here's just one lone undefeated team, three winless squads, and two teams sporting only one defeat going into week 8 of the NFL season. The diversity of talent in the NFL this season hasn't put a dent in the domninance of the league's true studs, a group of proven winners who continue to delight their fantasy owners and their team's fans. Here are the seven studs who really stand out through week 7 of the 2011 season.
Fans won't get to see the number one stud in week 8 as the Green Bay Packers and QB Aaron Rodgers (171-239, 2,372 yards, 20 TDs, 3 INT) are on their bye week. Fantasy owners of Rodgers will be hard-pressed to find a suitable substitute who can put up the same numbers as the leading fantasy-point-scorer through week 7 (according to ESPN). The Packers are the defending Super Bowl Champions, and they're undefeated through 7 exciting games this season. Rodgers is the perfect package at quarterback. He runs (29 carries, 75 yards, 2 TDs rushing) when all else fails, picks and chooses from a wide variety of targets with relative ease, and has a powerful and accurate arm. Rodgers is the glue that holds the offensive unit together. Every week a different star emerges as his favorite go to guy. It's easy to get caught up in awe of what Rodgers can do for his team to the point that you forget that the team's defense is also pretty potent, too. It's hard to even imagine this team losing a game this year as long as Rodgers remains healthy. The Patriots might have the best weapons to challenge Rodgers on offense, but their defense is miserable this year. If the Packers can keep the zero in the loss column for the duration of the season and win the Super Bowl for the second straight year to boot, this could go down as the best NFL team in history. Without Rodgers, though, the Pack could just as easily be in the same boat as the 0-7 Indianapolis Colts.
Calvin Johnson (41 receptions, 679 yards, 10 TDs), A.K.A. "Megatron," is Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford's favorite receiver and the top contributor to the team's passing game. Johnson helped his team cruise through 5 games in a row without a loss to start the season. Two tough losses in absolute wars against San Francisco and Atlanta have the 5-2 Lions playing a distant second fiddle to the division-leading, Packers, but Johnson's sure to be a game changer in a week 8 tune-up match against a listless 2-4 Denver Broncos team. This receiver commands respect and burns cornerbacks and safeties every week for huge gains. Sleep on Calvin Johnson, and he'll fake you out right out of your cleats as a defender. Stafford is particularly dialed in on the same wavelength as Johnson, so if he can't play this week it could be a dicey day for the star receiver, but when these two are in sync great things always happens for the Lions offense.
New England Patriots (5-1) Wide Receiver Wesley Welker (51 receptions, 785 yards, 6 TDs) may be short in stature, but he's long on talent. Welker's got game in the tightest coverage and in the most desperate circumstances for Tom Brady under center. He's just 5-foot-9-inches tall and 185 pounds, but Welker plays like a true physical giant every Sunday and gets the job done when it counts. He shreds defenses with pure, raw, unique talent and incredible hands. Whether it's 4th and goal or time for a 99-yard touchdown play, Welker continues to keep proving he can answer the challenge. He runs routes like Jerry Rice and gets yards after the catch with a physicality akin to the much bigger and bolder Jim Brown. Though NFL statisticians crunch plenty of numbers as it is, the total yards Welker's accumulated after the first hit this season would probably be the best figure to cite in illustrating his immense talent and priceless value to the Patriots. Tom Brady is a legend who might look like he could get it done with any old corps of receivers, but this year Wes Welker's been all big bucks and no whammies for Brady. There's no faster, stronger, or more dynamic receiver in the league right now.
Fred Jackson (106 carries, 601 yards, 6 TD rushing, 24 receptions, 279 yards) is enjoying one of the most impressive years of his career in his 5th season with the Buffalo Bills. The Bills carry a 4-2 record into a week 8 clash with the Washington Redskins, who are also 4-2. Jackson is a dominating runner who notched an 80-yard touchdown rush in week 6 in a close shave with the cross-town New York Giants. He is an absolute first down machine, giving the Bills plenty of chances to stay in competitive games until the final whistle. The prolific passing of Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (134-202, 1,477 yards, 12 TDs, 6 INTs) in his 7th year out of Harvard is made all the more potent because Jackson can take off at any point and romp for a game-breaking gain. The Bills have been in a few intense barnburners already that Jackson and Fitzpatrick teamworked their way out of to win the game. They are both worthy of the week 7 stud label with the only two losses for their team decided by only three points each.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis (20 Tackles, 4 INT, 100-yd TD) is the anchor of the New York Jets defense. His leadership and pure athletic skills help put offensive personnel at a constant disadvantage. He shuts down whole sides of the field when he's roaming around the secondary and scoping out passes. Even the best quarterbacks know to avoid throwing the ball his way if possible. Revis blankets receivers like no cornerback in the league. He's such a talented player that announcers and experts call the territory he patrols "Revis Island." He's an absolute defensive monster, and without him the Jets would be in a deep hole in the division. The close games in week one against Dallas and week seven against San Diego could not be won without the multi-purpose skills of Darrelle Revis on defense.
