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Breakout Players that Busted - gimme your most painful (1 Viewer)

Hot Sauce Guy

Hot Sauce Guy

Footballguy
With all the preseason hype, let's take a moment to reflect on the ghosts of FFB past, the players that "could have been". Could be due to injury, could be due to a challenged talent perspective (e.g. everyone thought they're great and they were the suck) 

  • Last year I bought into the Spiller hype when the beat writer talked up the Saints plans to "get spiller heavily involved out of the backfield in a Sproles/Woodhaead type role" - he projected 80 or 90 receptions. In PPR I thought he'd be an unbelievable late round bargain as my Flex back, especially since I'd gone WR heavy and needed a BYE week RB and possible Flex.  I was right about the late round part at least. 
  • I had Priest Holmes when he went down for the count. Oh the TDs that coulda been - all went to Larry Johnson, who I missed by one pick in a later round. Then the Johnson owner offered him to me in a deal that I thought was too rich. I countered, he rejected, Priest went down the next game. Dude with LJ won the league, by a lot. 
  • Javhed Best seemingly could have been a stud but the concussions - scary stuff. 
  • Last but not least. WCOFF in (I think) 2007?  I saved up my nickels and did it on a lark. Sure it was a lot of scratch, but I figured what the hell - you only live once and it's just money. I had a weekly paycheck at the time, so I gave it a go. It was a great party and I had a blast. Met a lot of nice people and a few jerks. (more than a few, actually). And I had a pretty decent draft....except I took LT2 with the 1.01 pick, which was the 1st year he fell off the map as a superstar. He had good games, but nothing like what I drafted him for and not as good as what I passed up to take him. Unfortunately, I also had.....
  • ......Ronnie Brown - wildcat was blowing up the league, and Brown was unstoppable. He put up video game numbers and was pretty much the reason I went 7-0. Then he wrecked his knee and killed me in the WCOFF and in both of my local leagues. Important lesson about diversification. I just looked it up - in 7 games he had 602 RuYd, 4 TD, plus 39 receptions for another 389 Yds and 1 TD. The offense went through him and he scored like a pinball machine. I remember watching that 1st football Sunday, in Vegas at the sportsbook with many new friends...they were busting my chops for the LT pick since he was having a mediocre game, and then we noticed something strange in MIA - the QB came off the field and Brown was lining up behind center. They didn't heckle my picks after that. ;)  Still - a great season went to seed, and because of injury. He had a solid season in 2008 (I had him then, too) but nothing like the monstrous pace that could have been the year prior had he not been hurt. Projected to 16 games, Brown would have finished somewhere in the neighborhood of 1376 RuYd, 89 receptions for 889 ReYd, and 11 TDs. And he likely would have thrown a TD or two as he did in 2008 and 2009. it could have been a season for the ages.  Ah, what could have been. 
Who ya got? What preseason hype did you buy into in the past that caused you to invest a little too many shares or too high of a pick on a particular player, only to watch him crash & burn? 

 
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I was falling for the David Wilson hype hook line and sinker before his sophomore year. If only he had stronger vertebrae...

Davante Adams last year. After Jordy went down, my mind was telling me he couldn't meet the expectations, but my heart wanted it to be so.

 
 Fun topic, but painful for some of us.

 A few years ago I bought into Dennis Pitta .  In fact I still do somewhere in the back of my mind. He seemed to have the talent, work ethic and desire, and great chemistry with Flacco. All the green lights were blinking.

 But we had one small issue, his health.  His hips just didn't cooperate.

 I was also fairly high on TE Josh Hill for the Saints a couple years back too.

 I argued his athleticism here on the board, as well as apparent impending opportunity.

 But its like everything he had ever done was just forgotten by the staff, and they looked elsewhere. Then they found Ben Watson and gave him a shot of Red Bull up his ###. He went off down the stretch that season.

 I don't think the talent for Hill just vanished, but I think the belief and trust from the staff did.

 I sort of liken it to Gary Barnidge and his season for the ages last year.  You think his talent just appeared out of thin air? No, it was part talent, part lack of other weapons, part need and QB chemistry and part outright FLUKE.  He always had some of that in him, it just finally showed itself when he had the opportunity.

 I think that is similar to Josh Hill, but we likely will never know at this point.

 Full disclosure- I targeted Dennis Pitta in a number of leagues that year. So  guess I got burned.

 I never did acquire Hill anywhere though, even after the "offseason of belief", so that one never bit me really.

