The 10 Most Snakebitten Careers in NFL History

To be snakebitten is to run into misfortune or bad luck, leading to failure or reduction in production. In the history of football, countless players have run into bad luck one way or another and have since fallen of the map.

For many professional football players, their careers end before they even begin. First-round picks get paid unthinkable amounts of money before touching the field, and before they can prove themselves, their careers abruptly end.

For those men, their misfortune pushes them under the “bust” label.

For these 10 men, football seemed to be giving them an avenue for the rest of their lives, until the proverbial snakebite nipped their careers and, subsequently, any future records, in the bud.

 

10. WR Warren Wells—Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders

Breakout season: 1969—47 rec., 1,260 yards, 14 TD

Drafted in the 12th round out of Texas Southern by the Detroit Lions in 1964, Warren Wells was never expected to become a No. 1 receiver, which may be why they were not nearly as affected as Wells himself by the next turn of events.

Wells got his first taste of luck’s dark side when he became one of only two football players drafted by the Selective Service to join the Army at the height of the Vietnam War in 1966. After serving two years, he was given an honorable discharge and shifted his focus back to football.

He signed with the 1967 Oakland Raiders, joining a receivers crop with the likes of George Blanda and Fred Biletnikoff.

Wells worked well in Oakland as a deep threat, averaging 21.5 yards per reception his second year back in football, and was named to the 1968 AFL All-Star team. He upped that average to 26.8 in his career-best 1969 season, starting in all 14 games.

Wells accumulated 11 TD in 1969, but his career was ended when his alcohol and women problems led to legal problems and charges, capping off a bad luck career for the electrifying wideout.

 

9. RB Christian Okoye—Kansas City Chiefs

Breakout season: 1989—370 car., 1,480 yards, 12 TD

Dubbed the “Nigerian Nightmare,” Christian Okoye never even played football until 1984, and three years later, he was drafted out of Azusa Pacific University in California in the second-round.

Okoye’s first two years in the league were productive (1,133 yards in two seasons) but injury plagued, as he missed 11 total games with multiple injuries.

In the healthiest season of his career, Okoye broke through in 1989, leading the league in carries and yards, earning him selections to the Pro Bowl and the All-Pro first team.

The next season, a reoccurring knee injury limited him to 3.3 yards per carry, and the rest of his career was limited due to his knee injury, delegating the bruising back to goal-line duty in 1992.

Okoye called it quits after the ’92 season when practice took a toll on him and he no longer found joy in the game.

Despite playing only six seasons with 1,000-plus yards only twice, Okoye was elected to the Chiefs’ Hall of Fame in 2000.

 

8. DL Keith Millard—Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks

Breakout season: 1989—18 sacks, one INT, one fumble recovered

Coming out of Washington State, Keith Millard couldn’t find an NFL team that wanted his talents, so he joined the Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL to start his football career.

Millard ranked second in the league in sacks (12) and was named to the All-USFL team. His superb performance, which fell just half a sack shy of Reggie White’s totals, led him to first-round pick status, and the Minnesota Vikings scooped him up at No. 13 in the 1984 draft.

He started at defensive end, where he led the team with 11 sacks his rookie year and took the quarterback down 10.5 times his next year. He made his biggest contribution, however, at defensive tackle.

In 1989, he set an NFL record for most sacks by a defensive tackle, with 18, winning the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award and his second Pro Bowl nomination.

The next season, just four games in, Millard tore his ACL trying to sack Vinny Testaverde, cutting him down at the prime age of 28. Missing the rest of that season and the following year, Millard was picked up by Green Bay, played just two games, and then set sail for Seattle.

After his record-setting ’89 season, Millard went on to record seven total sacks over the remaining three years of his career before his knee got the best of him, and he retired from the NFL.

Since retiring, Millard served as a coach in the since-folded XFL and is currently the defensive line coach on the Oakland Raiders.

7. QB Neil Lomax—St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals

Breakout season: 1984—4,614 yards, 28 TD, 16 INT

Owning 90 NCAA records by the time he was done at Portland State University, Neil Lomax was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals early in the second-round of the 1981 draft with the hopes of becoming a franchise quarterback.

It took Lomax four years to get the full-time starting gig, but when he got it, he shined with it.

In 1984, Lomax completed 61.2 percent of his passes, good for 4,614 yards, currently No. 12 on the all-time list of single-season passing yards. His performance, leading the downtrodden Cardinals to a 9-7 record, earned him his first Pro Bowl appearance.

The next season, Lomax’s production took a small hit, throwing for 3,214 yards and 18 TD, but what was worse was his team’s 5-11 record.

After the ’85 season, Lomax developed a nagging hip injury that would force him to be a spectator for some portion of time the remainder of his career.

Despite having one more Pro Bowl season in 1987, Lomax was forced into early retirement due to an extremely arthritic hip. He played one more season in 1988, but quit the game in 1990 and had hip replacement surgery in 1991.

With his career limited and cut short, Lomax was never able to reach his full NFL potential, but his collegiate accomplishments were honored when he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

6. RB Robert Edwards—New England Patriots

Breakout season: 1998—291 car., 1,115 yards, 9 TD

When Pro Bowl running back Curtis Martin split for the New York Jets, the New England Patriots found themselves searching for a replacement.

Drafted No. 18 overall out of Georgia, Robert Edwards was expected to be the running back of the future in New England, and he didn’t waste much time introducing himself to the league.

In his rookie season, Edwards burst onto the scene with a 1,000-plus yard season on the ground, while also collecting over 300 yards through the air.

Following his inaugural season, Edwards blew out his knee at a rookie flag football game in Hawaii, barely escaping a leg amputation below the knee. Due to the severity of the injury, doctors told Edwards he may never walk again, much less play football.

Despite the harsh news, Edwards worked to get back to the playing field in 2002, joining the Miami Dolphins’ depth chart. In his first game back from injury, Edwards scored two touchdowns against the Detroit Lions. However, the rest of his year wasn’t as glamorous, and he was cut after the season.

His days in the NFL over, Edwards played surprisingly well in the Canadian Football League, rushing for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons. In 2008, Edwards was cut by the Toronto Argonauts, and he is still looking for work.

 

5. RB Ickey Woods—Cincinnati Bengals

Breakout season: 1988—203 car., 1,066 yards, 15 TD

When Ickey Woods ran in for a touchdown and did his patented Ickey Shuffle, certain people would rehash the old saying, “Act like you’ve been there before.” Unfortunately, in Woods’ case, those visitations would be limited.

Drafted out of UNLV in the second-round by the Cincinnati Bengals, Woods announced himself with authority in his rookie season.

