10 Players Who Will Disappoint in 2011

The 2011 football season is almost ready to begin, and with the NFL coming out of a lockout, that should be enough to satisfy the fans across the country. 

Many will bask in their Sunday plans of beers and buffalo wings and their ESPN Fantasy Football GameCast window open while the NFL Network remains on for hours. 

Jeez, even the thought of losing that for my Sundays thoroughly breaks my heart. Thankfully, the players union and the owners were able to work out the kinks of the collective bargaining agreement and have rewarded the fans with a chance to follow their league once again this season, and we didn’t even have to lose any games! 

Getting football feels like a win-win for the players and the fans. No one loses, except, of course, the fans, fantasy football owners and teams that own any of the players on this list. 

Some of the names on this list may shock you, so please don’t take out any of that rage on me—especially if you just traded your three best players for Peyton Manning. 

Listen, I don’t make the news; I just report it. Without further to do, I present to you Peyton Manning and 10 players who will disappoint in 2011. If they're just as the starting points to a discussion, so be it. Allow me to introduce ten players who might not realize their full potential in 2011.

10. Arian Foster

Arian Foster, if you’re reading this, I want you to know that I love you and that I would rather root for you than almost any other player in the NFL at this point. I have nothing but respect for a philosophy major that writes poetry, engages in intellectual debate and also happens to be an elite football player. 

Let’s be clear on something, however. What I’m about to say is actually a bigger compliment than you’d think. 

Last season, Foster was such a valuable asset to fantasy football teams because he was picked late in the most fantasy football drafts. As Matthew Berry pointed out here, Foster was on the highest percentage of teams that won the championship, and that’s because his value as a sleeper, matched with higher round picks that fantasy teams could have secured, gave his owners a major competitive advantage.

Trust me, you’re talking to someone that once accidentally drafted Ray Rice, Chris Johnson and DeSean Jackson the year that they each struck fantasy gold. Did I win the championship? You better bet that I did! 

Now that Foster is a first round pick, a secondary contributor to his value has vanished. You can no longer get Foster and a player like Maurice Jones-Drew in the same draft, because if you want Foster, you have to secure him early. 

I still think Foster is in store for an incredible season, and I still think he’s one of my favorite players in the NFL. But after only one good season, I’d rather take my chances on someone that has proven their worth as a first round pick before (e.g. Adrian Peterson). I also think that a player with a caliber as high as Andre Johnson is going to look for more touches this season, so expect a slight shift to a passing game.

 Long story short? People expecting to win their leagues with Arian Foster better have a deep squad, or they’re in for a slightly disappointing fantasy season. Get the man help if you want to win the league; he can’t do it all on his own! 

9. Tavaris Jackson

I have a serious question. Do you think the Seattle Seahawks have ever watched Tavaris Jackson play? 

You can get back to me when you’re ready, but I’m confident that the obvious answer has got to be a certain "no." I don’t understand how any team could go into the season without a quarterback (Matt Hasselback is no longer with the organization) and assume that Tavaris "3rd and Long" Jackson is the right answer to their prayers.

 A team like the Seahawks, which could very well have won their weak division if they had built an actual team and not one run by Tavaris Jackson, has to recall the fact that they had been given an incredible opportunity in the playoffs last season. Qwest Field can get as loud as any stadium in the country, and their fans are devoted and looking to get back into the playoff hunt. If you look up Tavaris Jackson in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of a Tavaris Jackson getting sacked as your playoff hopes fall onto the floor like the rain outside of a coffee shop.

 Unfortunately, they may have had their chances significantly lowered by having to deal with the likeness of Tavaris Jackson as their quarterback. To Seahawks fans? I’m so sorry. While I’m apologizing to Seattle, I’m sorry about the Supersonics, I’m sorry about Kurt Cobain and I’m sorry about the rain. Go Portland Timbers, and while I’m at it, Go Ducks!

8. Reggie Bush

Well, here’s a disaster waiting to happen.

It’s fair to say that Reggie Bush has been an NFL bust. Despite the millions of dollars that he’s making, Bush’s career has been a pretty ugly showcase of the things that can go wrong in any given series of years for a former hotshot player.

In my biased opinion, this is all the Karma Gods paying him back for choosing to go to USC. Then again, I’m an Oregon Ducks student that grew up a Bruins fan, so I should probably elect not to comment on that. In my professional opinion, I think that Bush’s body was never prepared for the roll of an NFL career.

Life isn’t easy for Reggie Bush. The NCAA has retroactively nullified his NCAA Championship (even though I probably could have played running back in that game, attempted to sabotage the Trojans and USC still would have won that game), and he has had his Heisman taken away from him because of recruiting violations.

His professional career has also had his fair share of disappointments, and when the Saints drafted former Heisman Trophy Winner Mark Ingram, Reggie Bush responded with a controversial tweet, wishing farewell to his Saints fans.

Now that Bush is in Miami, don’t expect his luck to improve. In New Orleans, Bush played for a polarizing offensive team on the turf and constantly had a chance of winning and staying active in games with Drew Brees at quarterback.