Drew Brees (212-299, 2,477 yards, 18 TDs, 8 INTs) and his 5-2 Saints storm into St. Louis this week to face the winless and wounded Rams. The once-vaunted "Greatest Show on Turf" is now reduced to the laughing stock of the league. Rams Starting QB Sam Bradford is out this week with an ankle injury, and the Saints are coming off a game in which they opened a real can of whoopass on the winless Colts in a 62-7 rout last week. Brees was one of the most proactive players during the lockout, leading impromptu practices and keeping his team thinking about football in the hopes the stalemate would end in time to play a full season. He also had some strong words for the ownership that were hard to hear from such a respected athlete. He's always exciting to watch, and back-to-back tune up games against winless squads will prepare his team well for a rematch with the Buccaneers in week 9, one of the two "Bay" teams that managed to beat them so far this year. Tampa Bay and Green Bay are the only squads to really challenge Brees and the Saints at all this season. They'll need Brees to be at his best for the bulk of the season's second half. There simply isn't an easy game for New Orleans after this week until a week 15 tilt with the Minnesota Vikings on December 18th. Brees and Rodgers kicked off the season in one of the most competitive and thrilling games ever on September 8th, with the Saints losing a squeaker to Green Bay by a score of 42-34. Brees threw for a cool 419 yards and three touchdowns in the game. He's an essential part of his team, and when he can maintain his accuracy he and his Saints are absolutely unbeatable.
Honorable Mentions: Devin Hester, Ray Rice, Vince Wilfork, Matt Forte, Adrian Peterson, Ray Lewis, and LeSean McCoy.
Duds
One team started the season with so many key acquisitions to their credit that the words "dream team" began getting tossed around. Yet, once the first official referee's whistle opened the regular season all the predictions and postulation gave way to reality. And, for teams like the 2-4 Philadelphia Eagles right now, reality sucks. Their most celebrated pickup for this season was Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha . For all the hype, Asomugha has just one interception and 16 total tackles on the season. If it hadn't been for all the high expectations heaped on the shoulders of the new cornerback, he wouldn't warrant dud status, but his relatively mediocre stats just don't justify his pre-season designation as the most valuable free agent on the market.
The New England Patriots (5-1) are leading their division, but it's certainly not a direct result of signing Superstar Dud Chad Ochocinco at Wide Receiver. Number 85 is responsible for just 9 of Tom Brady's 160 completions through Week 7. Ochocinco's yet to score a single regular season touchdown and has just 136 total receiving yards. The only receivers who play regularly and have less yardage than this ex-top Bengals receiver are running backs and utility players. The only saving grace is that the under-the-radar stats Ochocinco's compiled so far may be due in part to the darting, dynamic, durable target that Wes Welker's become for Tom Brady. Welker (The number one Week 7 Stud) is fast, slippery, and sly. Ochocinco can't keep up or compete with the little juggernaut. If Chad doesn't start putting up better numbers he might not even beat his rookie year's season stats that featured just 329 yards and one touchdown back in 2001 with the Bengals. It's tough to tell whether his lack of output is due to the Patriots and Brady trying to get used to him, initiating him by isolating him, or just not liking him as a realistic target. He gets just a few chances per game, and it seems he always drops the ball at the worst possible times. Brady can hit him in the hands sometimes, and it's like his ego and the pressure of having to perform to his potential just collide instantly, causing him to lose all mental focus. A great QB like Brady just can't take to or trust a receiver like that until he really proves something. Ochocinco will break out and score on a Hail Mary at some point this season, but Patriots fans were thinking he'd get one or two of those incredible grabs per game before the season started. He may come around, but right now he's one giant dud.
