To early to tell but i'll take a stab at it.
Sure it's early, thats what makes it a prediction. I think we can do better than Kiper, and the other talking heads. :)
I'm gonna go with Polite, Murphy, White, and Turner on O.
Roth, Dotson, J Allen, and Crowder on D.
Wake and Smith on ST's
On the downside:
I do not believe Penny and Porter will be as good, although I still expect them to have good seasons. I do not like Green, hope I'm wrong.
Hmmmm....interesting call on Penny and Porter. Pennington has a history of not making it thru consecutive seasons healthy so that's probably a smart bet. We may very well be relying on Henne/White for some games this year.
Porter had a career year last year so it would only be natural for him to drop off a bit but I like our OLB depth with JT, Roth, Wake and surprise; Eric Walden.
I agree with most guesses that...
Turner, Vontae, Sean Smith, Clemmons and White will impress.
I also agree that...
Eric Green and Wilford will likely disappoint.
But I'll go out on a limb on a few other guys not being talked about as much or predicted in these ways...
Good
Hartline - I actually think he'll be solid and a could develop much like Anthony Gonzalez of the Colts.
Joe Cohen - A surprise performer who will make the team and push Soliai to backup Ferguson at NT,
Jason Allen - He will make enough plays to still make this team over some of the other vet CBs.
Orion Martin - LB who makes the team as an UDFA rookie.
Bad
John Nalbone - Continued drops get him cut or put on the PS and that's a bummer given we took him in the 5th over a lot of better talent.
Bold Prediction
Ronnie Brown finished the year as a top 3 RB in fantasy football b/c he's 100% healthy all year, has Jake Grove leading the way with Donald Thomas and the rest making an excellent OL, b/c Ricky contributes just enough to keep him fresh and b/c along with Pat White, we have an awesome combination of a creative AND hard-nosed running attack that teams just can't stop this year.
It makes sense if you consider that Ronnie had a pretty decent year last year without being able to run up the middle (with Satele and backup OGs) and without a real Wildcat option (like Pat White now) and without being 100% healthy.
As bad as the Raiders team was, look how good their running game always was with Jake Grove (made Justin Fargas look like a pro bowler) and then project that to a healthy Ronnie, with better/elite OTs (Long and Carey), and a threat to distract defenses in Pat White and I think you have the makings of a HUGE year for Ronnie Brown.
Just gotta have Smiley and Donald Thomas stay healthy and this prediction is a lock!
