2012 Breakout Players

[fenikz]

gotta put Ru Williams on this list

[RCAChainGang]

Austin Collie

[SenorGato]

Wilkerson and Coples, muhfckas.

[Caulibflower]

Think Brandon Pettigrew might start getting more mentions as the Detroit offense continues to heat up. Toby Gerhart finished last year strong filling in for AP and has continued to look solid in the preseason. Not spectacular, but I suspect he's going to be getting a lot of work early in the year and he'll probably get attention just because he's not AP. If he keeps running well, as I expect him to, might look pretty similar to Darren McFadden and Michael Bush in Oakland where the understudy convinces quite a few people he could be a starting running back in his own right while getting more playing time due to the franchise player being injured.

[themaninblack]

I'm hoping Jermaine Gresham tears it up this year like he should.

[Ness]

Julio Jones.

[tjsunstein]

Would Jordy Nelson qualify? If he puts anything up remotely close to last year, where does he place himself among WRs? I know he broke out in a big way last year but back to back seasons of 1200 and 12 (15 seems a bit too optimistic) would spark a new conversation, wouldn't it?

[Bulldogs]

I would say he doesn't qualify. A guy like Randall Cobb would.

[Ness]

Andy Dalton might surprise some people too. He could be in store for a good year.

[Ness]

Originally Posted by tjsunstein

Would Jordy Nelson qualify? If he puts anything up remotely close to last year, where does he place himself among WRs? I know he broke out in a big way last year but back to back seasons of 1200 and 12 (15 seems a bit too optimistic) would spark a new conversation, wouldn't it?

I think it would just prove that he isn't a one year wonder. I guess that would be the "new conversation". He already had a Pro Bowl type season last year.

[tjsunstein]

Originally Posted by Ness

Andy Dalton might surprise some people too. He could be in store for a good year.

I love Dalton as an NFL QB but if you dont put up fantasy relevant numbers then general perception is almost as if you arent good. Dalton can win games, makes good throws, and lead drives and I really like him to make strides this year.

Originally Posted by Ness

I think it would just prove that he isn't a one year wonder. I guess that would be the "new conversation". He already had a Pro Bowl type season last year.

I guess more would be said about Nelson if he didn't come close to last seasons numbers.

Randall Cobb is getting a lot of love going into this year and thats more of a result of knowing his situation in Green Bay rather than watching him play. He's extremely explosive but he needs to cut down on the same mistakes he was making last year in order to get the amount of opportunities to break out as expected.

[phlysac]

Just to clarify for many of these posts...

Originally Posted by jrdrylie

A few rules:
1. Must be entering their third year or older.

[Ness]

Oh yeah. Whoops. No Jones or Dalton. Ahmad Brooks then.

[OSUGiants17]

Matt Lienart will take over for Palmer before week 8 and have a very solid year.

[tjsunstein]

Bills: CJ Spiller
Dolphins: Marlon Moore
Jets: Aaron Maybin
Patriots: Brandon Lloyd, really don't know where people rank him but he's lower than he should be in most cases

[tjsunstein]

Originally Posted by OSUGiants17

Matt Lienart will take over for Palmer before week 8 and have a very solid year.

I dont think thats the case at all for whatever thats worth. Theyve invested too much to give Palmer all of (say week 7 since you said pre week 8) 17 weeks, 10 without an offseason prior to joining a completely new team. There might be talk about it if the Raiders miss the playoffs but I feel like he deserves a whole year considering what they gave up for him.

[Thecollegedropout]

Originally Posted by tjsunstein

Bills: CJ Spiller
Dolphins: Marlon Moore
Jets: Aaron Maybin
Patriots: Brandon Lloyd, really don't know where people rank him but he's lower than he should be in most cases

Maybin would have been choice No.2 for me if we could do more than 1 guy from our favorite teams.....good choice.

Still feeling the Sanchez and how he's gonna put a good year given all the criticism and hate/chatter.

[J-Mike88]

For BeerBarron (I know it's not a 3rd year player but he's already been mentioned):

Aug 17, 2012
-Jacksonville (No. 31 in the AP Pro 32) saw continued progress from Blaine Gabbert, the second-year quarterback who outperformed Drew Brees of the Saints (No. 9 in the AP Pro 32) during the first half.

"We did a great job moving the ball in the first half and scored in the red zone," said Gabbert, who helped Jacksonville jump out to a 17-3 lead. "We were playing against their first-team defense, so it says a lot for us to take the lead early in the game."

Gabbert completed 13 of 16 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns, the first a 16-yard strike to Blackmon, who was making his preseason debut.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/foo...#ixzz23xJLhw00

[Dallas357]

Originally Posted by J-Mike88

For BeerBarron (I know it's not a 3rd year player but he's already been mentioned):

Aug 17, 2012
-Jacksonville (No. 31 in the AP Pro 32) saw continued progress from Blaine Gabbert, the second-year quarterback who outperformed Drew Brees of the Saints (No. 9 in the AP Pro 32) during the first half.

"We did a great job moving the ball in the first half and scored in the red zone," said Gabbert, who helped Jacksonville jump out to a 17-3 lead. "We were playing against their first-team defense, so it says a lot for us to take the lead early in the game."

Gabbert completed 13 of 16 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns, the first a 16-yard strike to Blackmon, who was making his preseason debut.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/foo...#ixzz23xJLhw00

Umm. It's preseason.
Here's how preseason works.
If said player people don't like does well. It's "Meh it's preseason"
If same said player does poorly. It's " see, told you he was awful"
that's exactly how preseason works.

[fenikz]

Originally Posted by OSUGiants17

Matt Lienart will take over for Palmer before week 8 and have a very solid year.

ha then Pyror will be starting by week 9 :p

[Jvig43]

Originally Posted by Bixby

What about Tom Brady? I think he might breakout too.

Shut up thumper.


Also Jordy Nelson if he counts ( I know he had a 1000 yard year last year). I think he is going to have a much bigger year than last year.

[Caulibflower]

This might seem like an odd one, but with Chicago's revamped offense and a lot of fresh motivation, I wouldn't be surprised if Jay Cutler steps firmly into the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks this year.

And I'll call it now: Either Demaryious Thomas or Eric Decker make the Pro Bowl. Edge goes to Bey Bey currently.

[Caulibflower]

^ and just to clarify about my Cutler statement. Obviously most people consider him a franchise quarterback, but he's sort of seemed like he's had the "high-ceiling," "huge potential" labels attached to him throughout his whole career, but people still don't think he's playing up to his fullest ability. So by "breakout" I mean he might be a darkhorse MVP candidate.

[Giantsfan1080]

Nelson would count as much as Victor Cruz. They both already broke out last year.

[tjsunstein]

Originally Posted by Giantsfan1080

Nelson would count as much as Victor Cruz. They both already broke out last year.

They both broke out, but they would do a lot for themselves with another season like last. Solidifying themselves in some serious conversation.