IMO 10 key players for 2014

I'd move Winters to #2 and pretty much agree everywhere else.

 

I've been hearing alot of this about Davis & I'm not sure I understand or agree w/ the stance.If anything I think his strength IS his ability to change direction/mirror in coverage. He's a very fluid athlete & doesn't let offensive targets "cross his face". Now I will say he can tend to get alittle lost in drop back zones & maybe his instincts need alittle work..but other than that I love his ability as a coverage linebacker.

Also really like how he always seems to be around the ball. I'd like to see him take the next step & finish some of those plays..but I see a promising athletic linebacker w/ good leadership skills to boot.

 

I'd remove Davis and add in Vick. Davis is important, but Vick is one of the keys to the season. We all hope that Smith ends up being the guy, but if it turns out he's not much improved from last year, we'll need Vick to step in if we want to have a shot at the playoffs. Since there's a good chance that the whole season will be riding on Vick, I think he's one of the top-10 key players.

 

We aren't blowing anyone out. I'd put Nick Folk #1. Dude won us like 5 games in a row last year. We need that again this year. Other than that good post bro.

 

Pretty good list. Def agree about hill and decker. If they can compliment each other well the offense will be lightyears ahead of where it was last year.

On coples; im not down on him at all. This is a guy that was moved from the line to an edge rusher, fractured a bone in his footin the preseason, but still led the team inqb hurries. He def needs to turn them into sacks but considering all those circumstances coples is a solid piece to our defense. He can beat just about any blocker and does well in what ive seen of him against double teams. I like coples.

 

Great idea for a thread. I'll copy off your idea, but say that it really comes down to 4 critical players;

1. Smith - if he has a good-great year - it will have a positive effect on Hill, Amaro & Decker below. I cant possibly see the team not doing well with a good/great Geno unless we get hit with a ton of injuries.
2. Milliner - because the position has become so critical in this league.
3. Coples - time for the guy to put up or end up elsewhere. He wasnt Idzik's pick.
4. Pryor -- sounds like he is slated to start from the beginning. Look at what Richardson did his rookie season to see what impact a 1st year player could have.
Winters is completely replaceable. If he has a bad first few games, he could very well head straight to the bench.
Hill's priority is to just stay healthy for 16 games. Lets start with that first.
Unfortunately, -- Amaro & Decker are dependent on Geno throwing the ball. He does it well, - chances are its positive results for those 2 & all WRs.
I'm 50/50 on C. Johnson's impact. I'd rather Ivory make it through another full season healthy.
D. Davis just needs to avoid regressing in my book. I'm confident the kid will play well in 2014 (as he did in 2013 in his 2nd year!).

 

It is Smith's job to lose in terms of starting the season. But it's also his job to lose once the season starts.

Just because Smith starts the season doesn't mean he won't be benched 2 or 3 games in, if he's playing poorly again. And that's the big question mark. He looks improved in practice, but we don't know if that will translate into better decision making in real games.

Smith was benched 3 times last year, and we didn't even have a dependable backup QB. You'd have to admit that there's a good chance that Smith is only moderately better than he was last year- and if that's the case, he's still probably going to have an occasional 3 or 4 turnover game. And if that happens, Rex is going to bench him in favor of Vick. That's why we signed him- as a hedge against Smith failing to improve sufficiently from last year.

 

1. Geno Smith- if he's average then we're in prime position for playoff contention.

2. Dee Milliner- the secondary was bad last year. And he was a big reason for that. But he showed promise at the end of the season containing the likes of Josh Gordon and Mike Wallace. Hopefully he carries that over to this year and beyond.

3. Brian Winters- he struggled last year, but he also showed flashes. We need him to solidify the LG and provide protection to Geno.

4. Stephen Hill- he's currently TGG's whipping boy. But he has great measurables and he's a freak athlete and at times he has shown some flashes but he disappears too much. This is a make or break year for Hill. Luckily for him he's only 23. Receivers usually breakout in their 3rd year hopefully the trend continues with Hill.

5. Quinton Coples- he's been average to this point. But the talent is clearly there. Last year from the middle to the end of the season he was active and playing well. Hopefully with a year under his belt playing OLB he takes a step up.

6. Antonio Allen- he was thrown in the fire last year and he responded with a solid season. He could move to his more natural SS position this season. His ability in coverage and with Pryor around could make things interesting.

7. DeMario Davis- he's a solid LB, with speed and quickness. He showed flashes but was inconsistent. He had over a 100 tackles last year so that's a plus. I want him to be a more impactful force on the defense.

