“Highly athletic” QBs have a tendency not to win Super Bowls. It’s great to see Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles, but Trent Dilfer’s unathletic guys win the Super Bowl. Vince Young was very athletic, but he couldn’t win with a pretty decent team in the Tennessee Titans. DeMarcus Russell was athletic, but he had no work ethic. Tim Tebow is athletic, has a great work ethic, but the hardworking Payton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots are the guys who win Super Bowls. So not only is Cam Newton not going to be a Super Bowl quarterback, but he’s going to have a sub-60 approval rating this year, and he won’t be able to read NFL defenses for a long time, because quarterbacks are put up.” athletic”. an extended offense in college and have great difficulty translating to the NFL. (You hear that Tim Tebow?)
It’s tough for a defensive rookie to be Rookie of the Year. To excel defensively, you need to get a lot of interceptions or a lot of sacks. Will Von Miller or Marcell Dareus get many sacks with the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills respectively? I doubt it. The rest of the defense is not good enough. But then someone like Patrick Peterson of the Arizona Cardinals can intercept a few passes here and there with a team that isn’t horrible on defense.
Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder, all the QBs won’t be playing this year, so they’re not even in the running. Offensive tackles like Tyron Smith and Nate Solder never get drafted.
Detroit Lions’ Nick Fairley has a very good chance of being the best rookie because he will be playing with Ndamukong Suh. Opposing teams will zero in on Suh, giving Fairley a chance to put up big numbers on sacks, steals and tackles. And remember, at one point, Nick Fairley was on the list for being selected No. 1 in the draft. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Wide receivers can put up rookie numbers that get a lot of attention, but they need two things: a good quarterback and a good WR as a teammate. If you don’t have a quarterback who knows what he’s doing, and you don’t have another wide receiver to draw the attention of the defense, you’re in deep trouble. AJ Green can be a great receiver. Too bad he wasn’t available for the Browns. But who on the Cincinnati Bengals is pitching to him? Bruce Gradkowski? I guess so. Definitely not second-round QB Andy Dalton, who was billed as the No. 6 quarterback in a weak QB year.
Which leaves us with WR Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons. Who is your QB? Matt Ryan. There is nothing better than that. Who else is catching the ball in Atlanta: Future hall of famer Tony Gonzalez. It looks like a great opportunity for a rookie to put up the numbers needed to win the crown.
But wait, there is more! A sleeper! Yes, their Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, drafted 28th overall by the New Orleans Saints. The team is great, the quarterback is great, the offense is great, and he was the first running back taken in the draft. This has all the sounds of a 1,500-yard year for Mr. Ingram, in which case he’ll be a surefire contender for NFL Rookie of the Year.