http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/Features/Rookie+of+the+Year+Meter/2007/rookie121807.htm Go back to Rookie of the Year Meter Summary: Rookie of the Year Meter Rookie of the Year Meter Willis and Peterson have rookie honors just about wrapped up By Matt Sohn Dec. 18, 2007 With just two weeks left in the season, it would take an incredible turn of events for Patrick Willis to not end up Defensive Rookie of the Year and for Adrian Peterson to not earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. However, Peterson, in particular, shouldn?t win in a landslide. Joe Thomas, Cleveland?s dominating left tackle, has been sensational. And unlike Peterson, he has stayed healthy all season. Right or wrong, the reality is OROY is an honor usually reserved for a skill-position player, and in 2007, no offensive rookie comes close to matching the skills of Peterson. 1. 49ers LB Patrick Willis Season stats (14 games): 142 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble Week 15 stats: six tackles Last week?s ranking: 1 Stock: Steady Willis helped ensure that if the Bengals moved the ball, it would have to be through the air. Even with a relatively healthy Rudi Johnson in the backfield, Cincinnati had a long run of just nine yards. 2. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson Season stats (12 games): 218 carries for 1,278 yards and 12 touchdowns, 17 receptions for 247 yards and one touchdown, three lost fumbles Week 15 stats: 20 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns, one reception for 17 yards Last week?s ranking: 2 Stock: Steady Peterson didn?t rip the soul out of the Bears the way he did earlier in the season at Soldier Field, but he still had a very good game by normal RB standards. Unfortunately for him, we have come to expect so much from him that anything less than phenomenal is considered disappointing. Look no further than his fourth-quarter, 28-yard run last night. After turning the corner and jetting into the open field, he was finally dragged down by the combined efforts of CB Charles Tillman and OLB Jamar Williams ? two players who clearly had the angle on him. Yet that didn?t stop Ron Jaworski, a straight-shooting commentator not prone to hyperbole, from stating how he was almost surprised Peterson wasn?t able to outrun the two defenders for what would have been a 98-yard touchdown. 3. Browns OT Joe Thomas Last week?s ranking: 5 Stock: Steady Thomas has given up a few sacks recently to speed rushers ? this past Sunday, it was Bills DE Aaron Schobel ? but that?s about all he did wrong. With the Browns making a concerted effort to pound the ball in the Cleveland snowstorm, Thomas once again dominated in the running game. RB Jamal Lewis is rightfully being praised for the team?s ground-game proficiency, but an offensive line quickly developing into one of the league?s best can?t be overlooked. 4. Jets CB Darrelle Revis Season stats (14 games): 80 tackles, three interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery Week 15 stats: five tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery Last week?s ranking: 6 Stock: Rising While the inclement weather conditions in Foxborough didn?t hurt his cause, Revis held Randy Moss mostly in check. From a physical standpoint, he?s already among the elite cornerbacks in the league. Yet he doesn?t get the credit he deserves for his precocious instincts. On his interception, he read Tom Brady perfectly, jumping Moss? route before Moss made a break on it. 5. Jets LB David Harris Season stats (14 games): 108 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery Week 15 stats: seven tackles Last week?s ranking: 3 Stock: Steady Don?t be misled by the fact that New England rushed for 131 yards. It took 35 carries to get there. As has been the case since entering the starting lineup, Harris was a rock in the middle. His stonewalling of RB Laurence Maroney at the 1-yard line to prevent a touchdown was a thing of beauty. 6. Panthers LB Jonathan Beason Season stats (14 games): 118 tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery Week 15 stats: eight tackles Last week?s ranking: 4 Stock: Steady Beason has been tremendous as the ?Mike? linebacker in the Panthers? traditional 4-3 scheme. But with the front four doing a dismal job of generating any semblance of a pass rush, it?s surprising Beason isn?t given the green light to go after the quarterback. With his closing ability, he would seem to be an ideal blitzer. 