Young Guns with star potential

[GatorAZ]

Both guys surpassed expectations their rookie seasons. Now going into their second and third year, what are your early expectations for Tyrann Mathieu and John Brown?

With JB it's tough to know his role until some personnel issues are complete but Mathieu's responsibility on this defense will be huge. After overcoming drug issues and returning from reconstructive knee surgery in 11 months it's clear how mentally tough he is. He will be 100% and with two seasons behind him he is still just 22 years old. Think about that.

 

[bg7brd]

2 guys I'm expecting big improvements from are Niklas and Cooper. If we get that, it will be a step forward for the offense.

 

[Hollywood]

I think Mathieu is a star in the making. He had a slow start to the season because of the injury but had already bounced back before hurting jis arm. The defense is noticeably better with him on the field, imo.

I'm going to take it as gospel what Adrian Wilson said about John Brown in that interview. And that is that he just wore down as the season when on. Hopefully with a season of experience under his belt he will come back stronger next year.

 

[az jam]

I'm going to take it as gospel what Adrian Wilson said about John Brown in that interview. And that is that he just wore down as the season when on. Hopefully with a season of experience under his belt he will come back stronger next year.

He hit the so called rookie wall. Additionally, having a quality qb like Palmer or even Stanton made a huge difference as both hit him on the long bombs.

 

[NJCardFan]

I agree that Mathieu is a star in the making. If he can get healthy, he and Bucannon are going to be monsters out there. The key is getting linebackers who can take the pressure off of them. If we can get a good edge rusher and good linebackers, this defense will rival Seattle. As for John Brown, considering the kid was a 3rd round pick I'd say he surpassed any expectations. I think he can be the deep threat we've needed when we drafted Bryant Johnson. If we can keep Fitz and Floyd can learn to gain separation, our receiving corp can be down right scary especially including Jaron brown in the mix.

I also agree that the 2 offensive players who need to step up are Cooper and Niklas. I'm probably the biggest Cooper supporter here and would like see the kid get his head out of his ass because he has the tools to be a good guard. He showed flashes in his run blocking but in pass blocking he looked confused at times. Ironically, he would have been the guy who could have made Grimm's career as a coach.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Ed Stinson, and Alex Okafor

Those guys are going to be key going forward.

 

[Cardiac]

Ed Stinson, and Alex Okafor

Those guys are going to be key going forward.

Agree and I would add Kareem Martin to the list. Martin was inactive a lot at the end of the season IIRC which is a concern but he wouldn't be the first rookie DLineman to need time to develop.

 

[slanidrac16]

I really believe players need to get into games to get up to game speed. Okafor is a prime example. Until a young player gets a couple of games under his belt facing enemy fire, said player is thinking more than reacting.

Stinson is going to be a stud. Our d-line is very strong and deep, but we are severely weak at LB. We need fast LB's that can go from sideline to sideline to take advantage of this d-line. That's why the loss of Washington and Dansby hurt so much. They not only had the speed to cover from sideline to sideline but their ability to blitz up the middle was invaluable. Not only that 2 good inside LB's would free up Buchanon. Foote did a great job and Minter is just not fast enough and in my mind is a situational LB at best.

If Cooper can step up it alleviates the need at o-line a bit.

Mathieu will be healthy and a much bigger factor in 2015.Brown will come back stronger and a year wiser.

 

[BullheadCardFan]

Foote did a great job and Minter is just not fast enough and in my mind is a situational LB at best.

I'm very disappointed in Minter. Looks way too slow to play in the NFL

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

MINTER is a joke.

 

[Jetstream Green]

Ed Stinson, and Alex Okafor

Those guys are going to be key going forward.

This

 

[GatorAZ]

Kareem Martin is also 22. For the record I think John Brown's ceiling is a great #2 but so is Randall Cobb and I'd consider him a borderline star.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Kareem Martin is also 22. For the record I think John Brown's ceiling is a great #2 but so is Randall Cobb and I'd consider him a borderline star.

Kareem Martin is tall, lanky and young.

Calias Campbell started that way, and then got gradually bigger, better, and learned proper technique for playing at his height.

One can only hope Martin follows that path.