What Five NFL Players Are Under the Most Pressure To Succeed in 2009?

Every player in the NFL has to prove themselves every year. It is part of the “What have you done for me lately?” concept that makes the NFL so great. Some players, however, need to prove more than others. Here are the five players that have the most pressure to succeed in the 2009 season:

 

5. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings, Running back

Peterson is the only non-quarterback on this list. Last season, Peterson owned the NFL as far as rushing yards. I mean, he was a monster, but there was a flaw:  Peterson fumbled the ball nine times. This is a problem that can kill a team, especially considering the amount of times Peterson carries the ball. Peterson needs to start taking over his team, because, well, they do not have a quarterback that will do it. The entire franchise rests on Peterson’s shoulders. 

4. Tom Brady, New England Patriots, Quarterback

Most people will argue that Brady has nothing to prove; he has won three Super Bowls and holds the record for most touchdown passes in a season. Well, the truth is he does.  Last season, when Brady went down, he was replaced by Matt Cassell, who found success in New England. The Patriots then traded Cassell this off-season to the Kansas City Chiefs. This means that Brady must produce now, because there is no back-up plan any more. 

3. Matt Cassell, Kansas City Chiefs, Quarterback

As mentioned above, Cassell took over for Brady last season and found success. During this off-season, the Denver Broncos inquired about signing Cassell. That started a chain effect that lead to the Broncos losing their Pro Bowl quarterback, Jay Cutler. The idea that a GM was willing to risk his franchise to acquire Cassell alone puts a lot of pressure, but then when you add in that the Chiefs are looking for him to help rebuild the franchise. Well, that is enough pressure to succeed in my book. 

2. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys, Quarterback

The Dallas Cowboys made a surprising move this off-season by releasing Terrell Owens. The move was supposed to free up Roy Williams and Jason Witten to become the focal points of the offense, but the biggest reason was to allow Romo to take over his team. The Cowboys are great at making excuses for losing, but now T.O. is gone, so the Cowboys can no longer blame him. Thus, Romo will now take the brunt of all judgements. Pressure?  Yes, there is pressure. 

1. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons, Quarterback

In 2008, not one person thought Matt Ryan would perform as well as he did. In 2009, however, everyone is expecting big things from the reigning Rookie of the Year. The Falcons have put an amazing amount of talent around Ryan. The offense has no weakness, truly it is complete, and if Ryan does not play up-to-par this season, then all of the efforts are for nothing. The Falcons franchise leans fully on Ryan, no matter what anyone else says; it fully comes down to Ryan. 

Simplifying the NFL: Atlanta Falcons Edition

Simplifying the NFL is a little project I am working on. What I’m going to do is quite simple. I am going to basically be making a cheat sheet for every team that I can possibly do. 

I decided to start with the Falcons, because, well, they are truly what I know. I hope you enjoy.

 

Head Coach: Mike Smith

Key Offensive Players: Matt Ryan—Quarterback, Michael Turner—Running Back, and Roddy White—Wide Receiver

Key Defensive Players: John Abraham—Defensive End, Curtis Loftin—Middle Linebacker, and Erik Coleman—Free Safety

Other Important Players: Jerious Norwood—Running Back/Kick Returner and Michael Koenen—Punter and Kick Off Specialist

Young Talent: Matt Ryan—Quarterback, Curtis Loftin—Middle Linebacker, and Chevis Jackson—Cornerback 

Players that are not back: Keith Brooking—Outside Linebacker, Michael Boley—Outside Linebacker, and Grady Jackson

New Faces: Tony Gonzalez—Tight End, Peria Jerry—Defensive Tackle (Draft), and Mike Peterson—Outside Linebacker (Free Agency). 

Goal on Offense: To run Turner as many times as possible to open up the passing lanes for Ryan and White to attack the offense down field. 

Strength on Offense: A Running Back who can carry the ball 30 times in a game as well as a complete wide receiving core. 

Weakness on Offense: The age of the center and depth on the offensive line

Goal on Defense: To contain the opposing team’s offense and rushing the passer with four down linemen. 

Strength on Defense: John Abraham and Erick Coleman Thats it. 

Weakness on Defense: The cornerbacks are all extremely young and inexperienced. 

Offseason Methods: To get what the team needs. The goal is to only patch the roster up with free agency. The goal in the draft is to fill the biggest need that is evaluated by the team. 

Rivals (Official): Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, and Carolina Panthers

Rivals (Unofficial): Philadelphia Eagles (pending on this year’s Bears game, the Bears could join this list)

Best Moment Last Season: Last second miraculous win over the Chicago Bears

Last Season Ended: First Round in the NFC Playoffs to the NFC Champion Cardinals

This Season Starts: Against the Miami Dolphins

 

Hope you enjoyed this little simplification of the Atlanta Falcons Tell me what you thought. Seriously, I need feedback on this project. 

 

Atlanta Falcons Drafted Competition

The Atlanta Falcons had a solid draft. They potentially drafted two immediate starters in Peria Jerry and William Moore, but what they really drafted this year was competition. 

The Falcons had a lot of holes on the defense and they drafted a player for every single hole. Now the picks they made are not necessarily meant to directly fill in those holes on the contrary. 

What the Falcons have now is young depth at corner defensive end safety and defensive tackle. 

What this depth does more then anything is create position competition. There is no longer a lock on the defensive side of the ball for some players. 

