Vincent Jackson and the NFL's 25 Most Disappointing Players This Season
San Diego Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson had so much promise heading into this NFL season.
However, absurd contract demands and immature behavior have done little to help Jackson's cause.
Along with Jackson, there have been a number of huge disappointments this season, ranging from rookies like Ryan Mathews to established veterans such as Chad Ochocinco. Here are the top 25.
25. Matt Schaub
1 of 25
The Texans were expected to make a noticeable improvement this season behind the arm of Matt Schaub, but they look like the same old Texans we've been used to.
In fact, they actually look worse, with a 5-6 record.
The emergence of Arian Foster at running back should have helped open up Schaub's game, but he hasn't taken advantage of the extra attention Arian receives.
Schaub is throwing for nearly 50-less yards per game compared to last year and he's on pace to fall short of his career-high 29 throwing touchdowns by a considerable amount.
It looks like another playoff-less season for Houston this year.
24. Pierre Garcon
2 of 25
Pierre had a breakout season last year. He became one of Peyton Manning's favorite targets and he was expected to take another leap this season.
But Garcon has failed to find any sort of consistency this year.
Even with all the injuries to the Colts receiving corps, Garcon could not capitalize on the opportunity.
Pierre has dropped numerous passes and has only one touchdown this season.
23. Michael Crabtree
3 of 25
Crabtree held out for the first half of last season, but when he finally joined the team, he showed flashes of his immense potential.
The 49ers were expected to make big strides this year, but they've been a colossal disappointment.
Crabtree can't be blamed for all of the 49ers offensive woes, but he's definitely included.
Through 11 games, he only has 509 receiving yards and is down to 46.3 receiving yards per game.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
22. Marion Barber
4 of 25
Marion the Barbarian has been known for his tough-nosed running style, but he's displayed little of that this season.
His yards per game are down to a paltry 28.5 this year with a 3.1 yards per attempt average. Barber has failed to rush for more than 55 yards in any game this season.
To make things even worse, he's down to only three rushing touchdowns this season.
21. Vince Young
5 of 25
How the mighty have fallen.
Young was once on top of the world after a thrilling victory over the Reggie Bush-led USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl, but that was in another lifetime.
Now he's on injured reserve with an injury to his right thumb and his career in Tennessee is in jeopardy.
He's in a feud with head coach Jeff Fisher and things don't look like they'll be getting better anytime soon.
While Young is under contract through 2011, he may be wearing a different jersey next season.
20. Beanie Wells
6 of 25
After finishing last season with some impressive games, Beanie has been a huge disappointment this season.
Beanie has been buried behind Tim Hightower on the depth chart for most of the year and he hasn't done much when given touches.
Wells is averaging 3.4 yards per attempt and 35.4 rushing yards per game.
He has two total touchdowns and the coaching staff doesn't appear to have faith in him.
19. Hines Ward
7 of 25
Through his 13 seasons in the league, Hines Ward has been about as consistent as they come.
However, this season is one of his worst in the last decade.
Ward has six games with less than 35 receiving yards.
Hines is down to 46.6 receiving yards per game and he's on pace for well under 800 receiving yards for the season.
18. Ryan Mathews
8 of 25
The San Diego Chargers let future Hall-of-Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson leave the franchise after nine years of loyal service.
To replace him, the Chargers moved up in the 2010 NFL Draft in order to select Ryan Mathews with the 12th overall pick.
Mathews has played in a total of eight out of 11 games and has been unimpressive in each contest.
Ryan has yet to exceed 78 rushing yards in a single game and has two total touchdowns this season.
17. Wes Welker
9 of 25
After recording a career year last season with 1,348 receiving yards and four touchdowns, Welker's numbers are drastically down this year.
When Randy Moss was traded early in the season, Welker was expected to take on the role of No. 1 wide receiver and run rampant in the Patriots potent offensive attack.
However, he has only 592 receiving yards through 11 games and has failed to break the 90-yard receiving mark in any game this season.
Welker's yards per game are down to 53.8 after breaking through with 96.3 last season.
16. Shonn Greene
10 of 25
After a monster postseason run when he dominated on the ground, Shonn was being widely praised as the Jets' new dynamic running back.
However, he has quickly taken a backseat to LaDainian Tomlinson.
Shonn has broken the century mark and reached pay dirt only once this season.
As long as Tomlinson is healthy, Greene is going to be nothing more than a change of pace back.
15. Tony Romo
11 of 25
For some reason, the experts from around the league always predict the Dallas Cowboys as Super Bowl favorites to come out of the NFC.
Each season, the Cowboys do what they do best: collapse and fail to make any noise.
This year is no different as the Cowboys currently sport a 3-8 record.
Tony played through the first five games of the season, but failed to lead the team to victory in four of those contests. He threw only 10 touchdowns to seven interceptions in that span.
In Week 6, the New York Giants came to town and essentially ended the Cowboys' hopes of any sort of redemption when they took Romo out of the game.
Tony is currently nursing a broken collarbone and, while he could still return this season, there's really no reason for him to return.
14. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams
12 of 25
This running back duo out of Miami was widely considered to be one of the most effective in the NFL.
The two combined for 18 total rushing touchdowns last season and terrorized opposing defenses in the Wildcat formation.
Ronnie has three rushing touchdowns this year and has failed to break the century mark all season long. His rushing yards per game are down to 49 and his yards per attempt down to 3.9.
Ricky hasn't been much better. He has only three total touchdowns with two one-yard rushing games.
13. Carson Palmer
13 of 25
With Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco, Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham as offensive weapons to throw to, Palmer has been a massive disappointment.
Carson has simply not been the same player after his devastating injury five years ago.
He may be playing better than he has in the last two years but, with all of his options, he has been a disappointment.
The Bengals are in the midst of an eight-game losing streak and they only have two wins on the year.
12. Cedric Benson
14 of 25
Cedric had a resurgence in his career with the Cincinnati Bengals in his second season with the team.
After breaking the century mark eight times last season, he's only done it twice this year. He has only four rushing touchdowns with a 3.6 yards per attempt average.
To compound things, he has five fumbles, with four of them going for losses.
In a contract year, this is not the type of performance Cincinnati natives were expecting out of their lead back.
11. Kevin Kolb
15 of 25
Kevin Kolb was given the keys to the Eagles offense after the team traded away Donovan McNabb.
In the first game of the season, Kolb suffered a concussion after a disastrous half of football.
Michael Vick quickly came in and played lights out football, questioning Kolb's job security. After some consideration, Andy Reid opted to stick with Vick behind center and it looks like Kolb is nothing but a backup now.
Kolb received four more starts after an injury to Vick, but only played well in two of them.
With Vick back behind center, Kolb has once been relegated to clipboard-holding cheerleader.
10. Chad Ochocinco
16 of 25
Chad had a bounce back season last year with a resurgent Bengals squad, but he's been a huge disappointment this year.
He has only two 100-plus yard receiving games and only four total touchdowns on the year.
Terrell Owens has taken over as the No. 1 receiver with Chad taking a back seat to him.
It appears his summer focusing on everything but football is biting back.
9. Steve Smith
17 of 25
Formerly known as just Steve Smith, he has quickly become the "other Steve Smith."
Aside from his rookie season and the 2004-05 season in which he played in only one game, Smith is having the worst year of his career.
Steve has 444 receiving yards and only two touchdowns.
He hasn't recorded a touchdown since Week 2 and his best game yardage-wise went for only 85 yards.
The Panthers are the worst team in the NFL with only one win. The only consolation is that they're headed into the NFL draft with the No. 1 overall pick to help rebuild their franchise.
8. Brandon Marshall
18 of 25
After the Dolphins spent two second-round picks in order to pry Brandon Marshall away from the Denver Broncos, Marshall has failed to bring back any sort of meaningful return on the investment.
Brandon has only one touchdown this season and he's on pace for his first sub-100 reception campaign since his rookie season.
Marshall is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury and, if it keeps him out any more games, he may not even break 1,000 receiving yards for the season.
7. Matthew Stafford
19 of 25
There were high expectations for Matthew Stafford coming into this season.
With the freak-of-nature Calvin Johnson at his side, many were predicting a monster breakout season for the former No. 1-overall draft pick.
Stafford's season was quickly derailed in the first game of the season when he separated an AC joint in his right shoulder.
He came back in Week 8 against the Washington Redskins when he torched them for four touchdowns. Things were looking up the following week as he was leading the Lions to a victory over the New York Jets, but then he suffered the same injury that took him out earlier.
Stafford still has a glimmer of hope of returning this season, but having only played in one full game and parts of two others, his season has been a huge disappointment.
6. Vincent Jackson
20 of 25
Vincent Jackson first made the idiotic move of holding out for way more money than he's worth.
Sitting out the first 11 weeks of the season, he was told to report to the Chargers in order to accrue his sixth season toward free agency.
While Jackson suited up for the Week 12 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, he did absolutely nothing, as he strained his calf before he could even catch a ball.
With Philip Rivers in the midst of a historic season, Jackson could have posted monster stats that would have parlayed into a massive contract elsewhere.
Instead, he's sitting out with an injury and he'll be getting far less than his absurd demands on the open market in the offseason.
5. Donovan McNabb
21 of 25
After being a mainstay in Philly for years, Donovan was traded away to a division rival, the Washington Redskins.
The fan backlash was loud and angry, with many having no faith in Kevin Kolb's ability.
DC natives had a renewed sense of hope with Mike Shanahan replacing Jim Zorn and McNabb replacing Jason Campbell behind center.
However, Redskins fans were in for a rude awakening.
Not counting his rookie season, this is by far the worst year of Donovan's career.
McNabb only has only one multi-touchdown game, but he also threw three interceptions in that same game.
The string of disappointments reached a boiling point in a loss to the Detroit Lions. With the game on the line in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, McNabb was benched in favor of Rex Grossman.
Yes, the same inept Rex Grossman who was a pick machine with the Chicago Bears.
Rex would quickly fumble, leading to a defensive touchdown that sealed the win for the Lions.
4. DeAngelo Williams
22 of 25
After recording back-to-back 1,000-plus rushing yard campaigns with 25 total rushing touchdowns in the last two years, Williams has had a massively disappointing season.
In six games, Williams managed to rack up only 361 total rushing yards with a single touchdown.
Williams hasn't played since Week 7 and he was officially placed on injured reserve on Nov. 17, effectively ending his season.
The timing couldn't be worse as he's a free agent in the offseason. With a labor dispute between the NFL and the player's union, Williams has a bleak future ahead.
3. Albert Haynesworth
23 of 25
The massive defensive tackle has been nothing but a nuisance for the Washington Redskins.
The problems started this past summer with Albert unhappy over his use in a new defensive scheme that uses a 3-4 formation as opposed to the 4-3 he has been accustomed to.
Instead of acting like a professional, Albert complained about the change and became a headache for everyone in Washington.
Things got worse when Shanahan refused to let Albert practice with his teammates due to conditioning issues.
For the year, Haynesworth has four sacks and 13 total tackles. Not the type of production expected out of a player with a ludicrous $100 million contract.
2. Brett Favre
24 of 25
Well, at least we know he won't be coming back next year. Or will he?
Either way, after Favre's magical season last year—with a disastrous ending—there were high expectations placed on the Minnesota Vikings.
Instead, the team has a 4-7 record and they're out of playoff contention.
The problems may go further than just Favre, but as the Vikings quarterback, he's the source.
Favre has 10 touchdowns, 17 interceptions and a putrid 71 quarterback rating. This is arguably the worst statistical season of his career and not the best way for one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the game to go out on.
1. Randy Moss
25 of 25
Randy Moss is, without question, the biggest disappointment of the season.
Big things were expected out of the dynamic combination of Tom Brady and Randy Moss, but that quickly evaporated only weeks into the season.
Moss played four games with New England and then was traded to Minnesota, where he only played three games before being released and picked up by the Titans.
In three games with the Titans, Moss has four receptions for 49 yards and zero touchdowns. Absolutely unacceptable for a player of his gifts.
For the season, Moss has failed to record more than five receptions or 81-plus yards in a single game.
After recording 47 total touchdowns in his previous three seasons in New England, he has only five this year.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")