Woods ran for 1,066 yards with 15 scores his first year in the NFL, including 228 yards and three more trips to the endzone in the playoffs, as Woods carried his team to Super Bowl XXIII.

It seemed all roses for Woods in the future, but his second-year took a downward spiral when he tore his ACL in the second game of the season. He would miss the rest of that year and most of next season, but seemed poised for a classic comeback tale going into the 1991 season.

However, the injury bug got him again, this time injuring his other knee during the preseason, and he was forced into retirement at 26-years-old.

Now, Woods is the head coach of the Cincinnati Sizzle of the Women’s Football Alliance.

That snakebite must really hurt.

4. LB Dan Morgan—Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints

Breakout season: 2004—109 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 INT

Leaving the University of Miami with the school and conference records for most career tackles, Dan Morgan looked like a sure thing at the linebacker position. In need of a defensive game-changer, the Carolina Panthers rolled the dice on Morgan with the 11th overall pick in the 2001 draft.

In his rookie year, he started 11 games for the dreadful, 1-15 Panthers, and he missed half of the season in his sophomore campaign to injury.

His third season highlighted a trip to Super Bowl XXXVIII, where he recorded 18 tackles—a preview of things to come in the following season.

In 2004, Morgan finally broke through as the talent Carolina had thought he would be, and despite playing only 12 games, he collected over 100 tackles on his way to his first and only Pro Bowl.

Morgan had one more productive season in him (78 tackles in 2005) before the wheels came off on his career.

Morgan missed 15 games in 2006, and was placed on injured reserve in 2007 with a torn Achilles heel. The multitude of injuries led to his release from Carolina after the ’07 season, but another team still had faith in him—the New Orleans Saints.

However, frustrated by the slow recovery from his ankle injury, Morgan retired before the 2008 season kicked off.

Completely healthy and ready to play, Morgan came out of retirement to give it another shot. However, he strained his calf muscle in the team’s mini camp, and with the injuries piled up, Morgan called it quits for good on June 8, 2009.

3. RB Chuck Foreman—Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots

Breakout season: 1975—280 car., 1,070 yards, 13 TD; 73 rec., 691 yards, 9 TD

For most snakebitten players, injuries or self-deprecation did away with hopes and dreams of NFL glory. For Chuck Foreman, the perfect aim of a Buffalo fan blew his chance at setting history.

Foreman entered the league with high expectations, being drafted No. 12 overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1973 NFL Draft. He made an immediate impact with his pass-catching skills out of the backfield, collecting over 1,000 all-purpose yards and being named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons.

In December of 1975, Foreman ran out of luck. Having his best year in his career, Foreman and his Vikings entered the final game of the regular season against OJ Simpson and the Buffalo Bills.

Both Simpson and Foreman were chasing Gale Sayers’ record of 22 total touchdowns, and the harsh elements paved the way for a ground attack.

Late in the third quarter, the Vikings leading 28-6, and Foreman with three touchdowns already to put him at 21 total, the Vikings were hellbent on getting their man into the history books.

However, Buffalo fans wanted to see their hometown hero Simpson get the record.

As a pass toward him was thrown out of the endzone, Foreman was pelted in the eye by a snowball, sidelining him for a few plays.

Dazed and confused, Foreman did return to score his record-tying touchdown, but he was pulled for the rest of the game with blurred vision.

The very next drive, Simpson scored his 23rd TD of the season on a 54-yard reception, earning him the record.

To add insult to injury, Foreman saw his conference rushing yards lead vanish the next day when Jim Otis ran for 69 yards—a whole six yards more than Foreman.

One more Pro Bowl season was all Foreman had left in the tank, and he was traded to New England in 1980, where he retired following the season.

 

2. SS Sean Taylor—Washington Redskins

Breakout season: 2006—114 tackles, 1 INT, 3 FF

The saddest and arguably most unlucky player of them all has to go to former Washington defensive force Sean Taylor.

Taylor was drafted No. 5 overall in the 2004 draft by the Redskins out of the University of Miami, and his hard-hitting style of play was expected to make an immediate impact.

He started 13 games his rookie season, racking up 61 tackles, and four interceptions, giving fans something to be excited about for the future.

However, his play was surrounded by off-field issues. Taylor was arrested for DUI in 2004 and armed assault in 2005 before he let his play make up for his character issues.

In 2006, he broke onto the scene with 89 of his patented vicious hits, earning him a spot on his first Pro Bowl team.

In 2007, he was on his way to another Pro Bowl year, having five interceptions through nine games of the regular season. He had his first taste of bad luck when he had been injured for two weeks, and he went back home to Miami to rehabilitate.

While at home, he was fatally gunned down by intruders, thought of to have no intent for killing Taylor other than malicious harm during a break-in.

Following his murder, the Redskins’ defense honored him by playing their first play since the tragic incident with 10 men instead of the usual 11, and Taylor was posthumously elected to his second Pro Bowl.

Had it not been for the cruel twist of fate that cut him down in the prime of his life, Taylor may have become one of the best safeties in the NFL.

 

1. RB Billy Sims—Detroit Lions

Breakout season: 1980—313 car., 1,303 yards, 13 TD

When it comes to bad luck, no one took, and continues to take, the brunt of it like Heisman Award winner and No. 1 overall pick in the 1980 draft—running back Billy Sims.

Sims shed the bust label before anyone could try and pin it on him by exploding for 1,303 yards and 13 TD on the ground and 621 yards and three TD through the air. He was elected to the Pro Bowl his rookie year—and also won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year—and followed suit the next two seasons.

In 1983, he took a small dip in production due to his absence in a few games, but he still ran for over 1,000 yards and scored seven times. It was expected to be a mere bump in the road of a glorious collegiate career, but that career was about to be cut short.

After completing half of the 1984 season with 687 yards, Sims had his knee blown out in a game against the Minnesota Vikings, effectively ending his NFL career at 29-years-old.

As if his luck hadn’t already worn out, Sims lost millions of dollars through bad business deals and investments and had a divorce from his wife.

Any hopes of holding on to a legacy and having people remember him for his playing days came to a screeching halt in 1989, when the Lions set out to replace Sims with another Heisman-winning running back.

They drafted Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, donning Sims’ No. 20 and all but extinguishing any memory of the last promising talent in Detroit’s backfield.

 

Not Done Yet: New England Patriots Still Looking For Defensive Help

Apparently the Super Bowl-favorite New England Patriots are not done shopping yet.

According to Michael Lombardi of NFL.com, the Patriots have about an 80 percent chance of landing veteran defensive end Kevin Carter. Also according to foxsports.com the Patriots have also had a meeting with another veteran defensive end: Vonnie Holliday.

