Several NFL stars will endure much pressure heading into the 2015 season. The question remains, who are they?
By Bryan Pol
Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler, no longer toiling under head coach Marc
Trestman, an offensive guru signed in the 2015 season as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator, was brought in for the sole purpose of encouraging growth in Cutler. Now, those reins are handed to head coach John Fox, formerly of the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos. Also part of Fox’s staff is his former offensive coordinator Adam Gase. Although Brandon Marshall departed via trade to the New York Jets, the Bears still have sound options in wideout Alshon Jeffrey, tight end Martellus Bennett, and pass-catching tailback Matt Forte, along with rookie sensation Kevin White, who, due to a shin injury, will unfortunately be staring the season on the PUP list. Cutler has a razor-thin margin for error in the Windy City.
Despite what is known of Cutler’s pressure-filled 2015 campaign, several other NFL stars face a great deal more stress heading into the upcoming NFL season.
Here are the Top 5 NFL players facing pressure heading into 2015:
Honorable mentions:
Ndamukong Suh (DT-MIA)
Suh is the leader of the Miami Dolphins defense, and has the mammoth contract to prove it. As one of the highest paid defenders in the NFL, can Suh sustain what he has previously accomplished in Detroit?
Odell Beckham, Jr. (WR-NYG)
The human highlight reel graces the cover of Madden 16, and will be the number one guy in New York, more so if Victor Cruz does not come back strong, or Rueben Randle does not progress. Does ODB have the capacity to avoid a letdown in his sophomore season?
Geno Smith (QB-NYJ)
Geno has a stellar defense around him, and superb weapons with which to throw to–Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker, and newly drafted, yet injured Devin Smith–to go with a solid offensive line. Like Mark Sanchez two years ago, Geno has this year, the last of his rookie deal, to prove he can start in the NFL. Will the pressure of competing against Ryan Fitzpatrick and massive fan expectations prove too much for him?
5. Jimmy Garropolo (QB-NE)
Over the course of 2014, his only year of NFL experience, Jimmy Garropolo threw 27 passes over the course of six games, completing 19 of them. Given who is ahead of him on New England’s depth chart, Mr. Tom Brady, Garropolo has never been called upon to be the Patriots’ signal caller…until now.
If the NFL has its way, Brady will serve a four-game suspension in light of his ties to Deflategate. Brady, despite the NFL upholding a punishment originally agreed upon two months ago, will take the issue to court, which could prolong the process, and should Brady serve any form of suspension in 2015, it may not be served right away. It is one thing for Garropolo to be forced to start the season, by which the Patriots could begin 1-3 in facing the Steelers on opening night, the rejuvenated Bills in Week 2, and the Cowboys in Week 5 after a bye in Week 4 (in the midst of that run is a game against the Jaguars in Week 3, a winnable game no matter who is at the helm). Should Garropolo take the reins from Brady later in the season, say, in December, in the thick of a playoff hunt and race for a division title, then the second year quarterback’s situation becomes a great deal more precarious.
Has the young man learned enough from a future Hall of Famer to make a difference in New England if the situation forces him to?
4. Drew Brees (QB-NO)
Given what he did to erase decades of futility in New Orleans by leading the Saints to a Super Bowl title in 2010, doing so against Peyton Manning in his prime, years removed from Hurricane Katrina, Brees is entitled to a grace period that should last until the end of his career.
However, to reward Brees for his years of service, New Orleans brass gifted the quarterback with a mega deal, valued at five years and over $100 million, with $60 million in guaranteed money, and a $37 million signing bonus. Brees, now 36, will enter 2015 by burdening his team with the largest cap hit in all of football, a $26.4 million figure. While that figure dips to $20.6 million in 2016, it rises again to an astronomical $27.4 million in 2017, the final year of the deal, which New Orleans cannot reconfigure unless it wants to give its star quarterback a new contract at the ripe old age of 38.
That said, by continuing to reward its quarterback, the Saints were forced to cut a promising, yet troubled pass rusher in Junior Galette, a casualty of benefitting the offense while diminishing the defense, the team’s biggest weakness.
In these last two years, Cam Newton, despite a porous offensive line, has lead Carolina to two straight division titles, and the Saints, once the darlings of the NFC South, are no longer favored in the division, especially troubling given that the Saints are no longer formidable at home: they were 3-5 at the Superdome in 2014, their worst mark under head coach Sean Payton and Brees.
Help has arrived for Brees in the form of the number 13 pick in the draft, Stanford offensive tackle Andrus Peat, and center Max Unger, a two-time Pro Bowler who assisted Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch in pursuit of winning two consecutive Super Bowls, a pursuit that fell short in last year’s Super Bowl loss to the Patriots. Despite Unger’s arrival, Brees loses a security blanket in red zone target Jimmy Graham, traded to Seattle for Unger and a first round pick (the 31st selection in the draft, which became Clemson linebacker Stephone Anthony). Undeniably, Graham’s chemistry fizzled with Brees by the end of their time together.
Could this miscommunication be a result of Graham’s regression or Brees’s decline? The Saints quarterback has a tension-addled 2015 to prove he is still a viable quarterback in the league and live up to his gargantuan deal.
3. Adrian Peterson (RB-MIN)
In light of a child abuse case that crippled his 2014 campaign, Adrian Peterson’s behavior deprived him of a year of his prime. Peterson enters 2015 at the age of 30, a dangerous year in the life of an NFL running back, a long time removed from live action after not having played since Week 1 of last year.
Given these troubling notions, Adrian Peterson is barely considered, at least by SI.com’s Doug Farrar, a legitimate, top-ten running back in the NFL. He does not have the pressure of playing under a large contract that Brees does, but given a new initiative started by the Vikings, he has been branded the face of the franchise’s “Family Day,” Peterson must prove he can move past his revolting allegation and become a worthy tailback in the league again.
With the success of Peterson, an MVP in 2012, Minnesota was rewarded with a brand new facility, the U.S. Bank Stadium, opening in 2016. But with the the NFL being so quarterback-driven, the Vikings may no longer be Peterson’s team, especially given that he enters 2016 a year older, and Teddy Bridgewater comes in a year wiser. Like Brees, Peterson is losing his grip on his team, unless he, like Brees, can prove himself a leader. Consequently, Peterson cannot afford a subpar year in 2015, although it may be advocacy against child abuse, not sustaining an NFL career, that becomes his focus instead.
Can Vikings fans forgive and allow their star tailback to breathe this season?
2. Andy Dalton (QB-CIN)
Grantland’s Bill Barnwell was already low on Andy Dalton to star the 2014 season, fresh off the quarterback signing an undeserved six year, $115 million extension despite never winning a single postseason game in Cincinnati. So what did Dalton do to live up to the contract? He lead the Bengals to a 10-5-1 record, earned another Pro Bowl selection, and got Cincinnati to the playoffs…only to lose, yet again, in the first round, this time to the Colts, 26-10, a game by which Dalton was abysmal, going 18-for-35 for 155 yards, no touchdowns, and a lost fumble. That putrid loss puts Dalton 0-4 in the postseason all-time.
Dalton has no excuses for his poor play. He can mix it up with the pass-and-run, with all-world receiver A.J. Green to throw to and rushers Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard to fall back on, not to mention a solid option in wideout Mohamed Sanu.
Head coach Marvin Lewis, 0-6 in the postseason with the Bengals, desperately needs his signal caller to step up, not only to live up to his contract extension, but to push the Bengals deep into playoffs, with the Ravens, Steelers, Colts, and the like with which to still contend.
Will this be a transcendent season for Andy Dalton? He, more so than any other AFC quarterback, needs one.