In Miami, Bush technically doesn’t have a quarterback (I don’t count Chad Henne), the Dolphins are mediocre at best and they play on grass. When you factor potential hangovers from the Miami party scene and the South Beach lifestyle, you’re left with one gigantic fact: Reggie Bush will disappoint anyone who thinks he has any chance of success this season for the Dolphins.  

7. Jay Cutler

This is the most honest analysis you’ll hear about Jay Cutler all day: He’s just not that good. If you trust me on this one, you’ll end up thanking me when your fantasy football draft comes along.

I recently made the grave mistake of owning Cutler in my money fantasy football league, thinking my running back power would be strong enough to take a little bit at the quarterback position. A second place finish later, and I proved to be very wrong. Please, for me, don’t make the same mistake that I did. Spare yourself the heartache and don’t draft Cutler. Avoid him like the plague. I want to get a giant “No Means No, Jay Cutler” poster for my dorm room next semester.

I’m sorry; maybe I’m a little bitter. I’ve watched Cutler play, and I simply don’t think he’s that good. His arm is the epitome of inaccuracy, he throws too hard, he’s got a hot head, he’s got an ego, he’s not respected in the huddle, his weird injury fluke in the Bears final game last season garnered nasty criticism from players around the league (also the opinions that I trust the most) and he’s uncomfortable to watch, and I don’t trust him one bit.

Guys, don’t draft Jay Cutler. You’ll be disappointed. You’ll end up saying mean things about him on the Internet. I feel like an overprotective mother who was screwed over when I was younger, but take this with some validity. He’s not good. Okay? Thank you!

6. Dwayne Bowe

Another player that I sort of just think is mediocre.

Nothing really impresses me about Dwayne Bowe’s game. I have a friend who recently joined the Chiefs’ bandwagon. I really want to apologize to him, because Dwayne Bowe simply doesn’t have the make up to lead a team to a successful campaign.

Here’s what I mean. Let me give you the complete list of players in the same fantasy range (second-tier WRs, third to fifth round picks) as Dwayne Bowe is right now: Mike Wallace, Reggie Wayne, Miles Austin, DeSean Jackson, Dez Bryant, Jeremy Maclin, Mike Williams, Marques Colston and Vincent Jackson. 

If you were to tell me that the Chiefs would be worse off with any single one of those players, I would tell you that you’re absolutely wrong.

In fact, I fully believe that if you included any one of those players in a swap for Bowe, the Chiefs would actually be a legitimate playoff contending team that I would fear going up against. With Jamaal Charles and Matt Cassel, and a very impressive defense featuring top picks like Eric Berry, this team should be there already. I put much of the blame on Bowe for holding them back.

The Chiefs don’t have the easy schedule that they had last year. They also owned the most rushing attempts in the NFL. What does that say about Dwayne Bowe’s season next year? I’ve got one word for you: disappointment. 

5. Kevin Kolb

Alright, Cardinals fans and Kolb fantasy owners. Here's what you need to know about Kevin Kolb (besides the fact that he was owned on less than one percent of teams that made fantasy football championships last season). As a Cowboys fan, I was excited to face Kevin Kolb. I was not excited to face Michael Vick.

Kolb has an opportunity to win the starting job in Philadelphia, and following some poor performances, he blew it. Sure, the fans wanted Michael Vick, but it's not as easy as Kolb made it look. When you're named the starter of a football team, that means the team trusts you to help them win. Kolb had that position, and it was his to lose.

I don't expect Kolb to do well with a new team. He feels ill equipped to learn a new offensive scheme, he doesn't deal with pressure very well, he only has one viable option to throw to (Larry Fitzgerald) and the Cardinals gave up the second most sacks in the NFL last season.  

I just don't buy it. Kolb feels like nothing more than a lower level, short term replacement at QB until something better comes along (much like he was with Philadelphia). Remember, the offense was created for Kolb last season, and they still replaced him. 

Unfortunately for Kolb, I don't think he has it in him. I don't think he has what it takes to lead an NFL football team.

Fantasy owners would be smarter to look at someone up and coming in a system that they know, like Josh Freeman, Matthew Stafford or Joe Flacco. 

4. Cam Newton

I'm pretty sure that I've made it very clear that I'm a Ducks fan when I wrote this article, so talking about Cam Newton is still sour grapes for me. I'll try to check my bias at the door.

But first overall pick? Really?

Cam Newton has had one good year in the history of his competition at a level above junior college, and you expect him to face someone like Peyton Manning, who has been playing competition at least NCAA Division I level since 1994? Manning has been playing competition higher than the one year that Newton has had tested on him since Newton was five years old.

I don't like the way that he threw his father on the bus following recruiting violation allegations, I don't like the fact that he wrote his name on someone else's final paper at school and as I reminded everyone on the day of the BCS Championship, "Don't root for Cam Newton! He steals laptops!"

At the end of the day, Newton is not someone that I can trust quite yet. By all accounts, I don't see him being NFL ready this season, and I certainly don't see him doing anything of note in, of all places, Carolina this season. His immediate impact should look to be small, and I don't think that he's much more of a college football player.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong and congratulations to the Carolina Panthers. But from what I've seen of Cam Newton, there are better options to lead a franchise, and certainly safer and more QB-ready ones. You know what that means, right?

