Great Expectations, or Lack Thereof....

Derek Anderson	Adrian Peterson

(Photos courtesy of Doug Pensinger and Getty Images)

by Jimmy Russotto                                                                        

11/6/07

Biggest bust of the 2007 NFL season thus far has been Steven Jackson of the St Louis Rams.  After pronouncing himself the  MVP for 2007 early in pre-season, Steven discovered pretty quickly how bad his offensive line was.  Shortly thereafter, he developed a groin injury, then a bad back, that trickiest of injuries.  He has "led" the Rams to their worst showing in years.  His MVP season has denigrated to 274 yards and one measly touchdown.  After sending millions of fantasy football players' expectations through the roof, Steven not only did almost nothing but also managed to stay off the disabled list so he couldn't even be safely replaced.  There have been other comparative "busts" this NFL year, but none have managed to be so consistently non-productive as Mr Jackson.

Some other players who have disappointed big-time are Marvin Harrison and Vince Young.  Marvin, though, was legitimately hurt and Vince Young is the victim of a coach who won't let him throw the football.  Or run the football for that matter.  They are truly victims of circumstance.  Others have fought admirably through adversity. The Chiefs' running back Larry Johnson, for example, had a terrible start nut has rounded into shape and now has produced over 700 combined total yards and scored 4 touchdowns.  Ladainian Tomlinson of the Chargers started slowly too, but has rebounded extremely well, scoring 8 touchdowns and over 900 total yards.  The Seahawks Shaun Alexander, 49ers Frank Gore, the Saints Reggie Bush, the Jaguars Maurice Jones-Drew, all of these have managed adversity well while rebounding from injuries or changes to the offense.  None have been as spectacularly disappointing as has Steven Jackson.  Congratulations, Steve.  Hope your back gets better.

On the other hand, there have been some truly delightful surprises.  The best story, I think, is that of the Browns' QB Derek Anderson.  Nothing whatever was expected of him, the third string QB behind Charlie Frye and the famous Brady Quinn, the Browns #1 draft choice. After a tough opening week against the Steelers, Derek threw 5 touchdown passes in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He then had still another tough week against the Oakland Raiders despite throwing a TD and rushing for a TD.

 

Week 4 was his coming-out party though, as the Browns beat the Baltimore Ravens at home 27-13, and Mr. Anderson threw for 2 TD’s with only one interception. In Week 5 they played the incredible Patriots.  Although the Browns lost, Derek threw 2 more TD passes.  He followed that up with 3 more TD passes vs. the Dolphins, and a QB rating of about 142.  After a bye week, Mr Anderson blasted the Rams with another stellar performance, another huge QB rating and 3 more TD’s.  His latest outstanding performance was last Sunday vs. a fine Seattle Seahawks defense, racking up 364 passing yards in a thrilling 33-30 Browns overtime win. 

 

Derek Anderson, all six and a half feet of him, who got no credit whatsoever, is now the toast of Cleveland.  The Browns club now has the delightful dilemma of possessing two fine QB’s, both of whom could probably be franchise signal-callers in the near future.  There aren’t too many better feel-good stories in all of sport, a guy in just his third year who stands tall in the pocket and leads his team to victory.  In Cleveland.

 

I’ll be very interested to see how it all turns out in Cleveland.  They have a great wide receiver in Braylon Edwards, a terrific and much-ballyhooed tight end in Kellen Winslow and another one of my favorites, the venerable and much-traveled Joe Jurevicius. And a 6^th round draft choice from Oregon State with over 2100 yards passing, an overall QB rating of 91.7 with 17 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions.

 

Then there are those who fulfill the highest hopes and give a little more.  There are at least two such stories, those of the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson and the Bills’ Marshawn Lynch.  Adrian broke the single-game all-time rushing record on Sunday in he Vikings thrashing of a fine San Diego Chargers team, stomping the Chargers on the way to 296 yards and about 253 of them in the second half alone.  Marshawn on the other hand, just ran for a touchdown AND PASSED for a touchdown in the Bills’ 33-21 whipping of the Cincinnati Bengals. 