 
Michael Clayton (TB/LSU?) looked like a future star after a brilliant rookie season, than promptly proceeded to fall off a cliff.

 
BigSteelThrill said:
Cordarelle Patterson comes to mind.
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Banger said:
Trent Richardson by a mile for me
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These names help to demonstrate how we all fail at times, based on our ability to draft  (Both guys were 1st rnd rookie picks)

Its possible hype was too much for Starks (think I was riding shotgun at one point)

I cant be for certain on defense any names, but Rolando McClain comes to mind

Im sure theres been a few others, but odds are we read more than a few things to cast doubt

Its sometimes easy to forget that theres more to a job than the work

ie.  Team players probably always wins over a Diva type (unless their a real DIVA )

heck, I dunno if its a phase or not  But  Ive started paying close attention to player interviews

Im thinking Miami's Damien Williams could really shock some non FBG guys

 
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2nd vote for Kevan Barlow

Manziel and Leaf were hyped and disasters, Kapernick had had an epic fall too and all 3 of these QB's had the talent, didn't have the brains

Larry Johnson should have been an NFL legend ... instead he had what, 1 1/2 years? 

 
That Ronnie Brown season was awesome. I think Cam Cameron was coach and I thought 'Cam is going to run him up and down the field all game long' and then he did. To me though injuries are never a bust, that was one of the greatest fantasy seasons ever just cut short.

I'll thrown in David Boston. That's a guy who was great... then seemingly for no reason he wasn't. 

 
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Most painful was in 2004. I had finished runner up in the league I run several times and had a nice squad. I decided to get rid of a slow started on my team, one Muhsin Muhammad of the Panthers. He was picked up by my friend and nemesis in the league who rode him all the way to the championship while I didn't even make the playoffs...

 
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
My first ever hype train that derailed was Kevan Barlow in 2004 and oh what a spectacular crash that was.  
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This was exactly what I was thinking. The only saving grace to the whole debacle was that season my friend who lived in the Bay Area was telling me she made out with some 49er at a bar and couldn't remember his name and I asked "Was it Kevan Barlow?" and she said "That's it!" That still makes me chuckle. But yeah, otherwise, thanks for nothing, Kevan.

 
SaintsInDome2006 said:
I'll thrown in David Boston. That's a guy who was great... then seemingly for no reason he wasn't. 
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I'm pretty sure he ran out of 'roids. 

How about a shout out to the two Matt's? 

Matt "Matty Ice" Ryan, and Matt "throw it to megatron" Stafford?

both are guys who looked to be ready to take It to the next level. Both poised for huge seasons. 

And every time it was as exciting as a wet fart. 

 
what ever happened to Ben Tate ? wasn't he a guaranteed stud in the wings at one point ?

and ":yawn:"   how many times did we hear that ?

 
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
My first ever hype train that derailed was Kevan Barlow in 2004 and oh what a spectacular crash that was.  
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Was just coming to type this.  I took him 2nd overall that year oof.

My other is less painful but hurts in a different way.  He became productive later. Legarette Blount 2011 on TBB. He was supposed to be my sleeper stud in the 3rd round and he was just awful all year. I think I traded him by week 6 but the damage was done.

 
Spiller three years ago in Buffalo. I remember a quote from their OC that said they were going to get him something like 30 touches a game. I was ALL IN on him. God that turned out awful.

 
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Went through some of my oldest leagues since I have a feeling a lot of these posts will be more recent names and it'd be a fun nostalgic trip.

  • Not really a breakout or a "bust" but I took Ahman Green at 4th overall in 2004 in what was his worst 1,000+ season the year after he went for 1883 and 15 in 2003. 2004 was his last good NFL season too.
  • 2006 I took WR Chris Chambers at 25th overall a year after he went over 1,000 yards. Had just 677 yards and 4 TD on the year. The perfect "tease" WR IMO even before his 1K year.
  • 2007 I took QB Rex Grossman (1411 yards, 4 TD vs 7 INT) after a 3,000 yard 23 TD season the year before.
 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
So long that we're thinking Cook might finally be that guy. 

And both have burned me. 
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naw  I meant the actual posts   people would just respond "bump Finley"  Im pretty sure the thread didnt even have to be green bay related

It just became a thing to see Bump Finley, and usually appeared to uplift spirits..

I guess it did get some poor responses, like everything else right!

Now if youve seen Bump Cook   or  trying to start such a trend   lets NOT!

