2006's Sleeper

[football junkie]

Every year a team comes out of nowhere and astounds us all with how good they've become seemingly with no notice.

I'm not talking about an Arizona that went out and signed a bunch of talent or a Miami that finished last season on a tear. I'm talking about the inevitable team that comes out of nowhere and wins 10, 12 games on the way to a playoff berth few, if any, saw coming.

Personally I think the Jets are capable of winning a lot of games this year. The AFC East is the weakest it has been in at least five years. Chad Pennington is healthy. Furguson and Mangold will be a huge upgrade on the offensive line and I'm not entirely sure Derrick Blaylock can't be an every down back for the Jets. He flashed moments of brilliance for the Chiefs a few years back when Priest Holmes first got injured. And his legs should still be fresh. Eric Mangini should do a better job with clock management. And if Pennington does get injured the Jets have Patrick Ramsey to fall back on as a reliable option at quarterback. Of course their defensive line will suffer with the subtraction of John Abraham. But it will be interesting to see if the defensive unit as a whole can step up and fill the gap.

With that in mind, who's your pick for this year's sleeper team?

[football junkie]

Adding to my own post I think Chris Cooley TE in Washington is going to have a huge season and that Clinton Portis is going to score 25 to 30 touchdowns. The Redskins are going to like having Al Saunders in town.

On the other hand, I'd expect a real drop off for Larry Johnson -- more of a typical Curtis Martin-like season.

[racosun]

As far as surprise teams, I'll have to be a homer (as usual) and say the Lions will make some waves this season. They looked pretty sharp yesterday against Denver, especially the back-up players. There's depth all over the roster, and the coaching staff makes a big difference, one that can already be seen by the fans and felt by the players. I'd be surprised if they weren't at least in the running for a wild-card berth, and really should be able to take the NFC North division. Green Bay is in rebuilding mode, at the same time honoring Brett Favre for a brilliant career. Minnesota took a step back. I just don't think Brad Johnson has it in him to lead the Vikings anywhere. Chicago is all defense. I think Detroit's third-string QB is better than the Bears' starter.

Aside from Detroit, Tampa Bay could do some damage out of nowhere. Also, Cleveland could possibly move up the parity ladder. Losing LeCharles Bentley for the year hurt, but they still have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball. Winslow needs to prove himself and stay healthy. If Charlie Frye can take a big step towards figuring the ins-and-outs of the NFL, they could easily sneak up on the rest of the league.

[football junkie]

Got ideas about indvidual players racosun? I wanted to include them in the thread too.

I know you're big on Roy Williams and Jon Kitna. Do you really think Kevin Jones will carry the load at RB? Or is there maybe someone else on the roster or trying to make the team who might eclipse Jones?

Or non-lion players too, that's cool.

I stand by my pick: Washington TE Chris Cooley. I think as Brunell struggles to learn Al Saunders new offense, the playbook is 700 pages long, he'll look for Cooley a lot this year. That is of course all predicated on the health and viability of Clinton Portis.

Remember all those passes from Trent Green to Tony Gonzalez, well now it's going to be Brunell to Cooley -- just my opinion.

[football junkie]

Kevan Barlow is now a Jet, pending a physical so mean Frank Gore will be the 49ers every down back in 2006. Gore, the 2nd year running back out of Miami (FL), rushed for 608 yards in 127 attempts for an average of 4.8 yards per carry -- in his rookie season.

Gore also caught 15 passes in limited duty last year. I think Gore could be poised and ready for a monster year -- 1,500+ yards. He's flying under the radar right now but I don't think he will for long.

[brady_branch]

And I thought Gore was one of those fake created players on Madden... talk about flying under the radar.

[racosun]

Got ideas about indvidual players racosun? I wanted to include them in the thread too.

I know you're big on Roy Williams and Jon Kitna. Do you really think Kevin Jones will carry the load at RB? Or is there maybe someone else on the roster or trying to make the team who might eclipse Jones?

I think Roy Williams is awesome, but he takes plays off every now and then, and his concentration level has been questionable at times. He's dropped some very easy passes plenty of times, but does grab some "uncatchable" balls nearly as often. I'm not too high on Kitna, but with the system he's in and the weapons he has, he'll put up really nice numbers if he can stay healthy. Kevin Jones should break out huge. He's got speed, but he can also flatten linebackers. Ray Lewis was one victim. He needs his 20-25 carries a night, and he'll give you 1300 yards if that happens. The knock on him is his pass protection and his pass-catching skills. He doesn't have great hands, and if he doesn't improve his numbers will be hurt because he won't be on the field on third-downs. If he can learn how to catch, look out. He could put up similar numbers to what Marshall Faulk did with Martz. That's a big "if" though. A darkhorse for the Lions, IMO, would be Corey Bradford. The coaches like him alot, and he'll be the #2 guy next to Roy Williams. This is a high-octane offense, and he could have some pretty nice numbers. If you play fantasy football, keep him in mind as a sleeper pick in the mid- to late-rounds. He might go over the 1000 yard mark, and come close to 10 TD's.

The trade of Barlow to the Jets makes Frank Gore an interesting player to keep your eye on. The Niners offensive stars are young and undeveloped, but if they can start producing, it'll open alot of things up for that team. Gore was actually Miami's feature back before he blew out a knee, opening up an opportunity for Willis McGahee to shine. Many people have said Gore has better pure skills than McGahee, and he's been healthy for a few years now, so he could break out this season in a big way. He needs QB Alex Smith to sharpen his skills and be able to hit his recievers downfield, so teams won't stack the line to stop the run as much. That big TE they drafted should help, and WR Brandon Lloyd could also have a big year. Of course, none of this will matter if the defense can't get off the field.

[football junkie]

Kevan Barlow is now a Jet, pending a physical so mean Frank Gore will be the 49ers every down back in 2006. Gore, the 2nd year running back out of Miami (FL), rushed for 608 yards in 127 attempts for an average of 4.8 yards per carry -- in his rookie season.

Gore also caught 15 passes in limited duty last year. I think Gore could be poised and ready for a monster year -- 1,500+ yards. He's flying under the radar right now but I don't think he will for long.

I thought I'd revisit some of my pre-season predictions.

I must be psychic: the Jets are 6-5 and one game out of the AFC wildcard -- after finishing 4-12 last season; Chris Cooley is leading the Redskins in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and is second in receptions; Frank Gore is leading the NFC in rushing yards with 1,177 in 12 games. Gore is on pace for 1,712 rushing yards and 463 receiving yards.

Talk about break out players. These were sleepers now they're stars.

[ATLFalcons]

I thought I'd revisit some of my pre-season predictions.

I must be psychic: the Jets are 6-5 and one game out of the AFC wildcard -- after finishing 4-12 last season; Chris Cooley is leading the Redskins in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and is second in receptions; Frank Gore is leading the NFC in rushing yards with 1,177 in 12 games. Gore is on pace for 1,712 rushing yards and 463 receiving yards.

Talk about break out players. These were sleepers now they're stars.
Some people say you're a smart guy.

[football junkie]

Some people say you're a smart guy.


Yeah well some people are prone to believe anything.

[Snake]

Hey, someone must of deleted my post earlier in the year about how I thought Drew Brees and Marques Colston were going to have super years. I coulda swore I had it posted back when this first came out. ;)

[racosun]

I'll have a better chance at producing more accurate predictions if I just reversed them. Nothing I said came to be. :(

[brady_branch]

Of course, check out my predictions in the Preseason Predictions thread. Arizona in the Super Bowl? The Redskins winning the NFC East? The Bears going 8-8? What was I thinking?