This news comes within days of their trade for former Oakland Raiders linebacker/defensive end Derrick Burgess and within the same offseason as their massive overhaul of the secondary.

Carter, most recently a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is a two-time Pro Bowler with 104.5 career sacks, although the most sacks he has had in a season within the past five years is six, back in 2005.

Holliday, a former Miami Dolphin, has 55 career sacks with three and a half of those coming last year for the AFC East champions.

With the rumor mill spinning, two predominant questions come to the forefront—which player should the Patriots sign and what would a signing of either one mean to the team?

When head coach Bill Belichick was asked why the team traded for wide receiver Greg Lewis, his simple answer was, “He kicked our butts every time we played him.”

With that philosophy, it would be reasonable to expect Holliday to be New England’s main target. Facing him twice a year since 2005, Belichick watched Holliday garner eighteen tackles and half a sack against his team.

However, when Carter played with Holliday on the Dolphins in 2005 and 2006, Carter sacked Brady twice and had a total of 15 tackles in four games against the Patriots.

If stats and Belichick don’t lie then expect to see Carter suit up as a reserve defensive end this season.

Regardless of who signs with the Patriots, a roster shakeup could be in order. With Burgess, the addition of another defensive end puts the team at an overload in the position.

Returning linemen Richard Seymour, Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Mike Wright, and Jarvis Green join three rookies in camp this year, and Pierre Woods and Tully Banta-Cain have been seen playing hands-down in camp.

If signed, the new player will add a new wrinkle in the Patriots’ preseason. The rookies will have a rougher hill to climb to make the roster, returning players with have something to prove, and the depth on the defensive line will allow Belichick to come up with new ways to use his improved linebacker and defensive back corps.

If the Patriots make another move to improve the defense, thought to be the only weakness, albeit a strong weakness, on the 2009 squad, they could be doing their next shopping trip at a jeweler.

 

 

New England Patriots Acquire Derrick Burgess: The Scary Get Scarier

In a move sure to send 31 other NFL teams searching for a safe rock to hide under, the New England Patriots traded undisclosed draft picks to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for veteran pass rusher and two-time Pro Bowler Derrick Burgess.

The trade effectively puts an end to any remaming rumors concerning the Patriots and Carolina Panthers’ defensive end Julius Peppers. At the same time, the Pats had to make a roster cut by releasing oft-injured offensive lineman Al Johnson.

Entering the preseason, the only flaw apparent to Pats backers was their lack of depth at linebacker. Now, with the acquisition of Burgess, they have a guy who can play both on the line and off his linemen.

The 31-year-old has recorded 47 sacks in his seven-year career, and led the NFL in sacks with 16 while with the Raiders. Coincidentally, 2005 was his first year with the Raiders, having spent the first three years of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Burgess also adds some durability to a group of oft-injured players around New England. In his career, Burgess has played in 10 games or more all but once, as he missed 15 games in 2002.

Adding a pass-rushing talent like Burgess adds an unexpected wrinkle to the Patriots’ camp battles. Now, incumbents Eric Alexander, Pierre Woods, and Shawn Crable, along with re-signed linebacker Tully Banta-Cain, have a bigger obstacle to get through.

For players like Alexander and Woods, members of the Patriots for three and four years, respectively, this trade will spark a camp battle ending in the loser’s release.

Crable, hobbled again in just his second year, has precedent on his side, as the Patriots have been known to be patient with young talent when it comes to injuries, like in the cases of Laurence Maroney and Chad Jackson.

Banta-Cain, brought in to solidify a pass rush, now has a greater talent vying for the same role. Earlier, it looked like he would see an increased role, but now Patriots fans should prepare to see Banta-Cain in limited action yet again.

Burgess, a “tweener” between linebacker and defensive end, will be expected to fill the role of recently-traded Mike Vrabel. Age should not be a concern with Burgess, as Vrabel had his best season statistically in 2007 with 12.5 sacks at 32 years old.

It will be interesting to see how—if the Patriots’ offense is as explosive as everyone thinks it is—Burgess will perform when pinning his ears back and bull-rushing the quarterback every week.

For example, in his personal best season in 2006 and his 11-sack season of 2005, Burgess’s greatest games took place when his last place Raiders team held a big lead. In a 38-17 victory over Buffalo in 2005, Burgess had both of the team’s two sacks. In 2006, he racked up two more sacks in Oakland’s 22-9 victory over Arizona.

The change of scenery could also play a part in future success, as in those two seasons, the Raiders won a combined six games.

With Burgess aboard, it is just short of a guarantee that the Patriots will win more games this year alone.

New England Patriots Work Out Cleo Lemon: ESPN’s Creation Dies

Two weeks after Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested for breaking into his own home, another severe case of mistaken identity took place on the grounds of Gillette Stadium.

After former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was conditionally reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, a media tornado touched ground on the NFL shield, asking the question on every football fan’s mind: Where will Michael Vick end up?

It was all speculation until a landmark turn in the summer’s biggest story—Vick was reportedly close to signing with a team.

Which team could it be? Someone in the UFL? Will he be traveling across the northern border to the CFL?

No, neither of those would generate much interest. ESPN wanted to entice its viewers, and to do that, you must try to meet Aristotle’s six elements of drama. Vick signing with the New England Patriots would certainly accomplish this:

1. Plot—A convict free from the shackles of federal prison looking to redeem himself in the only business he knows.
2. Theme—In order to turn his life around, the convict works out for the NFL’s rehabilitation team in New England.
3. Character—Vick, Bill Belichick, and Goodell, three extremely different personalities, mesh together to create a storyline for six months that’s good for the whole family.
4. Diction/Language/Dialogue—Key phrases such as “wouldn’t rule him out” and “close to signing” push the mystery to its breaking point.
5. Sound/Rhythm—In a way only Belichick can do it, the Patriots seem to want Vick while not wanting him at the same time.
6. Spectacle—According to ESPN’s reports, Vick is spotted working out for the Patriots.

If you were to ask a Magic Eight Ball if Vick would end his search strapping on a Patriots helmet, it would probably tell you all signs point to yes. However, like any good drama, you would never be able to predict this ending.

It turns out, much to the dismay of the Worldwide Leader in Sports, the Patriots were actually working out, and are close to signing, former Dolphins starter Cleo Lemon.

If watching from a distance, it is understandable why someone would mistake Lemon for Vick. After all, their skin tones are similar, the media put the image of Vick with the Patriots in everyone’s head, and who wouldn’t like to see a story of this magnitude end after all the Favre firestorm.

There is only one, glaring problem with this: Lemon is right-handed, and Vick is left-handed.