 

A lot was expected of Adrian Peterson, a 7^th overall draft pick from Oklahoma.  The Vikings knew he’d be hot, but as Kramer from “Seinfeld” would say, “not that hot.”  In just 8 games, he has run for over a thousand yards, has 8 TD’s rushing and one receiving.  No rookie, in fact no running back ever, has managed that feat.  Not super large as a physical specimen, he’s listed as 6’1”, 217, Adrian runs tall and fast.  He runs about a 4.3 40-yard dash.  He’ll either run around you or through you.  Even as the focus of the Vikings game, and facing 8-man fronts as a matter of course, he dominates.  Nobody in Minnesota could have realistically expected THAT.

 

Although Marshawn Lynch hasn’t had the impact of an Adrian Peterson, he has still exceeded expectations in Buffalo.  Drafted 12^th overall by the Bills, they certainly expected him to be their starting RB.  They in fact traded Willis McGahee, their former fine RB, for him.  But Marshawn now has 690 rushing yards and 5 rushing touchdowns in 8 games.  And how many rookie running backs throw for touchdowns?  On a team decimated by injuries, Marshawn is the single biggest reason they have managed a 4-4 record.

 

From those who help to set huge expectations and deliver almost nothing to those who perform for themselves, or for love of the game, despite a lack of  belief from others.  These are the people I enjoy watching, guys like these, like Tony Romo, a super QB from Eastern Illinois, or Wes Welker, a 5’9” 185 lb. soaking-wet undrafted receiver from Texas Tech, who is now Tom Brady’s #2 receiver with 651 yards and 7 touchdowns, a guy who’ll do anything you need from returning punts and kickoffs to running the sweetest route you’ve ever seen.  Give me T.J. Houshmanzadeh, you can keep Ocho Cinco.

 

Imagine for a moment either of these bats in the lineup, both right-handed batters who can hit for power.  Andruw Jones hit 51 homers a couple of years ago and, although he’s been around seemingly forever, he’s only about 31 years old.  He also is probably THE premier centerfielder of our time.  The only contender as a fielder might be Torii Hunter.  Torii doesn’t have quite as much potential as Andruw, but he hit 28 homers in 2007 along with a batting average of .287 and drove in 107, this despite playing for a rather anemic Twins team.

 

Miguel Cabrera and Andruw Jones, taken together, would easily match the loss of Melky and whatever pitcher or two would need go to Florida.  The acquisition of Andruw would be a cash transaction only, of course.  And Andruw’s speedy runs to the ball combined with his natural break to anything hit his way would make Melky just a pleasant memory, even to the most devout Yankees fan.  Torii Hunter would also provide much better numbers than Melky does at present, is also considered a great outfielder, and would suffice to replace Melky in center, but his swing doesn’t compare to the might of someone like Andruw Jones. 

 

So, in effect, it becomes Melky and Arod for Jones and Miguel Cabrera.  I’d be happy.  More than happy.  Ecstatic.  Of course, the Yanks would be without a couple of starting pitchers, maybe Hughes and Kennedy, for example. Maybe the Yanks would get somebody like the hard-luck lefty Dontrelle Willis in return, picking up his inflated salary structure.  It’s quite likely Willis’s numbers would improve considerably pitching for a team such as the Bombers.

 

There are some quality pitchers available in free agency this year too.  Possibilities are many and varied, but include names such as Bartolo Colon, Tom Glavine, Jon Lieber and Randy Wolf.  If Pettite returns, the Yanks would still have a rotation of Wang, Pettite, Mussina and Chamberlain plus whoever could be had as a free agent.  Relief pitchers also abound in this year’s free agent crop, guys like Jeremy Affeldt, Joe Borowski, Francisco Cordero, Matt Herges, Scott Linebrink, David Riske and J.C. Romero.  I’m assuming the need will be middle relief as Mariano Rivera is almost sure to return, I’d think.  Why leave?  The new contract should be very nice indeed.

 

If the Yanks cannot get Miguel Cabrera, things get worse in a hurry.  The other third-basemen aren’t nearly the same caliber.  The same situation exists in the oufield with a big drop-off in numbers or stats tainted by poor fielding, attitude problems or worse.  Names such as Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds, ugh!  Milton Bradley, Cliff Floyd, Preston Wilson, even an Aaron Rowand don’t really make it as Yankees, or as right-handed power for that matter.