I have put Taylor's name on the ball, so it's official. A picture will be forthcoming. Congrats to him on a solid season. I will try to forgive Steve this offseason for making Taylor so powerful. One thing's for sure though, Steve is set up pretty nicely for next season already, especially if the Ravens release McGahee.
Let's get this out of the way from the beginning. All of the following assumes the CBA is taken care of and there are no shenanigans this offseason lasting into next season. For the love of everything holy, if our game is put on hiatus I don't know what I'll do with myself. I don't have basketball like most of you assholes.
I don't see Michael Bush staying in Black and Silver, and I think the Bengals make the most sense as a likely landing spot. If that's the case, Tyler will be in good position with Charles and Bush as keepers. And for that I applaud Tyler's decision to pick up Bush late in the season.
Speaking of Charles, I love that guy. He is one of my favorite players to watch play the game. And I mean ever. He moves so smoothly and quickly. It's simply beautiful to watch him run. And the man is averaging over 6 yards per carry. That's Jim Brown territory. In fact, if his playoff game had counted, he would have surpassed the legend's average YPC over a season. It was a travesty that he only received 9 totes against the Ravens. I read that Todd Haley took over play calling at the half even though the Chiefs were trailing by three. He's a dick anyway. I can't stand to look at his face.
Key skill players in flux this offseason: DeAngelo Williams/Jonathan Stewart, Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Pierre Thomas, Sidney Rice, Vincent Jackson, Michael Bush, Cedric Benson, Vince Young, Malcolm Floyd, and McGahee?. These are all valuable players in my opinion. Obviously I would have to rate Williams/Stewart, Bush, Rice, and Jackson as the most valuable for our purposes.
Players I expect big things from next year (outside of the obvious): [Williams, Benn, Blount, and Freeman] (TB), [Megatron, Pettigrew, Best, and "Glass-shoulders" Stafford] (Det), Marshawn Lynch, Jimmy Graham, Danario Alexander, and Dez Bryant. If Hakeem Nicks and Kenny Britt can stay healthy, those two will be megastars (contingent upon Britt not being thrown to by Rusty Smith).
There is no way Hillis matches this year's production. Montario Hardesty will definitely be a factor next year. I do think Brandon Lloyd has the skills to continue to be a success. That guy's a baller. I cannot believe he's never caught on anywhere else before. I also think Mike Vick will continue to produce at a high level for the Eagles, especially if they address their O-line deficiencies.
I am very interested to see what the Redskins do at tailback this offseason. I don't see Torain as the answer. If they can get someone like DeAngelo or Bush, I would be very interested in that backfield. We have seen what a Shanahan-inspired scheme can do for a runner who is someone I would rate as the middle of the pack in terms of talent at starting tailback (Arian Foster). In case you're interested, I would rate these backs higher in terms of talent: Peterson, Charles, Johnson, Rice, Stewart, Williams, Mendenhall, and McCoy. But, I must say that Foster works very well in that scheme. Just as one QB might perform better in a West Coast Offense than a run-first offense (see Rich Gannon), certain runners fit schemes very well.
I am also interested to see what happens in Miami. I don't see either RB returning next year.
Finally, if I had to choose my dream team of skill players (not for fantasy but real life) this list would be as follows (keep in mind this is a team of great players who will be good now and will get better):
QB: Aaron Rodgers (Backed up by Sam Bradford who is much better than the Seahawks game would lead you to believe in case you didn't watch the Rams play at all this season.)
RB1: Adrian Peterson
RB2: Jamaal Charles
WR1: Calvin Johnson
WR2: Hakeem Nicks
WR3: Percy Harvin
TE: Vernon Davis
K: Yeah right! Fuck Kickers!
Feel free to comment and disagree.
