Hank Baskett- With half the league not playing for anything, many young players got a shot to show what they could do on Sunday. Within Philadelphia, Hank Baskett has been a well kept secret. After a terrific training camp, the Eagles realized they had a very talented WR. However, with Donte' Stallworth and Reggie Brown at wideout, Baskett never really got a shot. On Sunday he was their number one WR, and he performed exceptionally well. He finished the day with 7 catches for 177 yards and a TD. In a pass first offense with an ninjury prone Stallworth ahead of him, Baskett could have an impact in 2007. Tony Romo- In his final start of the regular season, Romo looked brilliant at some times and awful at others. The good on Sunday came in the form of a career high 321 passing yards and 2 TDs. He made spectacular play after spectacular play as he led Dallas up and down the field trying to create a comeback. However, the reason they were behind was partly because Romo threw an INT and lost two fumbles. Romo is not not the second coming of Johnny Unitas, but he is a decent QB in this league. He finished the year with 2903 yards, 19 TDs, and 13 INTs in just 12 games at QB. He'll be one of the top tier QBs next season in the league.
Terrell Owens- He's a weekly distraction, but no one can deny that he is one of the best WRs in the NFL. Owens racked up a season high 117 yards receiving in the final regular season game for the Cowboys. The game capped off a very controversial but successful season statistics wise for Owens and the Cowboys. He finished with 85 receptions, 1180 yards, and 13 TDs. The numbers are almost identical to his first season with Philadelphia. There has been a lot of speculation that this will be Owens only season in Dallas, but with production like this it would seem very unlikely that Jerry Jones would want to get rid of Owens.
Rex Grossman- Sunday night marked the lowest point of what has been an up and down season for Bears QB Rex Grossman. The following numbers are actually true as shocking as they may be. Grossman finished the day 2 for 12 with 33 yards, 3 INTs, and 1 fumble before being relieved in the second half. His backup, Brian Griese, was not much better as he was 5 for 15 with 2 INTs. Since it's clear that Griese was no improvement, Grossman will start the Bears first playoff game. Rex finished the season completing 55% of his passes with 3193 yards, 23 TDs and 20 INTs. His inconsistency is the weakest point for a very talented Bears team. His production in the playoffs will determine whether the Bears look for a change at QB next season.
Cedric Benson- The Bears looked awful while playing most of their starters on Sunday night. The one player who did show some promise was their second year RB Cedric Benson. He was able to run for 109 yards on just 13 carries. The Packers do have a poor rush defense, but nevertheless, it was an impressive day for Benson. He's seen an increased workload over the last month, but part of that is because Chicago has had the one seed in the NFC for weeks, and Thomas Jones needed his load lightened. Although Jones had a terrific season again, I would have to figure that the Bears will finally give Benson the starting job next season.
Brett Favre- After things didn't go their way with the Giants winning on Saturday night, the Packers now had a meaningless game to finish their season. The Packers won by having a tremendous defensive performance, but the story of the night was clearly Brett Favre. After a solid day with 285 yards passing, 1 TD, and an INT, Favre became very emotional in a post game interview. He hinted several times that this was most likely his final game of the season while fighting back tears. Knowing Favre, it is hard to believe him even after an interview like that. When he sits back weeks from now without this game fresh in his mind, he will realize that if he came back for one last year he will have a legitimate shot to go to the playoffs. His decision will be the biggest offseason story of 2007.
Tarvarias Jackson- In his final start of the season, Jackson looked shaky at best for the Vikings. He finished the day 20 for 34 with 213 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT against a very weak Rams defense. Although he looked decent at times, Jackson never showed any drastic improvement during the season. The Vikings still believe that he has the tools to be a star in this league, and he will most likely go into next season as their starter. However, if he is going to have success, the Vikings will have to bring in some capable WRs to help him out.
Jon Kitna- It was a very strong finish for Jon Kitna who in the process had the first 4000 yard season of his career. Kitna led the Lions to a shocking win over the Cowboys in an offensive shootout. He finished the day with 306 yards passing, 4 TDs, and 1 INT. It was his best day of a strong season under offensive coordinator Mike Martz. Even if the Lions bring in a rookie QB, Kitna appears likely to at the very least begin the year as the Lions starting QB. The offense is clearly not the problem in Detroit, and they now may look to go defense with their second pick of the draft.