One would assume that, in a workout for a position that primarily focuses on throwing the ball, these spectators would have seen at least one pass.

In fact, Vick was known to have been in Virginia in a bankruptcy court hearing the same day it was reported he was in Foxborough.

It should come to no surprise that ESPN would throw out any report on a matter such as this regardless of validity. During this same time, as Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson was reported to have strained his MCL.

Before breaking the news, the ESPNEWS anchor said with a gleam in his eye, “In news that is sure to begin more Brett Favre speculation, Tarvaris Jackson suffered a knee injury in practice today.”

Roughly five seconds later, he told the world Jackson would miss two weeks—of training camp. Why would the Vikings rush to the Rolodex for Favre’s number with this development? Apparently, only the news network knows.

Perhaps Vick does end up signing with the Patriots, and perhaps the NFL and ESPN will get the drama they seem to so desperately want.

Next time, just make sure you are doing a story on the right guy.

The 10 Best and Worst One-Game Careers in NFL History

Making it into the NFL is hard.

Becoming a full-time starter in the league is even harder.

Of all of the players who have been fortunate enough to fulfill their dreams and make it to the big stage, 1,167 have only appeared in one game.

Most of those players appear on special teams, filling in for an injury. Others were thrown into the offensive and defensive lineups, and here is a look at 10 offensive players who made the best, or worst, of their one shot at glory.

 

The Best

5. WR Martin Nance, Minnesota Vikings: December 21, 2006

Four REC, 33 YDS, one TD

A two-time 1,000-plus yard receiver at Miami University, Ohio, Nance was an undrafted free agent, signed by the Buffalo Bills after the 2006 NFL Draft. After being waived on Aug. 28, 2006, right before the season was about to kick off, Nance signed with Minnesota.

Nance didn’t get to see the field until the final game of his rookie season against the St. Louis Rams, but he made the best of it in a 41-21 loss.

Nance hauled in four catches, the most by any one-game career player, and his touchdown makes him one of just three of such players to do so.

He was released after the 2008 preseason, but was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 10, 2009. He won a Super Bowl ring on the Steeler’s Super Bowl XLIII practice squad, and was re-signed following the game.

4. WR Randy Burks, Chicago Bears: December 5, 1976

One REC, 55 YDS, one TD

Drafted in the eighth round out of Oklahoma State by the St. Louis Cardinals, Burks quickly changed teams to the mediocre Chicago Bears.

Teetering around .500, the Bears were given a gift walking into the home of the 2-10 Seattle Seahawks, and they did as expected by blowing the home team out of the water.

With the score already 27-7, Chicago put in a slew of backups, including QB Virgil Carter and our man Burks. The two didn’t waste much time getting to know one another, and Carter hit Burks for a 55-yard touchdown pass, sealing the victory at 34-7.

The 5’11” Burks never saw the field again after his big play, and he faded into NFL obscurity following the ’76 season.

In one swoop, however, Burks is the current leader in receiving yards for players with one career game on their record.

3. QB Tony Robinson, Washington Redskins: October 19, 1987

11-18, 152 YDS, two INT

Robinson is your average, everyday, prison-to-professional sports-to-prison story.

After the players went on strike before the 1987 season, the Redskins needed a quarterback. After seeing their fair share of pedestrians, Washington negotiated with a Tennessee jail to release former Volunteer quarterback, Robinson, until the strike ended.

As if playing in your first (and only) NFL game after being incarcerated wasn’t enough pressure for a quarterback, Robinson made his debut on Monday night against the rival, 3-1 Dallas Cowboys.

Robinson was thrust into the game when Washington’s starting quarterback, Ed Rubbert, was injured after just two passes.

For a jailbird, Robinson managed the game well, completing 61 percent of his passes and converting for 19 first downs en route to a 13-7 victory over Dallas. He was passed over by the previous year’s starting QB, Jay Schroeder, the following week against the New York Jets.

After the player’s union crossed the picket line, Robinson was shipped back to prison in Tennessee, and never played on an NFL gridiron again.

2. RB Vincent Alexander, New Orleans Saints: October 4, 1987

21 CAR, 71 YDS, one TD

In another case of a man taking advantage of the player’s strike, Alexander, a former fullback at Southern Mississippi, joined the ’87 New Orleans Saints. This team was coached by the one man who doesn’t want to talk about playoffs, Jim Mora.

After New Orleans gained a measly 23 total yards rushing in Week Two, the Saints gave the bulk of the carries in Week Three to Alexander.

He took full advantage of his opportunity, carrying the ball a category-high 21 times and the category’s only rushing touchdown. He also grabbed two receptions for 15 yards in his team’s route of the Los Angeles Rams, 37-10.

The Saints would go on to a 12-3 record, but, despite his solid game in Week Three, Alexander would not see the field again.

1. RB Lance Ball, Indianapolis Colts: December 28, 2008

13 CAR, 83 YDS, 6.3 YPC

In a game that meant very little for his team or his opponent’s (the Tennessee Titans) playoff hopes, Ball put up the best results out of anyone with a one-game career in NFL history.

After starting running back Joseph Addai hauled in a 55-yard TD pass and rushed once for four yards, the Colts decided to not take a risk with their injury-prone running back right before the playoffs.

Enter Ball.

He had been a part of the practice squad for the St. Louis Rams and the Colts for two seasons, but he was called up for Week 17 on Dec. 28.

That just so happened to be the same date he was expected to play.

The Colts gave it to the former University of Maryland star halfback a team-leading 13 times and, thanks in large part to a 23-yard burst, Ball racked up a category-leading 83 rushing yards.

Despite fumbling the ball once, Ball’s ground control paved the way to a dominating 23-0 victory over the Titans—a game in which the Ball-led Colts won the first-down battle 21-8.

Ball has re-signed with the Colts for the 2009 season, and perhaps his performance at the end of 2008 will be reason enough to give him another shot.

 

The Worst

5. QB Steve Bradley, Chicago Bears: October 18, 1987

6-18, 77 YDS, two TDs, three INT, three SCK

While several players made the most of their opportunity during the 1987 strike, Bradley can be counted as one of the players who didn’t.

Although Bradley actually leads the category in touchdown passes, he is also third in interceptions thrown and second in times sacked.

His paltry 33.3 completion percentage, -3 yards rushing, and his -2.1 adjusted-yards per attempt in his one and only game certainly don’t help his case, either.

Bradley’s two touchdown passes actually gave the Bears a 17-3 lead, but then the wheels came off.

His performance against the Saints was so bad that Sean Payton—yes, current New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton—was put in to play for him.

