Reading that Bryan Thomas article, I had to agree that he definitely is an unsung hero, but I think I have a better nominee: Pouha. He has been getting a LOT of playing time and our line, as a whole, has been unmovable and my personal observation is that he has outplayed Ellis for the most part, and in particular against the run. I got a couple other nominees, but his play, or rather the IMPROVEMENT in his play, has really stuck out to me. Any other candidates for adulation?
Hard to disagree with your selection. It would be a post-fail not to mention two others: (1) Everyone said Cotchery could not be a number one WR. I think he proved the league wrong. The basis for talking about Cotchery simply is the authority and talent we see on the field, on a consistent basis; and (2) Marques Douglas -- any question this man does not exceed K. Coleman's talent/production? MD has been more than solid, and forever underrated.
Erik Smith. Up until this year most of us would have freely defecated on the man while he was sleeping. This year, we'll let him sleep with our sister. What a difference a coach/scheme makes.
coach Pettine- Rex does all the talking & gets all the credit ( deservedly so ) but based on flawless play for the most part on defense, Pettine must be workin his butt off with all the details that come with a top notch D gelling as 1 seamless unit. Talk all you want of our players, most of these guys were on the field last year. they are being coached up to there maximum talent.
I'm with you. Leonhard has been great all season, both on defense and on returns in some big spots. The way that little guy can get to the quarterback is something else too, he's been maybe at his most valuable when Rex dials up pressure from the secondary. The idea that one of the few threads dedicated to him this year was actually a criticism of his return ability is embarrassing.
I have to go with the versitile and reborn Eric Smith. We more or less buried the guy after last season's performance. He has been a Rex go-to guy in desguising coverages. Can the fans at the first 2 home games be nominated? With the rowdy crowd, we might actually have ahome field advantage.
Gonna go with both kickers here... Weatherford while unspectacular has been a significant improvement over what we have had the last couple of years, I am finally confident we have a punter who can drop it inside the twenty when we need him to. Feely has been perfect so far on the season he has made his last 20 kicks, and his kickoffs have been right inside the goal line with great hangtime. How many times have we stopped a returner inside the twenty this year? 3 or 4 times? How often do we normally see that? maybe once a season if we are lucky? Our kickers are a huge part of why we seem to be winning the field position battle each and every week. They have done everything we could have asked and then some.
Speak for yourself. I wouldn't let him do that until we determine whether he is white or black. :smile:
I was going to post this before you did, Pettine is never mentioned about the success of our Defense, he helps a LOT too.
I think Cotchery proved to be a very dependable WR even with not much talent and a rookie QB in the passing game... also Eric Smith is proving to be important in this hyprid LB/S we use. Notable mentions could go to Douglas and all the guys in the DL rotation. Trusnik did an excellent job on special teams and I'm sad he's gone... I hope Fowler will be able to replace him since he is, supposedly, a very good ST player (I almost wonder if we brought him in because we knew we could've used Trusnik in some trades).
