Biggest surprise this season

[ThunderHorse]

It was somewhere around year 4 that I noticed Reggie had almost learned how to run in the NFL.

it's funny how that shit works.

it seems like it took 3 or 4 years for Donald Brown to finally figure that shit out but now the mf'er is busting 80 yard TD's.

 

[Woy]

Being in the playoff race still with a new coaching staff, new quarterback, no running game and no Kenny Britt after a few games. This season had all the makings to be a bad one with all those factors and predictions were mostly a sub-.500 record and a third or fourth place finish in the division. Last week was a total choke job but it still has been a successful season nonetheless.

Nate Washington has been awesome in place of Kenny Britt. He's become one of the biggest leaders on this team, has shored up his previous dropping issues and has been just fearless playing through this badly sprained ankle the past few weeks. He's gone from one of my least favorites on the team to one of my favorites.

 

[PEYMAN18]

For the Lions, my biggest surprise is the level Matt Stafford is playing on. His first full year starting having 30+ td's and over 4000 yards, I would've laughed before the start of the season if someone told me that. I expected him to be good this year and a have a solid year but he's been above and beyond. Also, Chris Houston having a pro bowl caliber year was very surprising.

For the NFL, its surprising that the Colts are REALLY this awful with Peyton. I knew they would be bad. But they've been atrocious year.

Also, The inconsistency of CJ2K this year, Houston being in the playoffs despite not having their best offensive player and defensive player for a majority of the year,

 

[killgod]

For NE: Gronkowski becoming an elite tier TE. We knew he was a good player, but elite status wasn't something I saw coming. Also, the play of the veteran DE's brought in, Carter and Anderson...shame Carter is out.

For the NFL: Andy Dalton and AJ Green. A shame nobody gives a shit about the Bungles, these guys are going to be worth watching for the next decade.

 

[Houston]

1. Top rated defense

2. Choking after we made it into the playoffs.

 

[CrimsonGhost56]

from a "project" coming out of college to a pro bowl player in less than 2 years

:yeah:

 

[G-men]

For the Giants, it's obviously Victor Cruz. He's been huge for the Giants this year and seems to be good for one highlight reel play every week. JPP is another one. I knew he could become great, but I didn't think he would be able to make the leap this fast. The best thing is that he doesn't even really know how to play football yet, much like Blake Griffin in the NBA. He is just a freak athlete making things happen. Also, he has been under the radar for most of the season, but Jake Ballard has done a great job replacing Kevin Boss.

Around the league, it's the new look of the Bengals offense. I knew AJ Green would be great right away, but I honestly did not expect Andy Dalton to step up and play the way he has. With a QB he can rely on, I think Green is on his way to become THE BEST wide receiver in the league, he's that good. The play of the NFC West has shocked me. The 49ers have been great all year long. Their defense is among the league's best, and the offense is managing games to put itself in the position to win games. On the other hand, I did not think the Rams would be this bad. After last year, I thought the Rams were ready to make the next step under the reign on Sam Bradford but that team was just been a mess all season long. Also shocking is what good football both the Seahawks and Cardinals are playing right now.

 

[BazookaJoe5]

From a Ravens perspective, Torrey Smith. No way any Raven fan could have thought he'd have a 43/770/7 line through the entire season, yet here is, after not playing in the first two weeks and still having two weeks to go. With Boldin out the final two weeks, he could very well go over 1000 yards...

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Victor Cruz is not a rookie.

Cam Newton is the biggest surprise to me along with the strong play from Andy Dalton.

All I saw was that he only had recorded stats on Yahoo last night......my bad. Like the Demarco Murray mixup, I've had a long week........:thebigone:

 

[Derrville]

The state of the Dallas Cowboys backfield.

I was pretty sure Marion Barber and Felix Jones were going to share the backfield, and Barber was going to get somewhere around 12+ TD's. I expected Choice to get one or two games with good numbers. But I didn't expect Barber to be traded at the start of the season. But then I expected Choice+Jones to share the load and have a solid season each. I didn't expect them both to get injured, and Murray to take over the way he did.

I dont know any cowboys fan that didnt expect Barber to be gone. He was always hurt and just a shell of his former self and was getting way to much money to afford for his production. I guess people hoped this would be the year Felix finally broke out but hes still just a big disappointment. Choice gave up and I think Murray did what we hoped he would, be a every down back who we could rely on. I almost cried when he went down because its been so long since we had a back that can do everything Murray can and I was hoping he'd be the one to carry Dallas in the playoffs... i think a great RB is one thing Romo really needs to take that next step in his career.