8. Jeff Cumberland- the talent is there but he needs to take a step up this year. He's going to be counted on this year. Keller and Winslow are gone and with a rookie Amaro who may struggle and a second year Sudfeld he needs to step up.

9. Eric Decker- He needs to prove that he can be a number 1 receiver.

10. Chris Johnson- our run game was fine with Ivory and Powell. But Johnson is needed to add a dimension to the offense that hasn't been there in years.

 

I'm surprised no one has brought up McDougle or Patterson.

We need someone solid opposite Dee (if he keeps it together like the end of last year) and if either or both of those guys can stay healthy (which has been the trouble with both of them) we should be in great shape defensively because when know we can rush the passer, but won't be giving up all those long balls that killed us last year.

 

We need Kelvin 'Greased Lightening' Pace to have dbl digit sacks again.

 

In No particular order.

1. Geno- for all the reasons you guys said. QB is a automatic key player.

2. CJ2k - Coming off surgery and has alot of people that highly doubt he can play anywhere near his old self (even though the guy puts up very solid numbers year in and year our with one of the only offenses i think ours been better than - guess he set his own bar too high). If CJ can put up the numbers he been putting up lately with just a little more consistency we'll be good to go.

3. OLB's - Coples for the reasons you guys put up, though i have no doubt he will have a hell of a year dude is straight beast now he's more in shape expect him to not just lead the team in QB hurries but also sacks as he should get to the QB faster than Wilk and Rich due to them being doubled. Also Antwaan Barnes, I liked.. no loved what i seen in pre-season and his what two regular season games?... Dude fits right in Rex's scheme and is better than Pace IMO at this point, just come back strong from the injury and we shall feast on QB's. Pace just gotta not let father time get to him.

4. #2 CB - Whoever this may be (my guess is patterson or mcdougle) Needs to step up. I think Milliner will be fine this year with a full training camp under his belt as long as he can avoid pulling that damn hammy. If we can avoid having a "targeted" CB that QB's know they can pick on we're in for a hell of a year. Take away at least some of those deep balls thrown on us last year and im sure we pull another win or two.

5. Winters & Colon - If Ivory is gonna wear down defenses he's gonna have to run through the trenches, these two kinda held our o-line back last year (more so winters). it seems as if they will both get another shot this year so I hope we can at least get average level play out of these two.

We have a special young team with some good veteran pieces. If these pieces play well and the injuries are at a minimum, i can see us making noise, 10-6 is my prediction.

 

I hope Winters isn't our 2nd most key player or we'll be screwed. If he has a good sophomore year thats great but it looks like Oday Aboushi is waiting in the wings and can replace him if he struggles during the season..or just take his job this offseason. If Colon can stay healthy we'll have decent depth and just play the best 2 guards.

 

1. Geno - Nuff said

2. Dee Millner - Must continue his play from the end of last season as our #1 CB

3. Eric Decker - We should hope to see Geno and Decker create some chemistry early and often to give Geno more confidence within himself as well as within the team.

4. Quinton Coples - One of my favorite players on the team, dude is always in the back-field but it's time for him to start finishing plays. OLB in yr 2 fully healthy - he should get 10 sacks this season.

5. Breno Giacomini - We don't know a lot about this guy, but the Jets believe he's just as good as Austin Howard. The offensive line is very shaky right now and it could be one of our weakest links. Let's hope Breno steps up.

6. Demario Davis - The kid hustles and is a good tackler, but his coverage is very shaky. I don't think he's as good as many believe. He will need a big season otherwise we may go linebacker in next year's draft.

7. Brian Winters - Last year was a true learning experience for Winters, but it's time for him to start putting things together.

8. Antonio Allen - Perfect fit at SS to play alongside Pryor. I really love his potential and I hope he keeps the starting SS job for the foreseeable future. Him and Pryor are hard hitters that can change a game.

9. Stephen Hill - please show more consistency, we need his deep threat ability

10. Michael Vick - The more he can teach Geno, the more Geno can improve. I think Vick will be an excellent back-up and role model for Geno.

 

I agree on them all with the exception of Hill. It's probably about time we all come to the realization that he's shit.

He can't run good enough routes or catch the ball... The most important attributes of a wide receiver.

 

I would definitely put Dimitri Patterson in the mix, maybe as high as five. His ability to slot in opposite Millner,
may be the most important issue facing the defense this fall.