7. Dolphins C Samson Satele Last week?s ranking: 7 Stock: Steady The irony is that despite playing his college ball in June Jones? spread offense at Hawaii, Satele is a more proficient run blocker than he is pass protector. He was a bit shaky in the Dolphins? win over the Ravens, but was hardly a liability. Give him credit for being the heartbeat of the offensive line since Week One. 8. Redskins S LaRon Landry Season stats (14 games): 87 tackles, 1? sacks, one fumble recovery Week 15 stats: three tackles Last week?s ranking: 9 Stock: Steady In a secondary that has battled through injury and tragedy, Landry has been a constant. In Sunday?s win over the Giants, he helped limit Eli Manning to a miserable 18-of-52 passing. 9. Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe Season stats (14 games): 61 receptions for 885 yards and four touchdowns Week 15 stats: five receptions for 64 yards Last week?s ranking: 8 Stock: Steady It?s becoming increasingly apparent that Brodie Croyle may not have what it takes to be a starting quarterback in this league. Subsequently, Bowe has only scratched the surface of what he can become. He did what he could against the Titans, but the guy needs somebody better to get him the ball. 10. Bills RB Marshawn Lynch Season stats (11 games): 240 carries for 940 yards and six touchdowns, 15 receptions for 120 yards, one lost fumble Week 15 stats: 21 carries for 82 yards Last week?s ranking: 10 Stock: Steady As the kid from California found out, playing in Cleveland in December is no day at the beach. Lynch was serviceable but inspiring on Sunday, running for 82 yards against one of the league?s worst run defenses. And it still bears questioning ? probably more so for offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild: Why hasn?t Lynch been involved in the passing game? Honorable mention (In no particular order) Bills QB Trent Edwards: Hard to get much going in the Cleveland snow. Texans DT Amobi Okoye: Nice job of helping shut down the Broncos? running game. Buccaneers S Tanard Jackson: Numbers are going down, but still a key member of a resurgent defense. Giants CB Aaron Ross: Needs to kick his game up if the Giants are to make a run in the postseason. Bengals CB Leon Hall: Big-play machine needs to be more consistent. Chargers S Eric Weddle: Overshadowed by flashier players in the Chargers? secondary. Colts DT Ed Johnson: Undrafted player has started all 14 games. Jaguars S Reggie Nelson: Made plays all over Heinz Field on Sunday. Lions WR Calvin Johnson: One of the few Lions players who bothered to showed up vs. the Bolts. Ravens OG Ben Grubbs: Keeps plugging along through team?s trying season. Best of the rest (In no particular order) Broncos RB Selvin Young Bears TE Greg Olsen Buccaneers OG Arron Sears Packers WR James Jones Cowboys OLB Anthony Spencer Vikings DE Brian Robison Cowboys PK Nick Folk Vikings WR Sidney Rice Lions S Gerald Alexander Raiders TE Zach Miller
Revis and Harris were correct moves and I am glad they both panned out because had either failed it would not have looked good. If Mangini and CS had evaluated our offensive line accurately prior to the draft it is likely that neither would be here, but hind sight is always 20-20. Plus, I do realize that the state of our team could never be fixed in 2 drafts. I see both as solid acquisitions that once we have a great season (hopefully next year) they will be going to the pro-bowl with Rhodes and Leon to keep them company. This year all our focus must go to the lines. Coming out gunning in FA is critical because is helps us better understand our plan of attack for the draft. We really need to snatch up 2 or 3 of the more prominant players in FA and they should center around both lines. That would free up a lot of pressure going in to the draft and ultimately pave the way for a better draft.
Yes. I watched Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones and Aaron Glenn at the heart of multiple Jets teams that just blew chunks because they did not have enough talented depth to compete with even average teams. Two guys does not make your defense in the NFL. 10 guys do. The Jets would have been better off taking 4 guys in the first 89 picks and getting larger and more talented. I hope Revis and Harris both stay healthy for the 7 years it will take for the Jets gambles to pay off, but I know the odds are against it.
