Until reading Brooks' article, I didn't know that Norwood averaged 6.4 per carry his rookie season -- quite an impressive feat. Football Outsiders ranked him as the 15th best RB in the league last season, though is sample size -- 99 carries -- is obviously very small. It will be very interesting to see how many more carries new head coach Bobby Petrino will give him this season, and how that will impact Warrick Dunn. Naturally, more carries for Norwood will probably equal less for Dunn, but last season proved that winning teams (Saints, Colts, Pats, Bears) can utilize a two-back system, and this would ensure that Dunn -- who is 32 -- will take less of a beating.
Out of last season's the three star rookie QBs, I expected Vince Young's name to appear on the "break-out" list before Cutler (or did VY already break-out last season?), but if last year is any indication, Denver may finally have found John Elway's true successor. Brooks cites Cutler's 59% completion percentage and 88.5 QB rating -- not to mention 9 TDs against 5 INTs in limited action -- as strong indicators for future success, and it's tough to argue with that. FO is not so kind to Cutler's rookie season, however, ranking him behind not only Young and Matt Leinart, but also the man he replaced in Denver, Jake Plummer. Nevertheless, I agree with Brooks here and expect big things out of Cutler next season, and for Denver to return to the playoffs as a wild card.
Sometimes I feel that Trent Green has had one of the most unheralded careers in league history at the quarterback position: I mean, just look at his numbers from 2002-2005. During those four seasons, he was one of the top three QBs in the league, right? He suffered a head injury last season, as everybody knows, and attempted only 198 passes. And he's 36 years old. But I think Green -- if, of course, he can stay healthy -- will have a productive season in Miami in 2007. He has weapons around him -- Chris Chambers, Ted Ginn, Ronnie Brown -- and a strong defense to keep games close, and so I think it was a wise decision by Miami to acquire him from Kansas City. Will this equal a playoff berth coming out of the very competitive AFC East? I'm not so sure about that, but I'd be surprised if they didn't win at least eight games next year.
As for Jamal Lewis, he averaged 3.4 and 3.6 yards per carry his past two seasons, and that was behind an offensive line in Baltimore that was much stronger than the one he will be running behind this year in Cleveland. The Browns are going to have a rough year, I'm afraid. I loved their draft -- they essentially plucked three first rounders out of it, and I think eventually Brady Quinn will prove to be a better player than JaMarcus Russell -- but Dallas has to be salivating at the thought of Cleveland finishing 4-12 next year and then having to hand over that top five pick to the 'Boys.
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