If you're looking for some Cam Newton success story this season, you're in for one gigantic disappointment. Instead, I would look for someone like Sam Bradford to step up and have a huge season in St. Louis.  

3. Peyton Hillis

Who's ready for another edition of "Honest Questions From Bryan Kalbrosky"?

The question: Why the heck is Peyton Hillis on the cover of Madden '12? I recognize that there was some silly fan voting process around the time of the March Madness Tournament, and I suppose EA Games is hurting financially because it seemed to resemble the likeness of a gimmicky attraction to garner interest from the casual fan. 

But how did Peyton Hillis win? Does that make any sense to any of you? I don't even think that Hillis will be top 10 at his position this year (Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Chris Johnson, Ray Rice, Maurice Jones-Drew, Frank Gore, Michael Turner, Rashard Mendenhall, Jamaal Charles, Steven Jackson and, for that matter, LeSean McCoy are all more legitimate options based on how much I trust them), and in a season of marketable quarterbacks (Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Michael Vick, Phillip Rivers, Big Ben and Tony Romo) that would look good on the cover of a Madden video game, how did the fans end up with Peyton Hillis?

I don't think he's a poor running back—in fact, he's probably above average—but Michael Vick must be feeling like Al Gore circa 2000 right about now. Hillis, who would have been a target for me in most scenarios as a legitimate fantasy option next season, has now been propelled to a first round pick. But why? What has Hillis even done besides lead the Browns to another below average season last year?

Hillis is hardly even marketable, and there's nothing particularly interesting to him except maybe the fact that he's a white running back.

Well, Madden Curse. You've got a prime option with a target right on the square of his back, and it's all yours to shoot him down. If you're drafting Peyton Hillis with your first round pick next season, you're in for one disappointing year of fantasy sports.

2. Michael Vick

Hear me out for a second on this one. I still think Michael Vick should be a clear cut first round pick in most fantasy football leagues, and I still think that the Eagles should be considered the favorite to win the NFC (Before you ask, I also happen to be an adamant believer in the reverse jinx.).

Michael Vick is an incredible football player, an even better athlete and sports a very compelling story. As a fantasy player last season, Vick managed to reel in 25 points per game by standard scoring rules. His sampling size was slightly smaller (only 11 complete games), yet he still managed to score more points in the season than Aaron Rodgers.

I took a semester of AP Statistics when I was in high school, so you can trust me when I say that it’s easier to succeed over a smaller sampling size than it is to maintain that success for a longer period of time. As the variable (Vick’s fantasy football career) is repeated over and over and over until infinity, the outcome is expected to grow closer to the actual value of the variable rather than whatever other factors were in play.

With Vick, there were plenty of other factors in play. First, he had to win the starting job from Kevin Kolb. He was able to do that, and now Kolb is somewhere burning up in Arizona. Second, he had to prove to players and fans from across the league that he was ready to be an NFL quarterback again. He was able to do that with grace, too. 

His style of play, however, is entirely different from most other players in the NFL, and it was difficult to defend him because the opposing teams never looked prepared. 

This season, they will absolutely be prepared to cover the star quarterback as they’ve had all of last season, this entire preseason and next season to prepare to face Vick. They know what didn’t work this season, and NFL teams are smart. They will capitalize on their own mistakes. 

Whenever teams get called “Dream Teams," they seem to end up disappointing and never as good as the hype has them out to be. I simply don’t think the Eagles are going to live up to that hype this season. 

If you have the first pick in your fantasy football league, don’t draft Michael Vick. It will only end in disappointment.

1. Peyton Manning

Note to B/R Staff: If I'm wrong about this being Peyton Manning's last year of dominance, please remove this article from the website, burn any printed copies and detach myself from the publishing of it.

But here's the thing: I don't think I'm wrong. 

The stories that I've heard about Manning are scary. I've heard that when people call Manning's name in the locker room, he physically turns his entire body around to look at them. The neck injury should be a serious concern for Colts fans, fantasy owners (of him, or Wayne and Collie) and casual fans across the league.

Here's how it typically goes with legends: They have an incredible career, people keep predicting their fall from grace towards the end of the careers every season, and the legends always prove them wrong. Then one season, usually due to injury or age, they fade away. 

This year seems to be the year that the Colts, and Peyton Manning, fades away.

I don't want Peyton Manning to be done. I have a giant Manning poster in my room, I'm always impressed with his charismatic nature and his SNL appearance was one of my favorite television moments of all time.

Manning is 35 years old, and is recovering from his second neck surgery in two years. This season just doesn't feel like the season that Manning comes back into his old self. It feels like this could be the end.

Like I said, if I'm wrong, I firmly request that B/R removes this article as soon as it looks like Manning is in Pro Bowl form once again. But I wouldn't expect the same type of production that Manning is used to if I'm coming into the 2011 season. He may not have the same ability to recover from injuries like he used to, and his production should be limited this season.

I don't know if it's the end of his career, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Manning disappoint many this coming season.