 
I remember the William green hype machine based on 4 games at the end of his rook season..... Against the 4 worst rush defenses in the league. Gonna be a stud... Yada yada yada . I kept scratching my head while waiving the train out of the station......

 
How did I leave out 2015's Alshon Jeffery? Ascention to #1 hype? Check! Marshall to the Jets, PPR gold? Check!  Hamstring injury reported in preseason as "minor"? Check! 

Hamstrings made of 50 year old crusty rubber bands? Check, check & checkmate. Week after week, we were told he was coming back. Then he finally came back and did next to nothing.   :wall:

 
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DawnBTVS said:
Not really a breakout or a "bust" but I took Ahman Green at 4th overall in 2004 in what was his worst 1,000+ season the year after he went for 1883 and 15 in 2003. 2004 was his last good NFL season too.
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I spent a 1.03 on Green that year. Not awesome. Not terrible, but not at all worthy of the 1.03 pick. 

 
Spiller in Doug Marrone's first year. Now I question all coaches that can't/not willing to bend their schemes to fit their players' skill sets. Lesson learned.

 
CD Dragon said:
I remember the William green hype machine based on 4 games at the end of his rook season..... Against the 4 worst rush defenses in the league. Gonna be a stud... Yada yada yada . I kept scratching my head while waiving the train out of the station......
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Good call - I think he want 2.03 that year and I remember thinking, "wow, that's a bargain!"

:lmao:

 
Remember the motivate Tatum Bell shtick?

Cadillac Williams (Ronnie Brown's Auburn teammate, both went top 5 in 2005) had a good rookie season, but was snake bit by injury (Ki-Jana Carter blew out his knee as a rookie in pre-season).

Mo Clarett got cut by Skeletor as a third round rookie for, among other things, drinking on the job (he had to sit out a year before the draft, with USC WR and fellow bust Mike Williams, a top 10 overall pick by DET/Millen?).  

 
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How about the Soldiah! AKA Kellen Winslow Jr? 

Lots of hype, NFL pedigree father, all-American in college, a couple of ill advised off-field comments, a broken leg, a stupid motorcycle accident and *poof* was out of the NFL. 

 "I hate to be brash", Winslow said. "But I think my 90 percent is still better than every tight end out there."

 
Ted Lange as your Bartender said:
The pre-Arian Foster Texan RBs had a whole host of busted hype trains (Steve Slaton, Domenick Davis, Wali Lundy, I'm sure there were others)
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I took Slaton in the first of a start-up after his rookie year, and turned down some nice offers for Domanick Davis -Williams too. Good calls. 

I also just remembered how hard I was on DeShaun Foster. 

 
 OH.... in case he hadn't been mentioned, there is another one that many were high on at various times in the last 2 years.

CHARLES JOHNSON.  

TZM

 
Another Barlow victim here... Lots of memories in here like Willie Green, Clayton, Boston. Some others:

-Anthony Thomas - the A-Train was rookie of the year in 2001 for the Bears, was terrible there after and eventually replaced by Thomas Jones.

-Javon Walker - Breakout WR for the Packers, then injured first game of the next year, traded to the Broncos and had an ok season. Then the sadness, was in the car with Darrent Williams when he was killed in a shooting after a nightclub fight. Walker was never the same.

-Lamont Jordan - stuck behind Curtis Martin for years, finally went to the Raiders as a FA and had a solid/great year. Then blew out his knee and never the same.

-Could probably fill a whole thread with Bronco's Running Backs: Peyton Hillis, Mike Anderson, Reuben Droughns, Selvin Young, No Show Moreno, my favorite being Quentin Griffin and his monster season opener game and nothing else.

-Ugh Percy Harvin, I traded so much for that guy in multiple leagues.

-The Joneses - Kevin & Julius - big time stretch of games in the latter part of their rookie seasons, nothing but disappointment afterwards.

So many others lost to the cobwebs that I am having trouble remembering...

 
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Quentin Griffin- ouch

Same year - more a disappointment than a bust, but I thought Chris Brown of the Titans was going to be sooooo good.  The way he just glided through holes with those long strides.  But he was super tall for a RB and ran really upright.  The injuries were only a matter of time.

 
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Buckna said:
Lamont Jordan - stuck behind Curtis Martin for years, finally went to the Raiders as a FA and had a solid/great year. Then blew out his knee and never the same.
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Oh man - I'd forgotten about Jordan.

Speaking of Raiders - my 1st PPR league. pick 1.04 - thought I'd gotten a bargain on Charlie Garner as he was expected to go 1.03. Then the knee went. Sigh

 
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