Offensive Players Ready for a Breakout Season.

Today we will look at some players that I believe or have read somewhere, will have a good offensive season for their perspective teams. I'm going to try to stay away from the obvious choices and try to stick with the sleepers. We'll go position by position and in no particular order.

Wide Receiver:

Laverneus Coles- He had his best season with the Jets and Chad Pennington. I see no
reason why their chemistry won't be back this year. Also, the Jets have a new,
verticle passing attack that should bode well for Coles. The only issue here is
Pennington's health.

Michael Jenkins- With the release of Peerless Price, he will be the #1 guy in Atlanta. As a
rookie last season he started slowly but finished strong. I find it hard to beleive that
Atlanta would have released Price if they weren't comfortable with Jenkins. He
was the go to guy for a very good Ohio St team two years ago and proved that he
can handle it. He's big, (6'6") so he'll be a red zone target.

Keary Colbert- He is also in his second year and coming out of college he was unheralded due
to the fact that he played #2 WR at USC behind Mike Williams. Colbert will play a
HUGE part in Carolina's offense with the departure of Muhammed to Chicago. This
kid can play and Carolina may not miss Muhammed because of him.

Tight End:

Dallas Clark- Marcus Pollard moved on to Detriot so he'll be th only legit threat at TE for
Peyton Manning and the Colts.

Chris Baker- WHO? Chris Baker. Not that I think the Jets are going to be good, but he's the
guy who has won the starting job at TE. The Jets offensive coordinator is Mike
Heimerdinger from the Titans. Ever heard of Frank Wycheck? Heimerdinger loves
to use his tight ends and Baker will benefit from it. How's THAT for a sleeper?

Jermaine Wiggins- Wiggins emerged as a real threat during the second half of the season last
year. Culpepper has faith in his abilities and isn't afraid to throw him the ball. I'm
pretty sure that there will be more balls to catch in Minnesota now that Moss is gone.

Running Back:

There is not a lot to choose from here. Everyone is aware of the Running backs in this league,
so there really shouldn't be any surprises. I'll try to pick a couple any way.

Chester Taylor- MAY have played himself into the lineup in front of Jamal Lewis this
preseason. If Lewis is any trouble, Taylor will get the nod and be a star.

Willie Parker- He is a true sleeper. With Staley and Bettis hurt this preseason, Parker beat
out the other backups with an astounding 10.2 yds per carry. He will start at least
the first two games of the regular season, so he'll have a chance to remain the starter.

LaMont Jordan- I think he's a pretty obvious pick, but regardless I always liked him with the
Jets and felt that, at times, he outplayed Curtis Martin. With the deep passing game
that Moss brings to Oakland, safeties can't cheat up so Jordan will see a lot of 6 and
7 man fronts and therefore lots of daylight.

Quarterback:

Michael Vick- Not that this is a sleeper by any means and it's not that I think that this is his break out year. I feel the need to mention him because this will be his make or break
season. Philadelphia showed the league how to defend Vick in the playoffs last
year. Every team has the game tape. Philly simply held the pocket and never tried
to sack Vick. There were NO running lanes for him to escape, making him a pocket
passer. That's what he's going to face ALL season long. If he doesn't prove that he
IS a pocket passer, it will be a very long, losing season for the Falcons. I don't believe
that he can do it, but for the good of the game I hope he will.

Curt Warner- Let's see, when the Rams were the greatest show on turf and the best team in
the league the QB was Warner. They had a trio of fast, gifted recievers. That had an
elusive back that could catch the ball out of the backfield. They had a verticle passing
game. Seems to me likeArizona has all that in place this year. With all those pieces
around him again, I'm predicting Pro Bowl.

Jake Delhomme- The running backs are healthy, Steve Smith is healthy and the emergence
of Keary Colbert should make for a career year for Delhomme.

Some rookies that I like:

JJ Arrington - 2nd round pick by the Cardinals out of Cal. He's the elusive, shifty back that can
catch the ball out of the backfield from Warner. He hasn't yet emerged as the full time back,
but keep an eye on him.

Ronnie Brown - His hold out and the fact that Miami is aweful won't help him, but he will be the
starter as soon as he learns the offense. I felt like he was by far the best back in the draft. If
not this season, in the near future he'll be one of the top 2-3 backs in the league.

Reggie Brown - The Eagles are very happy with thier speedster from Georgia. Let's face it,
they are extremely thin at WR and sooner than later Owens will be out with his groin again.
By the end of the season Brown might be McNabb's #1 receiver.

Braylon Edwards - OK I admit it, this pick may be skewed a little because I'm such a huge
Michigan fan. Trent Dilfer won a superbowl, he can still throw and he has no one else to
throw to in Cleveland. While Edwards may drop an occassional ball, he makes the bigtime,
game breaking catch.



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