Payton couldn’t make up for Bradley’s implosion, and the Bears lost their first game of the 1987 season, 19-17.

4. RB Allen Nichols, Pittsburgh Steelers: 1945

10 CAR, five YDS, one FMB

Although it’s not known exactly when he played, or how he affected the ballgame, there is no question from a simple look at the numbers that Nichols had a rough go of it in his only NFL game.

Averaging only a half-yard per attempt and coughing up the ball once in that same game begs the statement:

Stick to your day job.

3. Will Cureton, Cleveland Browns: November 9, 1975

10-32, 95 YDS, one TD, one INT

In the midst of an 0-7 start, the ’75 Browns were desperately looking for a quarterback to lead their team from the dark hole that was their season.

In Week Eight against the Detroit Lions, the Browns were able to scratch Cureton’s name off the list.

Cureton completed just 31 percent of his passes, and was sacked twice for a whopping total of 21 yards lost. His rough play set the Browns back in a game they could have won, as the Lions managed only 15 first downs in that game themselves—just two more than Cleveland.

Cureton’s lone touchdown pass game in the fourth quarter with the team already down 21-3, and the Browns lost the game 21-10, falling to 0-8.

The poor performance is all Cureton has to remember from his time on the professional level.

2. Ed Baker, Houston Oilers: December 17, 1972

4-10, 47 YDS, zero TD, four INT

As the backup quarterback for the lowly 1972 Houston Oilers, Baker had to be wondering when his time would come to captain the team.

In Week 17, Baker got his wish.

They just weren’t the circumstances he was hoping to have.

In one of the biggest beatdowns in NFL history, Baker entered a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in which his Oilers never really had a chance.

Baker’s play didn’t help things, however.

He completed 40 percent of his passes, with the same amount of passes ending up in his receiver’s hands as they did in the defense’s—four.

When the smoke cleared, Baker would have a 61-17 loss to hold as a memento as his only NFL experience.

1. QB Tom O’Malley, Green Bay Packers: 1950

4-15, 31 YDS, six INT; -9 YDS Rushing

Again, thanks to the lack of box score data from a half-millennium ago, it is not clear exactly when O’Malley had this horrendous game.

I’m sure he wouldn’t have it any other way.

O’Malley was a rookie for the Gene Ronzani-coached Packers team, but the rook didn’t do much to impress his coach in his lone game played.

It is safe to assume that the Packers, who went 3-9 in 1950, lost the game that O’Malley was thrust into the lineup. His woeful performance gave him the category lead in turnovers and second on the list in least amount of yards rushed.

The numbers speak for themselves: Anytime you complete more passes to the other team than your own, you have earned your spot in infamous history.

The 10 Worst New England Patriots of the Decade

Apocalypse When?: How the New England Patriots Dynasty Will End

After Rodney Harrison clutched his second interception and mockingly flapped his arms, flying around Alltel Stadium, it was confirmed.

After Bill Belichick and his father Steve were bathed with Gatorade, there was no doubt.

Any shadow of doubt is forever put into light by NFL Films, showing Willie McGinest holding a mock copy of the next day’s Patriots Football Weekly, with radio play-by-play announcer Gil Santos putting a stamp on Super Bowl XXXIX.

“Back-to-back, three out of four! Yes, it’s a dynasty.”

The New England Patriots, led by future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, are this decade’s dynasty. Any other claim can be refuted with strong statistical information. The question is not whether they are or not.

The question is, when will it end?

Conventional wisdom points to 2010 as the last possible year for the Patriots to be put in that realm. After all, logic calls us to group NFL dynasties by decade. The Packers had the birth years of the ’60s, the Steelers ruled the ’70s, the 49ers took the ’80s as their own, and the Cowboys became America’s team in the ’90s.

Even in sports other than football, decades have their mark. Basketball saw the Bulls become bigger than the league from 1991-1998, and no hockey team has been more dominant than the Red Wings the past 10 years.

With the second decade of this century approaching us much too quickly, the prognosticators are questioning the longevity of the Patriots’ dominance.

Brady is coming off a Million-dollar-man-type of surgery. Key players such as Tedy Bruschi and Randy Moss are watching their teeth grow long. How long can Belichick keep it up, at least before getting bored with winning?

Patriots fans are all pushing the bill that the 2009 season is theirs, and it probably is. They argue the dynasty has not reached its climax yet.

They would rather look at the here and now, not the inevitable future.

As George Harrison once wrote, all things must pass.

How will the Patriots’ time in the spotlight come to an end?

Patriots Go the Way of the Bulls

Think back to the summer months of 1998. Michael Jordan has just hit his final shot of his Chicago career, winning his Bulls a sixth NBA championship.

It’s a bittersweet moment for Bulls fans everywhere, as their celebration took the form of both a birth and a Jewish funeral—the joy of something new coming to town filled the city, as they knew they were celebrating the life of their dynasty.

They knew it was coming to an end.

Sure enough, Jordan and head coach Phil Jackson retired. With them went Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Steve Kerr, and several other key role players.

Why would the Patriots dynasty end any differently? Only they know when enough is enough, but eventually, Brady and Belichick will be satisfied with their accomplishments. Whether it’s on a high note of a championship like the Bulls, or on a low note, they will leave the league.

It’s tough to see either Brady or Belichick leaving with the other still on the team. They have meant too much to each other’s careers, and they, at least from the naked eye, look like they mean too much to each other’s personal lives.

The world knows that as long as the Patriots have Belichick and Brady, they are always a legitimate contender. The converse of that would be that without the two, they would be pretenders.

When one of them leaves, the other, along with the core of the dynasty, will leave with him.

 

Brady Joins the Greats, but Not in a Hall…Yet

What do Jordan, Roger Clemens, and Brett Favre all have in common? They have all retired as one of the, if not the, greatest to play their respected sport, only to come back on a different team.

Prepare to add Brady to that list.

When the three men above decided to come back, the diagnosis for what appeared to be insanity was a love for the game and an intense drive to win. Brady fits that mold.

He told Peter King of Sports Illustrated that he wants to play until he’s 41, because he “doesn’t like anything else.” Forced by his brain to retire, Brady will fall into the same trap so many have fallen into. He will want to play again, but it won’t be in a Patriots uniform.

The safest bet, assuming they still can’t find a franchise quarterback, is on the San Francisco 49ers. Growing up in San Mateo, California as a fan of the local team, idolizing the man he has been compared to throughout his NFL life, it would be safe to assume Brady would love a chance to see himself in red and gold.

He won’t last long, because he won’t want to stay long. After a brief un-retirement, Brady will fade into the sunset, and Patriots fans, now rooting for a mediocre team, will not lose an ounce of respect for him.

