Rising Stars and Falling Comets of the NFL

Cam Newton has got to be a rising star. He had a great rookie year, he's affable, and the Panthers will pick high enough to get him another weapon.

I'm really curious to see what Denver does with their offense, and with Tebow. If he doesn't become a better passer, he's done.

Tebow will never be a star. So he won a few games in a row, big deal. He doesn't have the natural talent that it takes to be a superstar in the NFL. He's just a media puppet.

Brees will only get better for the next few years. Look forward to him breaking almost all of the QB records.

and sanchez........................................................................................................................no comment

The thing about Sanchez is that we all knew he needed time to develop from the get-go. He clearly should have stayed for his senior season to fine tune his skills, but was drafted very highly and was able to help get the Jets to the AFC game twice in a row.

That being said, there is a fine line between needing ample time to develop and needing more talent. I have one year left in Sanchez, and then I want him gone. Schotty is a horrendous OC and its time for Rexy to stop vouching for him. Both Favre and Pennington, the two other QB's to go through the 'Shitty' OC regime, both flourished after exiting it and going to other teams. I think that all jet fans would be beyond bitter of that occured with our favorite little GQ model, so its time to get a new OC and make Mark win a contract extension.

Brady is getting older, he is 35. That is old for an NFL player. I think he will only be around for another 2-3 seasons. Sanchez is good, but not great. He is good enough to start, but that is about it. Tebow is a good player, but his passing is lacking. Teams are figuring out his running attack and his 4 for 12 passing isn't cutting it.

Vick is on his way down.

Give Ray Lewis (Baltimore LB) another 1-2 seasons to mature - he's gonna be a star.

Long: Gronkowski

Short: Ray Lewis

I'm going long on Jake Locker. He is learning a lot from Hasselbeck and testing his arm every now and then.

Short on Chris Johnson. Complete disappointment this year with his new contract and all. He doesn't have the same 'Get away from the cops'-speed he used to have back in '09.

Can we have the system v. individual talent debate? Two cases for system > individual

Matt Cassel (11 wins with New England, lands huge contract and wins the divison for KC the following year followed by shitty year and coach being fired) and Matt Flynn (That stat line was straigh out of a video game).

Discuss.

I still think Tebow could be okay, I mean he wasn't able to talk to his coaches all offseason. I say give him another year and try and build the team around him...I don't know why they traded Lloyd for a 5th round pick.

Supporting casts and systems do overinflate players. When you're looking at quarterbacks in these systems, you can't just look at the stat line. How many reads does the QB have to make? How many bad throws are bailed out by receivers? Can the QB make all of the throws? They are harder to evaluate but a good scout should be able to pick out good QBs from systems...look at Newton's college offense last year.

Hopefully we get to see more of Flynn

Long:

Cam Newton Sproles A.J Green Gronk Colston Brees Mike Wallace

I think people forget how young Rodgers is because of how good he has played. He's only 28 and is going to move into the elite QB group and stay there for a long time.

I'm not sure this one counts but Payton is falling and i would not be surprised if he does not even come back next year. Dude has made a ton of money and will have a career in coaching after his playing days are over, if he wants it. I wouldn't risk the additional injury to his neck just for 2-3 seasons playing for the Jets/Redskins.

1. Brady was the third best quarterback in the NFL this year. Inconsistent? Not particularly. If Brees hadn't also broken the record this year, Brady would have had the most passing yards in a season of any quarterback (his 2011 campaign put him in 2nd with 5,235 yards). He had a completion percentage on par with 2009 and 2010, and 36:11 TD:INT ratio isn't too shabby.
2. Vick is already a seasoned veteran. Likewise with Eli. Their upside can't be much higher than where they already are. Hardly "next generation" quarterbacks.
3. Sanchez simply isn't good. And he gets paid a ton. Not even in the conversation as an elite quarterback (arguably in the lower half of the league).
4. Agree with Gronk and Cruz. In terms of QB's I think Newton and Dalton have bright futures. Hard to grade any of the other young QB's (Freeman especially) until they get some more games behind them.

Heres my thing with the Cam Newton v Tim Tebow thing.

First, statistically, its not even a debate. Secondly, the reason Timmy is getting any press is that he's winning (or won at least) games. Cam Newton hasn't done that but is statistically very impressive.

Typical sports media building up what makes the story sell. (I'm looking at you Skip Bayless, you no talent ass clown).

JaMarcus Russell. Just don't call it a comeback.

Rodgers should go without saying. The guy's numbers are nearly unbelievable and only get better when his back is to the wall. Additionally, Jennings gets some hype but I don't hear a ton about him in the mainstream media (mostly just when talking about the Packers). Add to both of those Jordy Nelson, who is highly underrated and goes mostly unnoticed with the exception of recently, due to the Packer's prominence and Jennings injury.

I will throw in Clay Matthews who has been overlooked a lot this year because his sack numbers were severely down but who was leading the league for some time with the most knockdowns and pressures on the QB.

In the nature of full disclosure, I am a Packers shareholder.

I will write Matt Flynn's name down here because he won't be with the Packers next year...however, that kid has a future. I think he showed that he can play a complete game this past weekend and that only lines his pocket with more dough. He has decent arm strength and I think he has benefited tremendously by sitting behind Rodgers. He plays such a smart game, much like Rodgers.

Others would include Newton, because he has the physical talent and I think he will be able to develop the ability to make smarter plays which will mean fewer turnovers and more wins.

On the flip side, I would probably have to stick Tebow on the 'probably going no where' train. I think he has talent, but you have to have the right people around you and you have to develop into a better player every game and I just don't think you get that with him...and honestly, that may not be so much him but more so the coaching staff. The NFL is like a publicly traded company...sometimes it's hard to make the long term decisions because you are so focused on hitting this quarter's numbers. I don't think a team can consistently win running the style of offense that Denver is running and it's hard to transition that in the middle of the year with the hope that your QB will figure it out.

I'm also not sure about Freeman. He appears to be regressing more than progressing and that isn't a good sign. I mean, the Bucs literally got worse as the year went on. Part of that has to do with the coaching staff. In my opinion, you can't build a good team playing the 'buddy' card as the coach and Morris just struck me more as a guy who wanted to be a friend to his players with the expectation that they will play hard because they 'got your back' as opposed to a team that respects their coach because the coach demands respect. Please note that my opinion is entirely anecdotal. The Bucs also have some HUGE character issues and that shit just eventually breaks a team down.

I'm also a Florida State fan, so I am going to keep an eye on Ponder. I think he has the ability to be a pretty decent QB but his team just fell apart around him.

Also keep an eye on Julio Jones, Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Jason Pierre-Paul, Cruz and Gronk.

Regards

Newton - If this guy continues the NFC South will challenge AFC North as best division in football AJ Green - As a Baltimore fan he scares me Jordy Nelson - He was my sleeper pick in fantasy this year and worked out very well Ray Rice (still say he can do 1000 rushing 1000 receiving in a year) Michael Bush - Guy needs to be a premier back for a team. He earned that this year. Gronkowski - My god

I could see Brady playing at 40. Gannon and Favre both had good years at that age. The Pats offense is 90% short passes, and Brady never gets hit.

Long: DHB -- guy is finally putting it together.

Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuz