2011 NFL Predictions: 10 Superstars Who Won't Live Up to Hype in 2011

The 2011 NFL season is soon going to be upon us.

There have been a number of teams that either improved or gotten worse during the offseason via free agency and trades.

With so much shakeup in the NFL, it will be interesting in seeing which superstars thrive and who wilts next season with so much expectation on their shoulders.

There were a number of players last season that broke out and will be expected by their team and fans to perform at the same level. It will be interesting to see who can and can’t match their production from the 2010 season.

Without further adieu, join me for 10 bold predictions on which superstars won’t live up to their hype during the 2011 NFL season.

10. Jamaal Charles

Jamaal Charles just polished off his second solid season in a row in just his third year in the league.

Charles made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career after signing a five-year, $32.5 million deal in the middle of the season.

Charles is still capable of ripping off a monster run at any moment, but he may still be getting less than 50 percent of the teams’ carries.

With Thomas Jones still under contract with the team, Charles is going to lose carries to him as well as new fullback Le’Ron McClain.

McClain is very capable of stealing snaps from a featured back. In Ray Rice’s rookie season, McClain carried the ball 232 times for the Baltimore offense.

While his carries went down as Rice emerged, it is still a very real possibility that McClain poaches snaps, especially in goal line situations.

Charles will still be a very, very good back next season, but his mediocre TD numbers may take a further hit with the addition of Le’Ron McClain.

9. Darren McFadden

Darren McFadden overachieved last season just like his 8-8 Oakland Raiders team.

In his 13 starts, McFadden rushed 223 times for 1,157 yards and seven TDs.

It was his breakout season, and it seemed like he was in line for another big year until he fractured his orbital bone.

While this will not affect his running game, it will certainly sideline him for a few weeks and could alter his preparation going into the season.

It will be interesting to see if McFadden’s great season was a fluke or not, but knowing the Oakland Raiders’ recent history, it will probably be the former.

McFadden may not start strong this season and will probably not live up to the hype he received at the end of last season. Michael Bush is back with the team and will poach carries from McFadden as well.

8. Tony Romo

Tony Romo is certainly capable of having a monster season.

In 2009, Romo completed 347 of his 550 passing attempts for 4,483 yards and 26 TDs and nine INTs over 16 games.

In 2010, Romo went 148 of 213 for 1,605 yards and 11 TDs with seven INTs. The Cowboys were having an awful season, and it only got worse when Romo went down for the season after just six games.

With no acquisitions in free agency at the wide receiver position or offensive line, Romo will have to make due with the players he was failing with last season.

The team also lost Roy Williams and Marion Barber during the offseason, and the offense took a hit.

Romo should fair a bit better than he did last season before going down with injury, but without any major free agent pickups or trades, the Cowboys QB is going to suffer. 

7. Santonio Holmes

Holmes just signed one of the biggest contracts for a wide receiver in NFL history.

The Jets locked up their No. 1 receiver with a massive five-year, $50 million contract with $24 million guaranteed.

Santonio will not live up to the lofty expectations hoisted upon a player who makes this type of money.

Holmes first season as a New York Jet was not even close to his best as a pro. In 2009 as a Steeler, Holmes caught 79 balls for 1,248 yards and five TDs. Last season his production dipped to 52 receptions for 746 yards and six TDs.

Holmes will be expected to have numbers close to those ’09 figures with the deal he signed.

It’s just not going to happen with Mark Sanchez as quarterback and a team that focuses heavily on its ground game.

The Jets needed to ink Santonio to a long term deal, but he won’t live up to the hype a player who makes that much money will get. 

6. Brandon Lloyd

Brandon Lloyd led the league last season in receiving yards with 1,448. He also snagged 77 balls for 11 TDs, which helped him make the first Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams of his career.

It was Lloyd’s ninth season in the league, and it was an anomaly that he managed to have such a good year. His only comparable season was in 2005 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he had 48 catches for 733 yards.

With Kyle Orton’s strange status at the Bronco’s starting QB, and Tim Tebow apparently right in line to take over if he falters at all, it will be hard for Lloyd to maintain the same production as last season.

Lloyd is a solid player, but to expect him to have such a monster season on a team that has an uncertain direction right now, is stupid.

5. Plaxico Burress

Many people expect Plaxico Burress to join the New York Jets and start immediately contributing at a high level.

This simply won’t happen.

It’s going to take Plaxico Burress time to familiarize himself with NFL defenses after being out of the league for two years serving a prison sentence.

Michael Vick did not blossom until his second season back in the league after his time in jail.

Plaxico is going to be eased into the Jets’ receiving corps and will not have a big year that fans could have expected from him before his time away from the league.

Plaxico will have a decent season, but expecting him to have a Pro Bowl type performance in the Jets’ offense this year is simply too much.

4. Peyton Hillis

Last year, Peyton Hillis trucked his way through defenders on his way to 1,177 yards rushing, 11 TDs and one Madden Cover.

The fan favorite running back started 14 games for the Cleveland Browns after injuries to Montario Hardesty, James Davis, and Jerome Harrison cleared the path for him become the No. 1 RB.

Hillis was widely unexpected to be a contributor last season besides at FB or TE. He lucked out that the Browns running back platoon became so injured that it gave him a chance to start and show that he is a solid option in this league.

Montario Hardesty, a second-round draft choice, is going to be back from injury next season and will get snaps at RB along with Hillis.

Barring another injury to Hardesty, it is clear that Hillis will not have the same monster statistics as he did last season. Splitting carries with a back will help Peyton prolong his career, but it certainly won’t help him live up to the hype. 

3. Arian Foster

Foster had his breakout season last year, putting up 1,616 yards and 16 TDs rushing along with 66 receptions for 604 yards and two TDs.

Foster was only able to get the featured role due to injuries to guys in the Texans rushing platoon.

This year the Texans will probably feature more of Derrick Ward, who will be looking to bounce back from a sub-par year.

Ward signed a four-year, $17 million contract with the Tampa Bay Bucs in 2009 but lasted just one season before getting cut. The Texans signed him for relatively cheap, and Ward still has the potential to be a stud in this league.

If Foster is splitting carries with Ward or whoever else they bring in to the backfield, Foster, and tons of fantasy owners, will have a disappointing year compared to his ridiculous last season. 

2. Kyle Orton

Kyle Orton has managed to put up two very solid seasons in a row as the Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback.

However, Orton fell out of favor with the Denver Broncos’ coaching staff towards the end of last season. The team was 3-10 under his leadership, and they decided to thrust first-round pick Tim Tebow under center.

Tebow went 1-2 as a starter for the last three games but flashed a ton of promise.

Now it seems that Tebow is struggling in training camp and Orton will be the starter for Week 1 once the seasons rolls around.

It will be interesting to see how long the Broncos will let Orton remain starter if he loses football games.

The fans certainly want to see Tebow start after Orton’s atrocious record last season. Whispers inside the organization are saying that some members of the teams’ staff also want Tebow to play.

With so many rumors swirling about and uncertainty in the locker room, Kyle Orton will not have nearly as good a season as his last two. 

1. Michael Vick

Vick is expected to carry the Eagles offense once again in 2011. He led them to the ninth overall passing game and fifth overall rushing in the league last year.

Vick simply won’t be able to repeat his performance next year. He passed for 3,018 yards and 21 TDs last season and rushed for 676 yards and 9 TDs in just 12 games.

Teams, especially in the NFC East, have now seen the new and improved Michael Vick and are taking offseason steps to stop him. Vick came out of nowhere last season after Kevin Kolb went down with an injury and stunned the league by becoming a star again.

Vick is also injury prone, which is why he only played in 12 games. He is 31-years-old now and may not be able to rush 100 times again without sustaining a major injury. He was lucky to have only missed a few games last year with a rib injury.

The Eagles are going to be a good team in 2011, no doubt about it, but Michael Vick won’t live up to the hype and put up as good of numbers as last year.