Unless, of course, he comes back a Jet.

It Officially Ends

The foregone conclusion is that both Belichick and Brady will, one day, be enshrined in pro football’s Hall of Fame. Due to Brady’s comeback, he will have lost the chance to be enshrined with his coach in the same year, but it will happen.

When their busts are bronzed and sitting next to them on the stage in Canton, Patriots fans will swallow the bitter pill of reality that neither of them will be back. They will celebrate the years they spent, but watching them speak on stage will make them yearn for those years back.

Somewhere around this time, the Patriots bring Brady back to Foxborough, and his No. 12 is retired.

Belichick is honored before 70,000 standing and applauding fans in another game.

The “true” Patriots, Troy Brown, Tedy Bruschi, and others, are brought in for another celebration of the dynasty years. The nostalgia lasts for a few months and then wanes into the back of northeast America’s minds.

 

Maybe the Patriots won’t go this route. Perhaps in the middle of the playoff run in 2012, the Mayans will be proven as prophets, and the world will come to an end.

At the very least, Patriots fans won’t have to see their own world crash down around them.

The NFL’s Top 10 History-Changing Trades

In the NFL, a trade is the least-used form of transaction. During an offseason, each team focuses on signing players already untethered from all ties rather than swapping players currently on the roster.

When the NFL Draft rolls around, teams make several trades for picks, but usually wait until the later rounds to avoid the uncertainty that comes with dealing with such high value.

Some trades were made because the player refused to play for the team that drafted them, and some were made because the player did not like his contract.

However, there have been bold moves by uncompromising front office executives, with or without the consent of the player and team, that have shaped the NFL as we know it today. 

 

10. Patriots Give Brady the Keys, 2002

New England Patriots receive: 2003 first-round pick

Buffalo Bills receive: QB Drew Bledsoe

After the Patriots won their first Super Bowl title, one huge question loomed over the ensuing offseason: Would New England keep their franchise quarterback in Bledsoe, or trade him and risk it with a young gun in Tom Brady?

Head coach Bill Belichick chose the latter, and traded up with that pick to grab defensive lineman Ty Warren, a key piece to their front-seven to this day. Owner Robert Kraft was saddened by the trade that day.

“Let me speak as a Patriots fan,” said Kraft. “Drew Bledsoe is a special player. I have great respect for all he has done for this franchise, not only for his contributions on the field, but also his contributions off the field. He gave our fans some of the greatest memories in the franchise’s history and there will always be a special place reserved for him in the hearts of Patriots fans. For many reasons, and at many levels, this was a difficult trade to make.”

Brady’s play for the better part of the decade, including two more Super Bowl rings and a record-setting year, eased much of that pain.

 

9. Atlanta Gets Their Dirty Bird, 2001

San Diego Chargers receive—WR Tim Dwight, No. 5 overall pick, third-round pick, second-round pick in 2002.

Atlanta Falcons receive—No. 1 overall pick

The Chargers had said if they could not reach a deal with Virginia Tech QB Michael Vick before the draft, they would trade the draft’s top selection. They felt that their man, TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson, would fall as low as No. 5, which was where Atlanta stood.

The Chargers did in fact take Tomlinson, who went on to set the record for most touchdowns in a season with 31 in 2006.

The Falcons wanted a franchise quarterback to replace the aging Chris Chandler, and head coach Dan Reeves had high hopes for Vick.

“We think he’s an exceptional young man,” Reeves said of Vick. “He’s a great football player, but he’s an exceptional young man who I think will set this franchise up for a long time to come.”

History goes to show that Reeves was a bit off-base with his comments.

8. Mike Ditka Breaks the Bank, 1999

New Orleans Saints receive: No. 5 overall pick

Washington Redskins receive: No. 12 overall pick, third-round pick, fourth-round pick, fifth-round pick, sixth-round pick, seventh-round pick; first-round pick in 2000, third-round pick in 2000

New Orleans head coach Mike Ditka wanted Texas running back Ricky Williams so badly that he took a look at his ’99 draft board and decided it was expendable.

The Saints traded away their entire allotment of picks in that draft, along with two picks in the following year’s draft.

Williams turned out to be a Pro Bowl-type player before leaving for the Miami Dolphins and later heading off to the Caribbean for marijuana freedom. Ditka had been much criticized for the blockbuster trade, and his time in New Orleans did not last long after that.

Meanwhile, the Redskins  traded the pick form New Orleans to Chicago for bust QB Cade McNown. In fact, the Redskins only used three of the picks from New Orleans on draft day, trading for future picks.

 

7. Rams Get Some Horns, 1998

St. Louis Rams receive: RB Marshall Faulk

Indianapolis Colts receive: Second-round pick, fifth-round pick

With fears of disrupting team chemistry, Colts GM Bill Polian traded Faulk to the seemingly hapless Rams, turning the page on the running back situation by selecting Edgerrin James in the first round in that year’s draft.

Faulk was the center-stone in the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf,” where he eclipsed Barry Sanders’ record for all-purpose yards (2,429 yards) and won Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans with the title of NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

Faulk went on to win NFL MVP in 2000, then took his team back to the Super Bowl in 2001, losing to the New England Patriots.

 

6. Moss Points Toward New England, 2006

New England Patriots receive: WR Randy Moss

Oakland Raiders reveice: Fourth-round pick

Thought to be over the hill, Randy Moss wanted to completely reverse his fortunes. In his trade from Oakland to New England, Moss did so in several ways:

• Flipped his jersey number from 18 to 81
• Took a pay cut to play with the Patriots
• Went form perennial losers in Oakland to consistent winners in New England

He also changed his fortunes on the field. He went from a virtual unknown in Oakland to a 23-touchdown receiver in New England, setting a new NFL record, and helped the team to the first-ever 16-0 regular season.

Had it not been for the trade, Moss would have left his best days in Minnesota. Playing in New England rejuvenated the career for the “Freak,” and reshaped the record books.

 

5. Vikings Raid Their Roster in “The Trade”, 1990

Minnesota Vikings receive: RB Herschel Walker, two third-round picks, fifth-round pick, 10th-round pick

Dallas Cowboys receive: LB Jesse Soloman, LB David Howard, CB Issiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, DE Alex Stewart, first-round pick, second-round pick, sixth-round pick, first-round pick in 1991, second-round pick in 1991, second-round pick in 1992, third-round pick in 1992, first-round pick in 1993

Considered the most lopsided trade in NFL history, this transaction still stands as the most players/picks ever used in a swap.

Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson felt that only a blockbuster trade would help his team, and thought about trading WR Michael Irvin to the Los Angeles Raiders before Raiders owner Al Davis basically talked him out of it.