Then you're risking the chance of having 4 players that you're not as sold on, which means instead of 2 starters, you could end up with 0. (Or unless the Jets drafted Harris in the 1st round at their original spot, 1 starter). Using all of your draft picks is not a bad idea, but if there are guys you definitely want, you better do (within reason) what it takes to get them.
Last time I checked 11 guys were allowed on the field to play offense and defense? Maybe we suck because we only play with 10.
No, I meant you can get by with one below average player and still have a very good defense. Teams that try to build around a few stars on defense wind up being like the Redskins, wildly inconsistent over a period of years. It's much more valuable to have 10 decent players that know the drill, like the Steelers, and let the system win games.
Those 10 other guys look alot better when you have a Casey Hampton to build around. Anyone comparable to Hampton in last years draft?
In the NFL there's strength in numbers and great strength in size. The Jets last draft basically said: we don't care if we're thin and small we're going to go cherry-pick a couple of players. That position kind of guaranteed a deficit in the long run. Surprisingly we got stung very hard short term also. That's what bucking the law of averages tends to do to you. And chillingly we have not had many injuries this season, nor last. Next season is likely to be a doozy in that category.
Hampton was a 19 pick. The Jets could have taken Harris on the 26 and drafted 3 2nd and 3rd round linemen to try to firm up the trenches. The Steelers, BTW, knew that reaching for value even in the trenches was a mistake. They could have just taken Hampton on the 16, but instead they traded down to the 19 and got two extra picks and their guy in the right slot also.
Bradway, When was the last time the Jets had the top 2 defensive rookies in the entire AFC and top 3 in the entire NFL? Sure extra picks would be better, you can not deny that. However who is to say 1 would have been Harris and that the other 2-3 would be on the team, let alone make an impact. Sure you can say Revis was a luxury immediately after the draft. Can you say that now? Same with Harris. I am all for fixing the lines. In this draft however there was periously little 3-4 help on the defensive side as Carriker was already off the board. On the offensive side, Joe Thomas was not an option and I am not sure of any other impact linemen. Short of that, not one player would have been a better pick than those two. I think it is time to get off their backs for this draft.
Great idea! Draft the best CB and ILB in the draft, or reach for the ILB and grab some middle round linemen, half of which would never see the field for 1-2 years, if they make the team. Depth is overrated. Now quality depth on the other hand is another story. The FO just did things opposite. Instead of grabbing studs in FA and depth in the draft, they grabbed their studs in the draft and picked up proven quality depth in FA. It's a riskier strategy, but if you hit on your draft studs, which they did, the payoff is outstanding. The only thing they missed on was OG. The chances that Clarke, Jones, AND Bender would all turn out to be only backup quality players were slim, but sadly, reality. Taking injuries out of the equation, this team had quality depth at SS, CB, LB, WR, RB, TE, and QB going into the season. Yes, I left off DL and OL. We certainly need some help in those areas, but if you think a couple mid round rookies would have made the difference on both lines, you're out of your mind. This offseason they need to find a couple quality OL and DL free agents, and spend a day 1 draft pick on each line in the draft.
They missed in free agency on every signing they made. In that context drafting just two players likely to play in the NFL was insane. I mean Washington Redskins territory, only we're nowhere near as talented as the Redskins were when they started doing this kind of stuff. The Jets have had several seasons when they had two future all-stars on the defensive side as rookies. 1988 they had James Hasty and Erik McMillan. 1989 they had Dennis Byrd and Jeff Lagemann. Those teams declined very quickly, because having two all-stars doesn't do squat when you don't have quality depth around them. Look at the successful dynasties in NFL history and you will find teams that stockpiled picks and home-brewed their talent via the draft. Often with significant numbers of extra picks. That's how the Cowboys did it, that's how the Patriots did it, that's how the 49ers did it. The teams that short-circuit the process by trading up ALWAYS wind up screwed to death in the end. Just look at all the trade-ups of the last 20 years in the top half of the first round and tell me how many teams that traded up came out ahead and how many teams that traded down laughed all the way to the bank. BTW, Michael Vick, Ryan Leaf, Ricky Williams and D-Rob are good places to look in terms of figuring out vectors for the smart and the gullible.