The 4-3 New York Jets once again stand in the shadows of the Patriots and their division leading record through week 7, but they're still in the fight. Their up and down, back-and-forth flirtation with both success and failure is in part due to the decline of Dud Running Back LaDainian Tomlinson. LT has just 111 yards on 34 carries for the 2011 season through Week 7. He left last Sunday's critical game against his old team early due to "illness" and just hasn't chewed up the yardage and scored the touchdowns as regularly as he once did when he was with that team. Tomlinson ran for 730 yards during his last season with the Chargers in 2009, the first time in his entire career he failed to break 1,000 yards rushing for the year. The back who scored a career-best 28 touchdowns and ran for 1,815 yards in 2006 (adding another 3 scores receiving) has certainly lost a step. He's put up much better numbers and his only touchdown so far as a receiver this year, and he's already matched the longest catch of his career with a 74-yard grab to make up the better part of his 260 total yards through the air. He's become a mediocre threat on the ground and continues to play a willing second fiddle to Shonn Greene (113 carries, 426 yards, 2 TDs). LT is by no means too old or broken down for another 1,000-yard rushing season. Jets fans have to be disappointed in his output level considering what he's shown he is capable of in the past. He's a pure dud by definition.
Running Back Ronnie Brown only has one 1,000 yard rushing season under his belt after meeting the milestone in just 13 games back in 2006, his second year with the Miami Dolphins. He scored 5 touchdowns that season on the ground, a number he would later double with the Dolphins in 2008. This year, Brown's in a precarious position with no touchdowns on just 13 carries and 38 total yards with the Philadelphia Eagles. He also must have a sour taste in his mouth after the team that just acquired him tried to trade him to the Detroit Lions at the deadline recently. He's now a footnote to a stunning and compelling story involving Lions RB Jerome Harrison and a brain tumor discovered thanks to the pre-trade physical he underwent that killed the transfer but likely saved Harrison's life. Brown is a collossal bust for the Eagles thus far. The team's management and coaching staff doesn't seem to like him or want him to play a significant role in an offense that's top-heavy on the running game to begin with. Already, despite their shaky record, the Eagles lead the league in average rushing yards per game (170). Brown's a spare part that isn't compatible with the rest of the machine. He's mailing it in and getting paid for it so far, and that must change if he wants to become a tangible tool on this team's offense.
Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Donovan McNabb (94-156, 1,026 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT) is not getting any better with age, and he's the only QB dud on the list through Week 7. The basement-dwelling NFC North Vikings are just 1-6 and ranked 29th in the league in average passing yards per game through week 7 thanks mostly to McNabb's pre-benching performance. A week six 39-10 shellacking by the Chicago Bears led team management to switch gears and put Rookie Christian Ponder (22-49, 318 yards, 2TDs, 2 INTs) in charge of the offense against the Green Bay Packers last week. Ponder led his team through a dominant first half last Sunday to depose McNabb for good. Though the Packers regained control and pulled off the win in the final half, Ponder proved himself way more worthy of the QB position than McNabb. The Washington Redskins now look brilliant for shedding McNabb's dead weight when they did. The seasoned veteran is now relegated to being the full-time backup for this depressing Vikings team that can't even be saved this year by the stellar, unstoppable running of Adrian Peterson. Ponder might help inspire a late turnaround, but it won't be enough to propel this team to the playoffs and get them out of the hole McNabb's poor early-season play put them in.
The winless Indianapolis Colts needed a fantastic running back to help them adjust to the loss of Quarterback Peyton Manning for the season. Joseph Addai has just 257 total yards on 58 carries and only one touchdown through 7 weeks of listless Colts play. He may not be the only player to blame for the team's complete collapse, but he's a huge factor in the lack of potency on offense. Without the flash Manning's superior play brings to the team, Addai's dash is sorely needed. It's going to take a career day performance from this back for the Colts to win their first game this year.
The final week 7 dud is Roy Williams, a former juggernaut receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. Now he's one of multiple off-season acquisitions by the Chicago Bears that they were able to grab from their NFC rivals. Thankfully for the 3-3 Cowboys, Williams didn't pack his mojo when he left Dallas for Chicago. Dallas is miraculously just a game back of the NFC-East-Leading New York Giants while Chicago is 4-3 and ranked 3rd in the stacked NFC North. Williams has an unlucky 13 catches for Chicago so far this season for 190 yards and a touchdown. He's capable of much better numbers and was supposed to be a real secret weapon for Chicago. Instead, he's been an incredible dud.
Week 8 features a ton of make or break games for many teams and players in the NFL. To make the best of the season that almost never was, these and other un-named duds need to wake up and smell the coffee. This year's overpriced and overhyped players may soon become under-appreciated and unemployed if they keep putting up such underwhelming stats.
