Biggest Surprise This Year

the linebackers......then chung and browner being decent

Best Surprise: Chung, Collins & Hightower elevating their games.
Worst Surprise: How absolutely pathetic they played vs KC.

I am surprised that the seemingly thin LB corps at the start of the year has become a deep area of strength after Mayo went down. The versatility in the front 7 is unlike anything I have ever seen.

Patriot Missile said:

That Dave DeGuglielmo was able to piece that mess together we saw the first 4 weeks. It isn't perfect, it stands on stilts and leaks at times, but it's holding. Dante is a tough act to follow.

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Lets see if they can end the annual o line let down in the playoffs. Dave will already be a legend in my book if he can keep them rolling in the playoffs. My pick is Chung followed by LaFell. Wide outs here rarely ever recover from a really bad start. He's a huge bargain at 3ysrs 9mill.

Nothing should surprise us from the GOAT at this point of his career, but his improved mobility to extend plays has surprised me.

Lafell has been a pleasant surprise as well I was expecting a OK year not a good one.

And of course the Gronk and how he looks better than ever which surprises me as well

Boomer B said:

What's the biggest surprise for you about this year's team?

There a few pleasant surprises that stand out for me:

- Bryan Stork solidifying the line
- Brandon Lafell emerging as an outside WR
- Jamie Collins continuing to improve and be an impact player

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Jamie Collins didn't really surprise me, I expected him to break out.

Joey007 said:

Jamie Collins didn't really surprise me, I expected him to break out.

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Did you expect him to break out in such a variety of roles? His pass rushing is filthy no matter where it rushes from. He's excellent in coverage, and frequently levels crossers if they stay within 5 yards of the LOS. He's still got some work to do taking on blockers, but his hand fighting is good, he is a solid tackler and can really move through trash. He can also jump over 41 inches into the air and is great at blocking kicks.

Galeb said:

Did you expect him to break out in such a variety of roles?

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I said before the season that I expected him to start to become a Lavonte David type of player this year. While maybe he's filling even more roles than I expected I have to say production-wise I saw this one coming.

slam said:

The Jets finding yet another level of ineptitude.

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That couldn't possibly be a surprise

ArchAngel007 said:

Nothing should surprise us from the GOAT at this point of his career, but his improved mobility to extend plays has surprised me.

Lafell has been a pleasant surprise as well I was expecting a OK year not a good one.

And of course the Gronk and how he looks better than ever which surprises me as well

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That's a great point about Brady. I think his movement in the pocket and his runs for first downs are a big improvement this year over the last few. For him to improve on that at 37 is remarkable.

Dragda said:

Chung being valuable followed by Blount being back on the roster.

Unpleasant surprises are that White is a complete non-factor and for some reason Dennard is not good this year.

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Great post. To answer it, I'm positioning it this way: Back in late August, if you were to have to bet your life savings on one of these events not happening, which would it be? I'd rank in this order:

5. LaFell becomes a viable WR (it's been done before, not too surprising)
4. Stork excels at center (rookie lineman have done this before and are well-coached in NE)
3. Collins makes second-year leap (not uncommon, but sadly on D we see more regression in year 2)
2. Chung excels as starting safety (I think most assumed camp fodder and depth at best before he started his second career)
1. Blount is the starting RB in December (just from a probability standpoint, this seems by far the most unlikely as he signed a multi-year contract with a rival, so it just has to be the most surprising occurrence of the season for me; I mean there is no way you'd pick this before any other event simply because so much else would have to fall into place)

ausbacker said:

The loss to Kansas City. It's been some time since a Bill Belichick coached team looked inept.

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That night was shocking.

To a kid like me who grew up in the 70's, it was like OJ in the Ford Bronco.

I guess just that BB has had the Midas touch this year, everything he's done has worked. Revis has performed mostly as expected or better. Lafell, and Browner are somewhat predictable. Chung, Casillas, Ayers, Wright, Blount, Gray, Stork, and I'm probably missing someone else have come out of nowhere. These guys have become a big part of the team.

Trading mankins. I know, we did it before with vrabel and seymour and Malloy and etc..... But still a wtf moment.

Turned out well though.

Bobsyouruncle said:

I guess just that BB has had the Midas touch this year, everything he's done has worked. Revis has performed mostly as expected or better. Lafell, and Browner are somewhat predictable. Chung, Casillas, Ayers, Wright, Blount, Gray, