Quote:Marks - Has played well this year, but also played well last year. I think the difference is better play at the other tackle spot.
McCray - Hard to say since he looked good in very limited play last year too.
Smith - Telvin? He's one of two who have improved over the course of the season.
Lee - He's the other.
Branch - Six sacks last year, 3 in 8 games this year. No improvement. He has apparently reached his limit.
Denard - He was playing with numbness in his hand last year. His 'improvement' may be 100% due to just being healthy. He still can't block.
Hurns - A
pleasant surprise find who is playing well. Still, he's not much better now than he was at the beginning of the season.
A Rob - Another recovery from injury.
Bowanko - He's playing well, but no better than he did earlier this season.
Linder - Same as Bowanko.
Bortles - is not playing as well as he did earlier this season.
Besides Telvin Smith and Marqise Lee, I'd add Abry Jones and Ryan Davis as players who have clearly improved this year. Do they balance out declines in Cyprien, Gratz, Sanders, Shorts, Brown, Pasztor, and Joeckel? With a young team I'd expect many more improvements than declines.
Marks- I think Marks is helping the other DT's play and is playing at a higher level than last year
McCray- 1st year as a starter, has been top DB in coverage according to PFF
Smith- obvious improvement
Lee- light has come on, obvious improvement
Branch- not even a Caldwell guy, he is what he is now at this point
Denard- say what you want, he has played way better this year than last year
Hurns- undrafted rookie, I think hes become more reliable these past couple of weeks
A Rob- we will see
Bowanko and Linder- they are playing better than earlier in the year, Linder has been playing at a high level for a rookie these past couple of weeks, it was obvious we missed him against Dallas
Bortles- tale of the rookie QB, comes in and plays good, hits a wall, finally starts adjusting, play finally starts to trend upward. Bortles's play hasn't declined. NFL DCs finally got film on him and adjusted, now we are seeing Bortles adjust a little bit.
I think Cyp is trying to simply do too much, I think the football people know we need another safety next to him. I don't think his play has leveled off. Gratz is a guy whose play has leveled off a little bit, although I think a new FS would do wonders for him too. Sanders hasn't declined, he doesn't play anymore because we have more talented WRs. He is also where he should be in the role of a punt returner. Shorts has been who he is, I think he's been a guy who has been overrated by people on this board.
Brown? As in Mike Brown? There isn't even a Brown on the current roster, so I don't know why you included his name. Paztor has also battled injuries this entire year, he has been an average RT. He was also an average RT last year.
As for Joeckel, how has his play declined? He's been at pretty much the same level this entire year. This is his first year in the LT role, also it takes most LTs more than one year to reach a good level of play. For instance, Eugene Monroe. I remember being at the Eagles game here in 2010 and watching Trent Cole destroy him. His play climbed the next couple of seasons after ward. Be patient with Joeckel. Hes playing the second hardest position in the NFL.
To conclude, the players you listed all haven't declined. Id give you Cyp and Gratz, but I think they can relax if we give them help this offseason. It's also hard to say 1st and 2nd year players have leveled off when they are already inconsistent players and trying to establish their level of play. This is why drafts are judged after three years. Not after 1 or 2 seasons.