Instead, Dallas traded heralded running back Herschel Walker for a treasure chest of draft picks, two of which brought in RB Emmit Smith and SS Darren Woodson, two cogs to the Cowboys’ dynasty of the ’90s.

Walker lasted only two more years in Minnesota, and actually returned to Dallas in 1996. His best year in Minnesota came in 1991 with 825 yards and 10 TD, as Smith went on to be the NFL’s all-time leading rusher and a Hall of Famer.

 

4. Packers Get Their Gunslinger, 1992

Green Bay Packers receive: QB Brett Favre

Atlanta Falcons receive: No. 19 overall pick

After being drafted by Atlanta in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft, Brett Favre had a rough start to his career. Favre’s first career pass was intercepted for a touchdown, and his rookie season’s stat line was unimpressive: 0-4, 0 YDS, 2 INT.

However, Packers GM Ron Wolf liked what he saw in film enough to cough up a first-round pick for Favre. That pick turned out to be RB Tony Smith form Southern Mississippi.

In Favre’s first game in a Packers uniform, he threw a pass that was deflected and caught by himself—a sign of things to come in the ensuing 16 years.

Favre went on to win three consecutive NFL MVP awards, won Super Bowl XXXI, and started every game from September 20, 1992 to January 20, 2008. Meanwhile, Smith went on to play three meaningless years in Atlanta.

Favre is a record holder in nearly all of the NFL’s passing records, including yards, touchdowns, and, notoriously, interceptions.

Favre came back form retirement to play an injury-plagued season in with the New York Jets, and it is not known if Favre will ever completely retire from the game.

 

3. New England Misses Out on the Greatest, 1985

San Francisco 49ers receive: No. 16 overall pick, second-round pick, third-round pick

New England Patriots receive: No. 28 overall pick, third-round pick

After an amazing season at Mississippi Valley State, WR Jerry Rice impressed San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh. It was not enough to impress over half the league’s teams, though, so Walsh saw his opportunity at No. 16.

The Patriots traded the pick to the defending champs, who promptly took Rice. Meanwhile, the Patriots would take center Trevor Matich with their pick from San Francisco.

Rice would go on to win NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, but it would take him three years to win a championship, which he did in an impressive manner.

Rice caught 11 passes for 215 yards and one TD, helping the 49ers edge out the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16, in Super Bowl XXIII, earning him Super Bowl MVP honors. Rice would go on to win two more Super Bowls and retire as the league’s leader in reception yards.

Even more impressive, with no other rushing or passing yards to impose, his 22,895 yards still placed him second all-time in all-purpose yards. Rice would play for three other teams in the twilight of his career, and is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, arguably known as the greatest receiver of all-time.

 

2. San Francisco Plunders for Backup Gold, 1987

San Francisco 49ers receive: QB Steve Young

Tampa Bay Buccaneers receive: Second-round pick, fourth-round pick

After drafting Vinny Testaverde first overall, Tampa Bay declared Steve Young, leader of a consecutive 2-14 teams, as a bust. Already having a Super Bowl-winning quarterback on their team, Bill Walsh and the 49ers decided to trade for the struggling young QB.

The trade turned out to be a gold mine. When Montana went down with an injury in 1991, Young took his chance and ran with it. Young finished his first year in San Francisco with the league’s highest passer rating (101.8), but the team missed the playoffs with a 10-6 record.

The following year, Young was nearly traded to the Los Angeles Raiders with Montana coming back, but with Montana still injured to start the season, Young remained on the roster.

Young went on to be selected to his first Pro Bowl and won the league’s MVP that year, but the team lost to their biggest rival in the Dallas Cowboys one game away from the Super Bowl.

Young would see Montana traded to the Kansas City Chiefs the next year and would win his lone title in Super Bowl XXIX. He set several NFL all-time records, including highest career quarterback rating and most rushing TD by a QB, earning him an enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.

 

1. Jets Lose a Coach for the Decade, 2000

New England Patriots receive: Head coach Bill Belichick, fifth-round pick in 2001, seventh-round pick in 2002

New York Jets receive: First-round pick, fourth-round pick in 2001, seventh-rounder in 2001

While the deal did not go down as a straight-up swap, the legendary transaction between the Jets and the Patriots goes down in the record books as one of the most one-sided (and strangest) transactions in NFL history.

On the same day Belichick was set to succeed Bill Parcells as the Jets’ next head coach, he wrote in his resignation on a scrambled piece of paper. The Jets were dealt another blow below the belt when Belichick was announced as the Patriots’ next head coach.

To make sense of the fiasco that was the process, the Patriots gave their first-round pick as well as several late round picks for the following year to the Jets in exchange for their new coach and a few picks.

Despite all the negative media and the loss of a top pick, Patriots owner Robert Kraft felt confidence in the future of his team.

“For a No. 1 draft choice, we can bring in a man that I feel certain can do something, rather than the uncertainty of a draft choice,” Kraft said after shaking hands with Belichick on a five-year deal. “And it wasn’t even close when I thought about it that way.”

The pick given to Jets turned out to be DE Shaun Ellis, and Belichick turned out to win a Super Bowl the next year. It only gets more lopsided.

Since joining New England, Belichick has won a total of three Super Bowls, coached the league’s only 16-0 team, owns the NFL record for longest winning streak at 21 games, and has the best winning percentage since 2000.

Perhaps the change from a last-place team to a dynasty had something to do with the respect he garnered from his players.

“Any time you give up a first-round draft pick, that’s something you obviously don’t want to do,” said QB Drew Bledsoe, who was traded just two years later by Belichick but lobbied for him after the trade. “But to get a coach of the caliber of Bill Belichick, it’s probably a worthwhile thing to do.”

It turned out to be the best thing the franchise could have possibly done.

 

Honorable Mentions

• Los Angeles Rams trade RB Jerome Bettis to Pittsburgh Steelers
• New York Giants trade QB Phillip Rivers to New York Giants for QB Eli Manning
• Denver Broncos trade RB Clinton Portis to Washington Redskins for CB Champ Baily
• Baltimore Colts trade John Elway to Denver Broncos

Top 10 Candidates for 2009 NFL Comeback Player of the Year

Last season, Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington rebounded from his release from the Jets to take a one-win team to the playoffs, running away with the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award.

With the 2009 season approaching in a matter of months, the NFL has a great share of marquee players starting anew. These players have gone though injuries, to themsevles or to the teammates they rely on, or have been cast-off as useless to their former teams—and they are poised to a comeback.

