Boom or Bust – AFC

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Every year, some players come out of nowhere and perform like top ten talent, and conversely others fall flat on their faces. Let’s take a look at this season’s booms and busts.

AFC East

1. New England Patriots

Bust: Antowain Smith – Not a very good running back to begin with, Smith is now going to lose carries to Kevin Faulk.

Sleeper: Dan Graham – The former first round pick will get more time this year and New England loves to throw to the tight end in the red zone.

2. Buffalo Bills

Bust: Josh Reed – Reed hasn’t performed well in the preseason and could lose his job to Bobby Shaw. That’s not a good sign.

Sleeper: Buffalo Defense – The Bills’ most applauded offseason move was signing tackling machine Takeo Spikes. An even BIGGER move was signing Sam Adams. Add that to two shutdown corners and you have a pretty good defense.

3. Miami Dolphins

Bust: Jay Fiedler – Fiedler won’t throw for many yards or TD’s with Ricky Williams in the backfield. Brian Griese is now the backup and could push Fiedler if he struggles or get injured.

Sleeper: Derrius Thompson – Thompson beat out James McKnight and Oronde Gadsen for the #2 job. Last year, he averaged 14.5 yards a catch on 53 receptions.

4. New York Jets

Bust: Curtis Conway – Wide receivers in their first year with a team sometimes struggle (see Johnnie Morton), and he now has old man Vinny throwing to him.

Sleeper: Lamont Jordan – The Jets want to get Jordan the ball more; he would be a more than adequate replacement if Curtis Martin were injured for any extended period of time.

 
AFC North

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

Bust: Jerome Bettis – He already lost the starting job to Famous Amos, he’s injury prone, and he’s getting older.

Sleeper: Jay Riemersma – An excellent receiver in Buffalo, Riemersma should get open with teams keying on Burress, Ward, and Zereoue.

2. Cleveland Browns

Bust: Kevin Johnson – KJ is Tim Couch’s favorite target. Bad news for him: Holcomb is starting.

Sleeper: Quincy Morgan – Seems to have clicked with Holcomb as his #1 receiver, Averaging 17.2 yards a catch last year.

3. Baltimore Ravens

Bust: Kyle Boller – He may start, but rookie QB’s struggle in their first year and he wasn’t even that productive in college.

Sleeper: Travis Taylor – Taylor should break out this year. He has improved every year in the league.

4. Cincinnati Bengals

Bust: Corey Dillon – Not really a bust, but too inconsistent for my liking. Dillon will still be a top 15-20 back.

Sleeper: Jon Kitna – Last year was his best yet. Kitna was on fire after he took over the starting job.

 
AFC Central

1. Indianapolis Colts

Bust: Marcus Pollard – Indinapolis drafted Dallas Clark in first round, and Pollard was outplayed by the rookie in the preseason.

Sleeper: Reggie Wayne – This is Wayne’s third year and third year WR’s have a history of breaking out. Peyton Manning needs someone to throw to other than Marvin Harrison.

2. Tennessee Titans

Bust: Eddie George – George has been banged up the last two years and averaged his career lows in yards/carry over that span(3.0 and 3.4).

Sleeper: Tyrone Calico – A big target at 6-4, 225 lbs, Calico won’t be starting, but should see time considering the Titans’ other options.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

Bust: Mark Brunell – He’s getting older and Jacksonville is already looking to trade or cut him. Plus…

Sleeper: Byron Leftwich – Leftwich played spectacularly this preseason and should take over the starting role sometime this year.

4. Houston Texans

Bust: Jabar Gaffney – Someone has to be the odd man out now that Andre Johnson is in town, and it’s Gaffney. The Texans don’t have enough offense for a #3 WR to be productive.

Sleeper: Tony Hollings – Houston used a supplemental draft pick on him so the coaches must like him. He won’t be used much but if Mack gets injured he should be the man.

 
AFC West

1. Oakland Raiders

Bust: Doug Jolley – Oakland likes second round pick Teyo Johnson who is having a good camp while Jolley is battling an injury.

Sleeper: Justin Fargas – The rookie is lighting it up in the preseason. Charlie Garner is banged up and Fargas would get a lot of touches if Garner were to miss time.

2. San Diego Chargers

Bust: David Boston – The Chargers’ new acquisition has hardly played this preseason due a variety of leg injuries, not good for a WR.

Sleeper: Reche Caldwell – Caldwell will take over the #2 job this year after showing some talent last season. Plus, he will get even more looks if Boston misses any time.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

Bust: Larry Johnson – Priest Holmes is fine and looking good in camp. Johnson has been demoted to third on the depth chart and doesn’t have history on his side (Penn St. backs have a tendency to flop).

Sleeper: Marc Boerigter – He had eight touchdowns on only twenty catches while averaging 22 yds/catch last year. Now, he’s pushing Kennison and Morton for playing time.

4. Denver Broncos

Bust: Jake Plummer – Plummer has been a terrible QB and I don’t see this year as being any different.

Sleeper: Ashley Lelie – The young receiver has caught everything thrown his was so far. A major deep threat, he should beat out Ed McCaffrey for the #2 receiver spot.

 
Anthony Milazzo is currently living in South Florida. He has too many fantasy teams to count, and when he’s not watching, reading, or playing sports he’s in college studying to be a CSI.

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