January 1, 2012

Greg's Top Ten Things That Surprised Me This NFL Season:

1. The Colts Go 2-14 Without Peyton Manning - There's simply no excuse for a team losing 13 straight and having the worst record in football simply because one player is gone. Bad team management and terrible coaching are to blame for the collapse, resulting in the Colts earning the worst record in football.

2. Phillip Rivers Leads All Quarterbacks in Turnovers - At the start of the year, I had him ranked #2 among all fantasy quarterbacks behind only Aaron Rodgers. What resulted was one of the most disappointing seasons ever by a quarterback. Equally surprising, he still made the Pro Bowl roster.

3. Rookie Quarterbacks Having Record Seasons - Color me surprised, I never expected Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton or Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton play so well so soon, especially given how their teams struggled the previous year. It's a new era for young quarterbacks in the NFL.

4. The San Francisco 49ers Earn #2 Seed in NFC - This is a team that one year ago was an absolute dog in a weak division and now they find themselves earning a bye in the playoffs. Unreal. One has to wonder if former coach Mike Singletary scratches his head in awe of how new coach Jim Harbaugh turned the Niners into a powerhouse.

5. The Collapse of the Philadelphia Eagles - Sure, they were in the hunt until nearly the end of the season, but this was a team many picked to be the NFC's Super Bowl representative. It just goes to show that spending big money and building a "dream team" (Thanks, Vince Young) does not equal success.

6. Maurice Jones-Drew Wins NFL Rushing Title - I love the guy, I really do. Still, it stuns me that a player who plays with such physicality on a team with no other offensive weapons was able to bang out 1,600+ rushing yards en route to his first NFL Rushing Title. One has to wonder what this kid could do on a more explosive offense.

7. Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham Shatter NFL TE Records - Sure, tight ends are used more often than ever in NFL history, but to watch New England's Gronkowski catch 90 balls for 1,327 yards and 17 TDs was remarkable. The Saints' Jimmy Graham had 99 catches for 1,310 yards - both all-time conference yardage records.

8. Panthers WR Steve Smith Has 1,394 Receiving Yards - Last year Steve Smith had 554 yards in 14 games. This season, with a rookie quarterback Smith enjoyed his finest season in four years. Comeback Player of the Year honors could follow.

9. Jared Allen End Season Half Sack Shy of NFL Record - 22 Sacks in a single season is something only two other players have done since the stat was officially recorded by the NFL. Tremendous season for one of the league's finest pass rushers.

10. Eagles Rusher LeSean McCoy Scores 20 Touchdowns - Yup, never saw this one coming. A major highlight for a player who shined despite his team's utter collapse.