Tomlinson there to dump the ball off to out of the backfield.
While some are expecting LT to have a bounce-back year running the ball, he may surprisingly have more receiving yards than rushing yards as Shonn Greene continues to develop and he finds himself on the field in more and more passing situations.
14. Roddrick Muckelroy Cracks the Starting Lineup at Linebacker for the Bengals
The linebacker out of Texas has the potential to make an impact right away at the pro level.
His running times tested out slower than expected and they caused him to drop into the fourth round of the 2009 draft, but don’t be surprised if it is Muckelroy, not Brandon Spikes, that has slower times and makes an impact in the NFL.
Muckelroy’s keen awareness on the field is second only to natural instincts and ability to use his great size (6’2”, 246lbs), strength, and athleticism to shed blockers and attack the running game.
His cerebral approach to the game allows him to read and defend the pass extremely well despite his lack of straight-line speed. His use of angles makes up for that small lack of speed and allows him to excel in combination zone play.
At first Muckelroy will be expected to play special teams coverage, but as the season progresses he should see his way to the lineup if he plays up to the potential and natural ability he possesses.
13. Mike Wallace Has a Better Year Than Santonio Holmes
Santonio Holmes was a Super Bowl MVP and the Steelers' leading receiver in two of the last three seasons.
Mike Wallace was a third round pick out of Mississippi in 2009 and burst onto the scene with little fanfare to go with his 756 yards and six touchdowns as a rookie.
While many would argue that the attention Holmes and Ward drew away from the rookie allowed him to get open as often as he did, others would point out that Wallace is far superior than Holmes was at this point in his career.
In fact, during the 2009 season, Wallace was often so fast that he was under thrown on deep balls that cost him yards and touchdowns.
The Steelers obviously thought highly enough of Wallace’s abilities to rid themselves of Holmes’ off the field headaches by trading him to the Jets in 2009 for as little as a fifth round pick.
Holmes will no longer have the high-powered passing attack of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the arm of Ben Roethlisberger to depend on with the Jets. His addition to the Jets offense will help them, but Mark Sanchez is certainly not going to throw the ball 40 times a game in New York.
The increase in chances for Wallace with Holmes gone should not only allow him to break the 1,000 yard mark in his sophomore season, but also increase on his touchdown totals as well.
12. Damian Williams Proves To Be the Second Day Steal of the Draft for the Titans
While there are sure to be faster receivers, there may not be a better route runner in this year’s draft class.
Williams has drawn many comparisons to former USC standout Steve Smith, who led the NFC in receptions last season.
Williams is a tall, tough receiver whose frame will allow him to grow even bigger. Perhaps what stands out the most is his ability to chew up yards after the catch. Williams will bring all of this to the table as he teams up with last year’s first round pick, Kenny Britt.
Arellious Benn and Golden Tate seem like the second day values of the draft at wide receiver. Yet Williams may surprise a few people as he uses the motivation of slipping into the fourth round to have a breakout rookie campaign in an offense that truly needed another playmaking receiver to go with Britt.
11. The Baltimore Ravens Throw the Ball More Than They Run It
Baltimore has always been a running team with a great defense.
The Ravens’ quarterbacks used to play to not lose, rather than to play to win. Game managers that would hopefully protect the football and make few enough mistakes to win games, like Trent Dilfer.
All that has changed in recent years. While they have yet to become a pass-first team, the emergence of Joe Flacco will be met with gifted receivers like Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, and Donte Stallworth.
As always, the sure handed Todd Heap anchors the tight end corps and now has two exciting young rookies in Ed Dickson from Oregon and Dennis Pitta from BYU.
Still not sure the passing numbers are on their way up in Baltimore?
The team’s leading rusher last season was Ray Rice. Guess who also had over 700 yards receiving and was second on the team in receiving in 2009?
While defense with Ray Lewis and running the ball with Jamal Lewis has been the equation for winning football games for the Ravens so far, Jamal is gone and Ray is aging to say the least.
With issues at cornerback and Ed Reed beginning to take issue with his contract, the Ravens defense, while still strong is not the dominant force it once was.
The Ravens are going to have to put up some points if they want to win games and the high-powered passing attack in Baltimore will afford them the ability to do so.
10. Tim Tebow Beats Brady Quinn for the No. 2 QB Spot in Denver
Despite his pedigree and reputation coming out of Notre Dame, Brady Quinn has been a major disappointment thus far in his pro career.
His inconsistency has been matched only by his inability to stay healthy, and despite many opportunities to keep the starting job in Cleveland, Quinn has proven to be less than stellar under pressure.
The pressure faces him in Denver, as he will be competing against arguably the best college football player of all time, and the much-hyped Tim Tebow will be immense to say the least.
A guy who has the tools, but has a hard time staying healthy and living up to the pressure, against a guy that thrives under pressure and proving his naysayers wrong, will be the storyline to follow during training camp.
9. Cincinnati Bengals Miss Playoffs After Winning AFC North Last Season
The Bengals swept the AFC North last season, but don’t count on such a performance again this season.
The Baltimore Ravens are much improved on offense with the additions of Anquan Boldin and Donte Stallworth. The expectations of a much better passing game combined with the explosiveness of Ray Rice out of the backfield will make the task of beating the Ravens that much harder in 2010.
While the Steelers will be without Ben Roethlisberger to start the season, the Bengals have no such luck as to play them during the six-week stretch, or for another three weeks after his return.
The Steelers' defense will be much improved with the return of Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith, along with the reacquisition of Bryant McFadden at the cornerback position.
Roethlisberger will be back with enough time to shake off whatever rust may be left from his layoff, and should be in some form of rhythm by the time the two teams meet in Week Nine.
The North will be a much tougher test for the Bengals this season. Add that to the fact that they play the NFC South, who are always tough despite recent records, and it is not hard to imagine the Bengals missing the playoffs in 2010.
8. Monterio Hardesty Wins Offensive Rookie of the Year Honors
There are some rookie runningbacks in the AFC that have high expectations coming into the 2010 season, but the biggest surprise may be the emergence of Monterio Hardesty over the likes of CJ Spiller and Ryan Matthews.
Jerome Harrison lacks the size to be a featured back by himself, and Hardesty has proven to be the big powerful runner that the Browns need to complement him for the short term.
By season’s end, Hardesty should prove to have the tools not only to get the short yardage carries, but also the speed and cutback ability to be an explosive every-down back.