 

[Hasselbeck]

Seahawks - Easily .. the defense. Especially in the secondary with Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner and Kam Chancellor. I figured they'd be a Bottom 10 defense, instead they're a Top 10 D right now.

NFL - Cam Newton. The Eagles rough start. The NFC West potentially having 3 teams at 8-8 or better. The Bengals being a possible playoff team. Tampa Bay and St. Louis regressing THIS bad (I expected a fall back to reality but not a combined record of 6-22)

 

[St. Francisco]

49ers - We've had an above-average defense for some time now, but they are truly playing lights out this season. Rookie Aldon Smith is having a Pro Bowl year with 13.5 sacks, giving us that pass rush threat that we've been sorely lacking, Navorro Bowman has been perhaps the biggest surprise, leading the team in tackles. You don't need to say anything about Willis, but his absence these past few weeks has hardly been noticed with the stellar play of backup Larry Grant, and that's certainly saying something. Then you've got Carlos Rogers having his best season ever with six interceptions, and Justin Smith making a case for Defensive MVP on the line. Not to mention the fact that as a unit they lead the league in takeaways, and are just two games away from being the first team in NFL history to not allow a rushing touchdown in a season.

Around the League - So many surprises...I really bought into the dream team, and they have just fallen flat on their faces. I expected the Packers to be good, but not 13-1 good. The Rams and Bucs have really regressed after promising 2010 seasons. Also, I believe we should retro-actively go back and award Peyton Manning the MVP every year he was in the league, because apparently he was the true definition of being the most valuable player.

 

[Tengo Juego]

Helu is a great guy, really happy for him. Stupid that it took so long for him to get his snaps. looking at you, Shanahan.

 

[Primetime]

I expected Rodgers to compete with Brady and Brees (Manning too before the injury), but I didn't see him blowing everyone out of the water.

270 yards and 2 TD's with no turnovers has been his worst game of the entire season. He's not just a kid anymore I guess.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Helu is a great guy, really happy for him. Stupid that it took so long for him to get his snaps. looking at you, Shanahan.

He had a great pre-season and looked good in brief spots to carry the ball. Hightower was performing well before he got injured though, but Torain got too much of a chance to prove himself I think. I'm just glad he's getting the time now, and that we have a good running back once more who is a dual threat.

49ers - We've had an above-average defense for some time now, but they are truly playing lights out this season. Rookie Aldon Smith is having a Pro Bowl year with 13.5 sacks, giving us that pass rush threat that we've been sorely lacking, Navorro Bowman has been perhaps the biggest surprise, leading the team in tackles. You don't need to say anything about Willis, but his absence these past few weeks has hardly been noticed with the stellar play of backup Larry Grant, and that's certainly saying something. Then you've got Carlos Rogers having his best season ever with six interceptions, and Justin Smith making a case for Defensive MVP on the line. Not to mention the fact that as a unit they lead the league in takeaways, and are just two games away from being the first team in NFL history to not allow a rushing touchdown in a season.

I still can't believe Stonehands has six picks. Good Lord the dude couldn't catch anything thrown at him in Washington. Still he was one of the best cover corners in the league and I would stand by it. He just took too much heat in the press for his hands. He was an excellent pickup.

 

[JBregz]

Really?

To me, he's playing at an insane level, but it's not like he's not done this before.

Biggest surprise to me is without a doubt Laurent Robinson. I thought we'd get #4 WR contributions from him at best, but he developed a rapport with Romo in one week that Roy Williams could only dream of over three years. He's been a godsend with Miles Austin's injury and now that all three WRs and Witten are healthy, it's looking good.

Yeah for sure. I really didn't think he was gonna have a bounce back season, the Cowboys in general actually.

 

[Tailback U]

Raiders - Denarious Moore. Probably the biggest steal in the draft?

NFL - Andy Dalton has gotten little to no attention because of young qb's like Cam and Tebow but he's been pretty consistent all year. I thought he was going to suck ass.

 

[Aso]

I thought Andy Dalton was going to be trash coming into the NFL as well and he's looked amazing this season. Love the Red Rifle.