Roy Williams- The Lions did a great job screwing up the only bright spot of their season by winning their final game and thus losing the number one pick of the draft. Their big play WR Roy Williams had 104 yards receiving and 2 TDs in a thrilling win over Dallas. He finished the season with 1310 yards receiving and 8 TDs which is proof that even Matt Millen can draft a good WR now and then. Roy is one of the bright young stars in the NFL, and he will be a top WR for at least the next 5-6 years.
Jake Delhomme- After missing three games with a thumb injury, Delhomme returned for a meaningless game against the backups of the Saints. Delhomme looked sharp in what may have been his best day of the season. He completed 23 of his 27 passes for 207 yards and 2 TDs. Days like those are what was expected all season from Delhomme which makes it rather disappointing that he finished with numbers like he did. While there were some rumors he'd be done as the starter, it would be a total shock if he wasn't taking snaps for Carolina in 2007.
Steve Smith- He's one of the best WRs in football, and he finished that way on Sunday. A week ago I had questioned Smith's effort after not being able to catch one pass. Now I can see that the problem was mainly the QB not Smith's effort. With Delhomme back, Smith had 85 yards receiving and 2 TDs. The injuries and struggles QB led to a bit of a down year for Smith, but he was still able to finish with 1166 receiving yards and 8 TDs. His teammate Keyshawn Johnson is talking about retirement, but that would be a shock to me. Most likely the Panthers will return a similar offense and have a much stronger season.
Michael Vick/Matt Schaub- The final start of the year for Vick was a brief one as he left the game early with an injury. Before departing he had 81 yards passing and a TD. The injury isn't serious and would have been able to play next week if there was a game. Vick finished the season with career highs in both TDs and rushing yards. In his relief on Sunday, Matt Schaub, who is one of the best QBs in football not starting, was 15 for 21 with 175 yards passing, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Now that Coach Mora is gone, the next coach will have a huge impact on the QB situation. They will probably hire some one who is best for Vick's talents, but there has been some talk about possibly giving Schaub a chance to win the starting job in the preseason.
Joey Galloway- The lone bright spot on the Tampa Bay offense this season has been Galloway. He finished another strong season with 8 catches for 118 yards and a TD in a loss to Seattle. Galloway, who seems to never age, had his second straight 1000 yard season and finished with 1057 yards and 7 TDs. He still remains one of the better WRs in football, but at 35 years old it's clear that a drop off in production bound to come soon. His QB next season will be the biggest factor for his value.
Steven Jackson- What a great season it has been for Steven Jackson! He turned the corner in his third season for the Rams and is now not only a great runner, but also a great pass catcher. Jackson went out with a bang as he finished with 166 total yards and 4 TDs in his final game of the season. His week 17 numbers added to a fantastic season in which Jackson had 1528 yards rushing, 806 yards receiving on 90 receptions, and 16 TDs. The season was one of the best rushing and receiving for a RB in recent memory. He will be one of the first RBs off the board next season in your draft.
Frank Gore- In addition to Jackson, his division rival Frank Gore busted onto the season this season. In a thrilling victory for the San Francisco 49ers to keep Denver out of the playoffs, Gore rushed for 153 yards on 31 carries. He finished the season with an NFC best 1695 rushing yards to go along with 9 TDs. Gore had some fumbling issues early in his career, but he was able to correct them and now seems to have no holes in his game. In just his second season Gore has become one of the 5 best RBs in football.
Kurt Warner- He may have problems holding onto the ball and escaping from the pocket, but Kurt Warner has always been one of the best pure passers in the NFL throughout his career. With Matt Leinart out, Warner was able to start the last game of the season, and he had 356 yards passing and a TD. His starting days appear behind him, but he has said that he will most likely not retire following the season. If Warner does ever get another starting job in this league, he would be a solid veteran to have.
-David Cassilo
Contact at asuhouse@aol.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment