2011 Surprise Team And Breakout Player

[BlanksKarma]

Surprise team- Cleveland Browns They have been building their team the right way, through the draft. Hillis is a beast and their schedule is quite favorable, save the Pittsburgh/Baltimore games.

Breakout player- Julio Jones Should have a very good year as he's already been named the #2 WR. With Gonzo and Turner both losing a step and Mike Smith has made it known he wants a "more explosive offense" I expect the Falcons to target Jones down field quite a bit this year.

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

Breakout player- Julio Jones Should have a very good year as he's already been named the #2 WR. With Gonzo and Turner both losing a step and Mike Smith has made it known he wants a "more explosive offense" I expect the Falcons to target Jones down field quite a bit this year.

Julio Jones is will not have a big year. I expect him to either meet or fall short of expectations.

[GritsRgreat]

Jones ='s beast!

OROTY

[armistice]

Since I called the Chiefs making the playoffs and Jamaal Charles' monster season this time last year, I think it's appropriate that I started this thread.

Surprise Team: I had a tough time picking this one. A lot of the teams I expect to improve are in tough divisions (Panthers, Lions), so I don't expect them to slip into the playoffs like the Chiefs did last season. I ended up going with the Detroit Lions solely because I believe they are rising from the ashes and will be a tough team to beat this season.

Breakout Player: I could be a homer and say "CAM NEWTON!" or "DAVID GETTIS!", but I'm going to go with an underrated player who I truly think will shine. Matthew Stafford, QB of the Detroit Lions, will surprise everybody and will outplay his young companions Sam Bradford, Kevin Kolb, Cam Newton, The Golden Calf of Bristol, Colt McCoy, Mark Sanchez, and even Josh Freeman, who will also have a big season. The only thing that can stop Stafford is another injury.

What are your thoughts??

If Detroit gets a secondary then maybe, if not teams will dominate them down the field pretty easily. If Matthew Stafford doesn't get injured then maybe, he did good last year before his second injury. Although playing better then Josh Freeman? Doubtful. =D

[Chimera]

Oakland went 6-0 in their division last year. Except for the OT game against the Chiefs, they won them all pretty easily. But I honestly can't pick them as a surprise team since they'll be playing the AFC East and NFC North.

I think I'll have to agree with BlanksKarma -- Cleveland can realistically finish .500 or better.

Breakout player... I have no clue. I'll just say Blaine Gabbert gets a shot in Jacksonville.

[4Corners]

the lions are next up as everyone's surprise team each year, and never go better than 8-8. They are the new texans....every year we hear about the texans and supposedly "it's their year" to break through mediocrity and make a playoff push. and every year they go 7-9, or 8-8.

[C47]

My surprise team this year is Houston. With an improved secondary and new 3-4 defensive scheme I think this is the year that they finally become a team that can win more then just shootouts on a regular basis. On offense, Schaubb has become a great QB and IMO Arian Foster's performance last year was no fluke. I look for a very similar year from Foster in both rushing yards and receptions. I also believe this is the year Houston finds a number two receiver to compliment Andre Johnson, which leads me to my next point...

My breakout player is Jacoby Jones. I think this is the year Jones finally uses his incredible athletic ability to become a play maker on offense. With Andre asserting himself as the top WR in the game Jacoby should be facing very easy coverage to beat. I think by week seven or eight defensive coordinators are going to have to answer the question not only how do you slow down down Andre but also how do you contain Jacoby....

[Peppers90 NC]

The lions still went 0-16

/thread

3 yrs ago has to do with this thread how?

I think the Panthers will have the most wins from the previous season and I think the Bears will have the highest drop off in wins from last season.

[Panthro]

Texans....this is the year or else

Marshawn Lynch will have 1300 yards an 9-10 TD's

[4Corners]

My surprise team, unfortunately, will be the Bucs. I think the Saints window has closed, and TB is up next.

[Peppers90 NC]

My surprise team, unfortunately, will be the Bucs. I think the Saints window has closed, and TB is up next.

I think they will be good too, but they did win 10 last year, so not sure how surprising it would be if they won 11 this year other than the fact most are people are picking Atl and NO as our top two. I think losing Rudd is undervalued unless they got a replacement that I'm not aware of.

TB surprise player: Bowers

[MadHatter]

I think that the Bucs drop off from last season.

The TD to Int ratio by Freeman was ridiculous. He will come nowhere near those numbers again.

[Seal (SmittyIsOurSavior)]

Marshawn Lynch will have 1300 yards an 9-10 TD's

That would be Comeback Player rather than a breakout. He used to be one of the best backs in the league when with Buffalo.

[Saint J]

My surprise team, unfortunately, will be the Bucs. I think the Saints window has closed, and TB is up next.

nothing says window closing like winning 27 games in two years and upgrading the roster all over the place.