I believe this will be seen best in the secondary. Where Thomas Decoud, Jamal Fudge and William Moore will compete for the starting strong safety position. All three of these safeties are hard hitters with good size and a desire for football. 

The pick of Moore may just result in one of the three players mentioned above too break out. 

Then the corner position. I admit I was against the Falcons drafting a corner, because we already have a truck load of corners on the roster, but the addition of Christopher Owens in the third round was great.

He can provide a big-play threat even though he could be a liability against bigger wide receivers. I could see him fighting for the fourth corner to start and maybe the slot corner later in the year. Again this provides competition which is something you always want on your team. 

The Falcons also added to the pass rush rotation. Not only with Jerry, but with Lawrence Sidbury as well. Sidbury can contribute to the rush from the start and was a steal in the fourth round.

I in all truth believe that Sidbury could steal Anderson’s job at some point this year. Regardless though of starting he will help the pass rush. While forcing Anderson and Chauncey Davis to either reach their best or to get out of the way.

As a whole I consider this draft a success. The Falcons filled holes and added depth which is all you can every ask from a draft. 

 

Frank “The Tank” Summers: What You Should Know

First off, I know that is not Frank Summers above, it is Jerome “The Bus” Bettis. I am using it to make a point. Summers actually looks a lot like that…weird. 

Frank Summers comes out of University of Las Vegas or UNLV for short. For those of you who do not know, we do actually have a football team. (I go to UNLV just clarifying) We have had players go to the NFL most recently Beau Bell and Eric Wright both drafted by the Browns. 

Only recently did we actually have a legitimate running back here on campus though. Frank is that running back. He gave UNLV a threat on offense that every team needed to account for. Frank scared defensive players, from defensive backs to defensive lineman. 

So what does he do on the field? Well he is a big running back who has soft hands who does not shy away from contact. Summers is leader material and will give everything he has every play he can. He is one of those players who gets better as the game goes on.

He led the Runnin’ Rebels in rushing yards the last two years and in total touchdowns. He also was the only true consistent weapon that the Rebels had. 

Summers fills the void that Gary Russell left. Summers will be able to help in goal line rushes basically from day one, and with his stellar blocking and hands he is a perfect third down back. 

Summers is a bruising back, which is something that Steelers have not had since a guy you might of heard of named Jerome Bettis. You will ask how dare I make the comparison. When the truth is how can I not? 

Jerome Bettis Frank Summers

Nickname “The Bus”  Nickname “The Tank”

Height 5-11 Height 5-10

Weight 255 Weight 243

Style: Punishing Style: Punishing

Hands: Soft Hands: Soft

Hates USC: Yes Hates USC: Yes

The two are very similar in a lot of ways, and well I could not be happier that he landed in Pittsburgh. Now to be clear I am not saying he will be the next Jerome Bettis, but what I am saying is everything is perfectly in place for him to fill those shoes. Also adding a tank to any offense is something that every team should want. 

NFL Common Knowledge: What You Should Know for the Draft

The NFL draft is one of the most exiting times of the year in the NFL. This is the time of year when a brand-new group of players are introduced to the NFL and the futures of teams are determined. One negative though is that the draft really never changes.

The NFL Draft is basically a repeat almost every year. There are players who are guarantees to liken up to the superstar billing (Peyton Manning), and there are guarantees that never develop (Ryan Leaf).

There are also the players that absolutely shock everyone (Tom Brady), but no matter the names or the years, the draft simply does not change.

This is where one can see common knowledge.

NFL common knowledge is something that every team should follow. The problem is that teams are just stubborn and will pay attention to it. So, what is the NFL common knowledge?

Arm Strength

This should not be a driving factor in picking a quarterback in the draft. Having great arm strength is great attribute, but if it is their best quality, odds are they will not turn out to be the quarterback you want. After all you can throw the ball as hard as you want but if it doesn’t get to the wide receiver it doesn’t matter.

Injury Problems

This should never be put above talent. Every year there are players who get hurt either during the year of the draft or right before the draft. The media blows the injuries out of proportion while costing the player millions.

What we have learned is that if a player is talented and they show that they have all the abilities you want, an injury should not stop a team from selecting them. After all, most injuries heal.

Position Runs

Position runs in the draft will happen so be ready for them. This is one of the funniest occurrences during the draft. A run is when the same position is taken twice in a row, which then cause every other team looking for that position to trade up to.

Last season this happened with left tackles towards the end of the first round. What this does is screw up the rest of the draft. Players get taken a round earlier then they should, because teams freak out.

40-yard Dash

The 40-yard dash should always be taken with a grain of salt. Basically, the 40-yard dash has no implications on the field. If a player plays fast in games but has a weak 40-time, why would you not think he is fast?

There are players who can run amazing 40 times, but when they are on the field they might not even be close to the fastest athletes. Some will play the Chris Johnson defense, but I say he played that fast on film so regardless of his 40, teams knew he was fast.

Trade the Pick or Take the Best Player

When in doubt either trade the pick or take the best player. Under no circumstance should you take a player just because you are weak at the position. Even if you have to address the position use the value of the pick. The stupidest thing is when teams reach way down to get players even though no one else would take him.

Of course, if every team followed this knowledge the draft wouldn’t work. The crappy drafting teams are needed, so that the fast players get contracts. If your team does follow these elements, then congrats. Odds are more often then not your draft classes are good. But if your teams ignore this knowledge, then you might get one starter out of seven picks.

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