We won the AFC East last season mostly due to our underperforming players suddenly performing at a much higher level then we thought they were capable of. Joey Porter had a career best in Sacks, so did Matt Roth, Y Bell played in all 16 games, Andre Goodman's perenial shoulder issues ceased, Will Allen had a career high in interceptions. Ronnie Brown finally made a pro bowl, Greg C came out of nowhere to catch 50 balls, Anthony Fasano caught a career high in TD passes, David Martin stayed healthy all season and averaged a Wr like 14 yds per catch and Big Jake Long made the pro bowl as a rookie. Kudos to them all, however, who will step up to surprise this season and do more then anyone here thought they could do for us in 2009?
In no particular order QB Henne FB Hilliard WR Ginn WR Turner OG Alleman DT Soliai DE Dotson DE Merling ILB Torbor
The untold story from last season was how guys who never really performed well not only exceeded everyone's expectations, but also were incredibly disciplined anlgp. We had fewer penalties then even the Shula era teams, that's amazing for such a young team, Pennington had a remarkably low interception numbers.
He was borderline for me and prior to the preseason I thought he had as much risk as worth but my biggest gripe with him was his pocket presence ( also had questions about his accuracy)and quite frankly he won me over last preseason. He had good pocket presence and a great "I'm the man" attitude. On top of that I thought he was slightly more accurate than I anticipated. Without the negatives I had about him I am hopeful that he can be our QB of the future.
I haven't seen Henne very much, the old Dell just did not have the horsepower to watch online Videos. The guy I'm keeping an eye on is Donald Thomas, to me he is like having a Day 1 pick this year, and the Guard class was weak this year, really weak. And of Course, Cameron Wake, I've devolved to fanboy when it comes to his potential. I also think that our Secondary holdovers are not scrubs per se, but one or two will stick because starting 2 rooks and having Clemmons as the #1 backup would be amazing for a Parcell's type of team.
Clemons was a great pick. I expect him to start before the year is over. The big question to me is what happens to Smith and Allen (havent given up on him yet but very close)
For me its Ginn and Wake in no particular order. These are the guys I'm most excited about in terms of their potential to have breakout seasons. After those two I'm looking forward to seeing how Brown produces 1 year removed from surgery; if London can take that next step; how Bell does with a better S mate; how White is used in the WC; and if Sean Smith can handle some of the bigger WRs we face. I'm also excited about Clemmons but I think it might be a year early to expect anything from him unless we suffer some injuries.
I like wilson. I think clemons has more upside. Like rafael said however it may take more than a year. I'll roll the dice however and say he starts before the year is over. I really liked hia game
If Davis, Smith and Clemmons pan out, our pass rush will be much more effective this season, to me, that would change everything for us. I like Wake and Thomas to really shine, maybe Channing Crowder as well. Channing hasn't played behind this good of a dline since truck, Carter and Holiday were fresh free agent acquisitions, he could really shine this year.
I was originally going to say that Anthony Fasano or David Martin would have a bigger year receptions wise but looking at Henning's past 21 years of coaching - not including his head coaching stint - the average leader in receptions at the tight end position in his offense was 23.5. Fasano had 34 last year I believe and Martin had 31. I went to look at the running backs, thinking that Ronnie Brown may be featured more out of the backfield and I think that is something that we could see. Last year, Ronnie Brown caught 33 passes out of the backfield, roughly seven less than the average in Henning's twenty-one years as an OC. While I looked at those numbers, I figured that the three-headed attack that we currently have may have affected Ronnie Brown's receptions out of the backfield but the offense's that Henning had in the past had numerous tailbacks as well, such as the Jets team he ran between '76 and '78. In those three years, the tailback had at least twenty-six receptions out of the backfield, including highs of 55 and 41 in years '76 and '77. However, the highest overall receptions in the twenty-one years was seventy, topped twice; once by Joe Washington in the '81 season for the Redskins and then Curtis Martin in 2000. With that said, I select Ronnie Brown to have a more productive season in 2009, as he's healed from his knee injury and should be featured more in the offense, as Sparano suggested a month or so ago.
If Ginn doesn't score 8 td's, he will be a disappointment this year Aqua. He really needs to shine this season, not sort of, but really shine.
I really think our defense will come together next season. Parcells-built teams historically ( and statistically) turn the corner on the defensive side of the ball in the third to fourth seasons. I think the reason is because all of the players that fit the system are brought in by year three and the chemistry is built up during the third year, evolving into the fourth year where the defense becomes a good one.
Honestly, I would. I'd be surprised to see him throw up those numbers in a three-back system here. If he was the feature back and stayed healthy, then no, I wouldn't be surprised. JMO. Time for a change.
According to the quotes from Sparano that you pointed out to me in the past, it seems like he will be more featured. Though, I'm not ready to place big expectations on him.
Ahh...Alen, there are elements that do not statsitically match, for example the idea that for the last two drafts, no way we go Tackle or Cornerback.. Right?
Why wouldn't we have gone OT and DB? We needed those positions badly and I believe historically, Parcells has doubled up on need positions.
I think Ginn will have a great year, but for the sake of originality, I think we see big years from: Jake Grove - I think he'll surprise a lot of people and be a bit more dominant than the mediocre Satele was for us Sean Smith- Methinks he'll be the go-to guy by years end to cover the big WRs in our division Patrick Turner- I predict Turner will end up with 5+ TDs in the red zone this year, which while in no way "fantastic" it would be surprising
I wanted to go with Teddy G because i feel he should be able to this season but i know its the popular pick. I went with the Rookie WR and more specifically Patrick Turner. There is no denying this kids size and ability to score. 10 TDs in his senior season with USC isnt too shabby. At times he made Sanchez look better. I think hes got more potential than people realize.
I am going to say Phillip Merling. He was a back-up last year and played really well when he was in the game. I am dying to see our DE's of the future paired up together with him and Kendall Langford...