Predicting the production of 2010’s WR’s
Obviously the offensive focus for 2010 should be imposing a steady diet of face-smashing runs a la GT 2010… a game that made me feel like reenacting the montage from Rocky IV where he runs to the top of mountain and shouts "Dragoooo!"
However, the defenses in the SEC are quick to adjust and must be kept of their heels or it won’t be very effective.Here is a look a what I think can be expected for the year not including the best tight end collection in the league as well as a few unauthorized nicknames. These are based on past statistics, and realistic 2010 scenarios not video games or how awesome they cold be in a perfect world. Either way There Is No Easy Way Out for these guys next season.
1) A.J. Green- “ The Green Monster” is the best ball snatcher (huh?) I have seen wear the Red and Black. Can he stay healthy though? I certainly wouldn’t call him fragile, but he’s had to play through some pain in- 2008 (a year where he had over a 1000 all purpose yards ((61 rushing yards)) and obviously missed much of the end of 2009 where he would have tallied 1000 receiving yards. Green started 10 games and had roughly 80 yards per game. I think that Green, if fully healthy and NFL-paycheck level motivated, could wind up with 1300 yards and 15 TD’s. Hearken back to the Arky game, the LSU would-be game winner that should have gone down in UGA lore, or even the 65-yard screen he bounced at Vanderbilt. He looked like one of those crotch-rockets I see on I-285 every Sunday blasting past black and gold mini vans. However, because of the focus of rushing the ball, a new QB, and TE proliferation, I will go with a conservative 1000 yards, but 10 TD’s, which is higher than his average TD per game just because I think he’ll be hungry.
2) Tavarres King-King showed some flashes of deadly home run brilliance last year. If King gets 15 more pounds on him he could easily be All-SEC. He averaged 20.9 per catch and had receptions of 50, 46, 47, 38 yards. Even A.J. didn’t have that many 35+ yarders. However, he seemed to lack the luck to get in it in the end zone on the bombs and he is paragon of red zone intimidation. I think he is going to get somewhere around the 2005 Momass zone. 500 yards & 3 Td’s should be feasible. No nickname for someone named King.
3) Rantavious Wooten- “Woo” has major playmaking ability as evidenced by his catches of 27, 35 43, and 23 yard receptions as a true freshman (not to mention an average of 19.7yds. per catch). He showed that he has the potential be a major difference maker in “The Nightmare” or Kentucky game. He seems to have a talent for actually making it into the end zone as 2 of his 10 receptions were TD’s. Assuming most of last year’s production was a result of pure talent combined with little knowledge, I think he is ready for big things. I’m predicting 350 yards & 3 Td’s with the potential to go much higher.
4) Kris Durham- “K.D. Long” is a bit of a question mark after the injury last year? If healthy, he can make some plays and will be a potential red zone warrior. If he matches his 2008 total off 199 yards and adds a few clutch first downs and TD’s, I’ll call it a success. I’ll go with 250 and 1 TD with hopes that he can get more.
5) Israel Troupe- I hope to call him “Super Trouper” before he leaves UGA. I’m not giving up on the guy as he still has two seasons left, and the 50-yard bomb he banked vs. Auburn showed that he has the ability to make plays when his number is called. He should provide some solid depth at the very least. 100 yards and perhaps another game-changing TD would suffice.
6) Marlon Brown – He was “brown and out” for a while last year, but could wind up being a huge addition next year. It is hard to speculate based on the production from last year, but the report muscle added can’t hurt. I’ll call him one of my favorite clichés, the X factor. He could go for a 100 or blow up.
