Everybody has heard of it. Most people decide to believe it. Others decide not to. The Sophomore Slump is ready to attack members of the 2006 NFL Draft Clbutt. These are some notables that may or may not be bitten by this bug. Mario Williams Houston Texans (1) Im not sure how anybody can consider his next year with the Texans to be a slump. His rookie performance was not what the NFL had expected, but he was able to battle a foot injury throughout the second half of the season. His second year should be an improvement if his management focuses on improving other aspects of the defense. Reggie Bush New Orleans Saints (2) For a second back, he has been able to put up some good numbers. His efforts should be able to continue growing, along with his skills. He should be safe from the Slump this year, unless Deuce injures himself in the first half of the season. Barring injury, he should look about even compared to last year, with more carries. Vince Young Tennessee Titans (3) Reasons why he will get the bug: 1) Hes on the Madden cover, 2) His team is falling apart around him, and 3) he might be the only threat on the field on offense. Many people have said that one person cant win a team sport. His running back, Lendale White, has gained a ton of weight over the off-season. The second main threat, Pac-Man Jones, has gotten himself in trouble with the law. The bug is not on him, it will be his team. A.J. Hawk Green Bay Packers (5) AJ Hawk may have a slightly more difficult time improving if Green Bay doesnt improve on overall defense. His 120+ tackles are a result of the system, which isnt great, but isnt terrible either. He will not have much room for improvement if the defense continues to look average. Matt Leinart Arizona Cardinals (10) Matt was not given the best team to work with in the Cards. The teams 4-8 record with Leinart playing doesnt reflect his skills. In the last 5 games of his season, he was able to lead the team to 20 or more points a game. The defense was not able to show their best efforts, which resulted in too many losses for the team. Jay Cutler Denver Broncos (11) Jay Cutler was able to show his strength on the field at the end of the season, beating out Jake Plummer for the starting job. His passer rating as in the 80s for every game, an accomplishment considering there are no big-name receivers on his team. He should continue to be the head of the Broncos organization for quite some time. Lawrence Maroney N. England Pats (21) Being behind Corey Dillon and still able to rack up the yardage is quite impressive. Not only that, but he was also able to move the chains by receptions. This is quite an astonishing accomplishment. The next step in his career is just ahead, when he becomes the star back of the franchise. He will be interesting to watch. Joseph Addai Indianapolis Colts (30) His first year in the NFL, and he has made some astonishing achievements. He rushed for over a thousand, went to the Super Bowl, and was only part of a two-headed rushing game. Anything could be considered a slump after the dream year this guy had. Great effort by him and his teammates. Demeco Ryans Houston Texans (2-1) Ryans may have been one of two steals in the second round. Contrary to what was expected, he was in the top 3 in the league in tackles, and lifted a once-dead defense back on their feet. He made 10 or more tackles in 9 games, and 14 or more in 3 games. He has stepped up to the plate to become the leader of Houstons defense. Lendale White Tennessee Titans (2-13) Lendale has stepped up to be a leader. Not a leader of the team, mind you, but the leader in fastest-weight-gaining player in the league. It seems the bug has already hit him, with being kicked out of all-you-can-eat restaurants. Not sure how well he will be able to perform. Devin Hester Chicago Bears (2-25) Here's the other steal of the 2nd round. It may surprise some people that this man is only entering his second year, considering his ability to return kicks and punts. He is the main threat to kickers in the NFL today. He can turn a game around for his team, helping them get home-field advantage in the NFC. Barring some sort of major injury, I dont see his skill level dropping anytime soon. Maurice Drew Jax. Jaguars (2-28) Drew was the only person on this team that showed excellent performance throughout the season, netting near 1,000 yards on the season. This was a very consistent effort from a team which fell apart last off-season, going from 12-4 to 8-8. Id expect him to continue is running ways, and not have too many problems. [hr:c3628879f5] If I left somebody out, IT IS NOT MY FAULT!
I went with Young. He got some good fortune last year leading to a couple of those wins. His completion percentage and rating were among the lowest in the league last year, and I don't see the Titans pulling out all those come from behind wins again, especially with the Madden curse coming.
that's ok dude, truthfully colston is in the back of my mind too....just didn't want to admit it. i will disagree with you on bush though. my pick----->Joseph Addai
I picked Young, because although I think a number of the people on that list are going to have a "sophomore slump", I think he will have both the most extreme and most publicized. He has no weapons around him. and they were a pretty borderline playoff team last year, when he kind of had some people to throw to. He's gonna be good, but he won't win games with his feet alone, and until Tenn. gets him some targets, they are going nowhere but down. Add in no Pacman and an otherwise aging defense, and things don't look good for the Titans. And yeah, as far as White and WIlliams, how can they have a sophomore slump when they didn't do crap in their first year anyway? I also think Addai and Maroney will encounter a slump, without their backfield mates...especially Addai with no Rhodes. They will both do ok, especially in the long run, but this season I think they will both have some issues adjusting to being "the guy". I think Bush, Leinart and Cutler will continue to improve, however, and probably put up some good numbers this year.
I'll go with DeMeco Ryans here. I feel his rookie year was vastly overblown, he put up some big numbers in a pretty average defensive unit in Houston. But whenever I watched the Texans I saw him overpursuing a lot and leaving a lot of DeMeco Ryans shaped holes in the heart of Houston's D, I think teams will look to expose that this year, how much it shows up with the other areas that are exploitable in Houston's defense remains to be seen.