10. Joseph Addai, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Once considered the steal of the 2006 draft, Addai has had injuries and inconsistent offensive line play hinder his production. Last season, Addai failed to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his three-year career (544 yards), averaged a small 3.5 yards per attempt, and had only five touchdowns on the ground.

With spell-back Dominic Rhodes and his 538 yards out of the door and healthy legs, Addai could be poised for his biggest year yet. A change in at head coach and offensive coordinator could signal an increased role for Addai, but the offense will still run through Peyton Manning.

 

9. Joey Galloway, WR, New England Patriots

Galloway used to be the top-threat on whichever team he played for, but at the age of 37 and coming off an injury plagued year in which he accumulated only 13 receptions for 138 yards and no scores, Galloway was let go by Tampa Bay.

New England, synonymous with taking up players thought to have lost a step and turning them into Pro Bowl players, signed Galloway to a one-year deal in the offseason.

Galloway is expected to be what Donte’ Stallworth was for the record-setting 2007 Patriots—stretching the field, opening up places for Randy Moss and Wes Welker to roam.

While Stallworth’s numbers (46 receptions, 697 yards, three touchdowns) in Foxboro do not jump off the page, it may be more of a Stallworth problem than a problem with that particular spot at receiver. If Moss and Welker draw massive attention from defenses, look for a big year from Galloway.

 

8. Michael Boley, LB, New York Giants

Boley took the league by storm in 2007, racking up 109 tackles, three sacks, and four forced fumbles with the Falcons. In 2008, however, Boley was held without a sack and totaled only 73 tackles.

Boley signed with the Giants this offseason, and with the talent the Giants have in the front-seven, Boley could be looking at a career-year. A rebound from a year like last by surpassing his current career-high numbers would be cause for Comeback POY consideration.

7b. Daunte Culpepper, QB, Detroit Lions

When you are the conductor of an 0-16 offense, up is the only way to go. Culpepper was the leagues most-feared quarterback, before a knee injury sent his career downward. He is not expected to be the future of this team, but he is expected to help groom No. 1 pick Matt Stafford while in Detroit.

He has a prototypical wide receiver in Calvin Johnson, and a year under the system can only bode well for him. He must know that he will most likely be gone after this season, and a huge year would increase his value ten-fold.

Last season, Culpepper threw for 786 yards and four touchdowns in five games in Detroit. Perhaps, Culpepper has learned to play without his mobility, and 2009 will finally be the year Culpepper returns to form.

7a. Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans

It’s a shot in the dark, but it can be argued that Kerry Collins is not the right man for the Titan’s offense this year. Collins replaced Young last season when the young QB went down with injury, and with a 7-0 start, head coach Jeff Fisher decided to go with the hot hand.

This year, with a number of key Titans defenders leaving, Collins’ weakness at quarterback may be exposed, and they would be looking to their former No. 3 overall draft pick.

Young only played in three games last season, and if he can return to the form he had in his rookie season, with a large amount of maturation during the past few years, he could be the comeback story of the year.

5. Torry Holt, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

After the glory years of Holt’s Super Bowl years passed him, and the Rams had slipped to two straight No. 2 overall selections and hired a defensive minded head coach, Holt was cast-off to free agency.

Holt grabbed 64 balls for 796 yards and four touchdowns last season, far from what his fans had grown accustomed to. Jacksonville scooped him up, and he gives them their first real threat at WR since the days of Jimmy Smith and Keenan McKardell.

With David Garrard also looking to bounce back this year, look for Holt to eclipse the 1,000-yard and 10-touchdown mark in his first seasn on the AFC.

 

4. Derek Anderson, QB, Cleveland Browns

After a spectacular season in 2007, Anderson had himself and Browns in the national spotlight, and both crumbled in 2008. With the firing of his coach and the hiring of a new one, Anderson looks to bounce back to his ’07 form.

Last season, Anderson struggled through 10 games with 1,615 yards and nine touchdowns.

New coach Eric Mangini has said it will be an open competition for the quarterback position, but Anderson should win it with his experience and prototypical size. Star wide receiver Braylon Edwards looks to be staying in Cleveland, which bodes well for Anderson, but dealing with the loss of TE Kellen Winslow will be a tough thing to overcome.

3. Shawne Merriman, LB, San Diego Chargers

After being busted for steroids and having his knee explode, the once most- feared defensive player in the NFL has fallen under the radar. Coming back to a playoff team once again loaded with depth, Merriman could be on his way to a Comeback POY award.

Merriman had 39.5 sacks in three seasons before a two-tackle seaosn in 2008, and Merriman could be dancing his way back into the spotlight.

A 10-sack season would easily give him the award, but with rookie Larry English joining the team as an edge-rusher, that may be a tough thing for him to accomplish.

 

2. Chad Ochocinco, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

The player formerly known as Johnson (and soon-to-be just a symbol), Ochocinco has finally been given permission to have his outrageous name, and he finally is getting a healthy Carson Palmer back in the stable.

Chad only had 53 catches for 540 yards and four touchdowns last season, a far cry from his 93 catch, 1,440 yard, eight touchdown season in ’07. The quarterback that made him a house-hold name is returning from a slew of injuries, and with TJ Houshmanzadeh in Seattle, Ochocico has all the spotlight he could possibly want.

Although the NFL would be reluctant to give any awards to the man who single-handedly pushes everyone of its envelopes, a big year from him would be quite a comeback.

While a big year from him would be impressive, he relies far too much on another player to not have him be mentioned…

 

1b. Carson Palmer, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

If Palmer has a big year with players other than Ochocinco, it would be impossible not to give the award to Palmer. He threw for just 741 yards and three touchdowns before blowing out his elbow; this following a 4,131 yard- and 26 touchdown-season in 2007.

The Bengals are not the same team without Palmer, as evidenced by his best receiver’s numbers and the team’s overall record.

The perrenial Pro Bowl quarterback insists he is 100 percent healthy, and if it is true, Palmer could have one of the biggest years of any QB in the league.

1a. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

Would there be anyone else in the top spot? Not only is he in the top two for quarterbacks in the league, but a drop-off from 50 touchdowns to zero is certainly a reason to put someone on the comeback player watch-list.

He comes back to a reloaded offense, including a couple of well-known receivers that are grinning ear-to-ear to see him come back. Brady is playing with an intense amount of pressure, as the entire New England area is hinging their championship hopes on his shoulders, but no one has been better at handling pressure than Brady.

The big question for Tom Terrific is whether his knee will hold up, but word out of New England is that his knee is actually stronger than ever.

Any number of touchdowns over 25 will be impressive, but with the record he and his team is expected to have at season’s end, he is a near-certainty for the award this season.

 

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