MONDAY NIGHT RECAP: A NEW X-FACTOR

Saying that it has been a star studded rookie class would be somewhat of an understatement at this point. The hardest question of the season may be who deserves rookie of the year? On one end of the spectrum we’ve had Reggie Bush, the next Barry Sanders. He’s one of the few players in all of football that can score every time he touches the ball. Bush is a great player and all, but he’s only had a few good games this season. No, we can’t give it to him. Then there’s his teammate Marques Colston. He’s the true underdog story. Colston went from the third to last pick of the draft to one of the best WRs in football, but no he falls a bit short this season. He’s been injured lately and his stats have started to take a hit. Well, what about Vince Young? He’s single handedly turned the Titans franchise around and made them winners again. Well, Young is a great talent, but he doesn’t really have the passing stats to win the award as a QB. Then who deserves it then? Who is the only player that has a chance to score every time he touches the ball, has become one of the best players at his position, and made his team a winner? The answer is easy. It’s the new X-factor.

A cornerback who can barely cover in the second round to a team that is already stacked on defense! What are the Bears thinking? While it seemed a bit puzzling at the time for why the Bears would take a kick returner in the second round, all of the doubters have now disappeared. Devin Hester has become one of the most explosive return men in the history of football in just 13 games. His 6 TDs coming from returns are an NFL record in one season. He’s guaranteed to touch the ball every game, and when the other team sees him deep, fear goes through their body. It would hard to fault opposing teams from kicking it out of bounds at this point in this season. One play last night showed just how special Hester is. After scoring a TD, the Rams looked as though they were going to attempt an onside kick. The Bears put their hands team on the field for the recovery and sent Hester deep. The Rams then bluffed the onside kick and kicked it to Hester. With absolutely no wedge to help him out on the kick return, Hester proceeded to take it 96 yards for his second TD of the game. It is plays like those that you may only picture in a video game, but the human joystick did it. So move aside Dante Hall, there’s a new X-factor around. This one deserves rookie of the year.

Rex Grossman- With his job on the line, Grossman stepped up and delivered on his better performances in weeks. He finished 13 for 23 with 200 yards and 2 TDs. It was his first multi touchdown performance since week 10 against the Giants. It seems very unlikely now that Brian Griese will take over as the team’s starting QB, but get Grossman rest, Griese will most likely start the last game if the Bears clinch home field. Grossman takes on Tampa Bay next week, and with his week to week unpredictably it’d be hard to start him.

Thomas Jones- The Bears’ RB faired much better in his second Monday night game of the year than he did against Arizona. Jones, who started off slow, was able to finish with 11 carries for 76 yards and a TD. In the process, Jones topped 1000 yards rushing for the second straight year. With 12 and 11 carries in the last two weeks, the Bears are clearly trying to lighten his load before the playoffs. This situation makes Jones a risky start the rest of the way.

Cedric Benson- One of the reasons for Jones receiving less carries recently has been the emergence of Cedric Benson. Benson has gotten at least 9 carries in the pats four weeks, and he has taken advantage of the opportunity by posting at least 4 yards per carry in each game. Last night, Benson carried it a season high 16 times for 64 yards. This should be his standard workload for the rest of the season. Benson appears to be poised to take over as the starter next season.

Marc Bulger- In one of the biggest surprises of the game on Monday, Bulger was barely affected by the strong defense of the Bears. The Rams’ QB had one of his best games of the season as he completed 34 of 55 passes for 356 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 INT. Bulger has been one of the best QBs in the NFC this season, and he should be headed to the Pro Bowl in February. He faces another tough defense next week as the Rams take on Oakland.

Steven Jackson- One of the subplots of the game was how would the Bears be able to stop the run without their start defensive tackle Tommie Harris. The answer was not well because Jackson was able to have a strong performance as he ran 18 times for 81 yards and a TD. He also had 10 catches for 58 yards and a TD. Throughout the year, Jackson has been one of the best RBs in football this season. His ability to catch the ball has made him truly difficult to defend. He should have a decent day next week against Oakland.

Torry Holt- After cooling off toward the middle of the season, Holt picked the right time to heat up for his fantasy owners as he has scored 3 TDs in his last 2 games. Against the Bears last night, Holt had 6 catches for 75 yards and 2 TDs. Despite having a down year in yardage, Holt has still been able to put up the TDs for the Rams. He could benefit next week against Oakland because their top CB and rising star Nnamdi Asomugha may miss the game.

-David Cassilo
Contact at asuhouse@aol.com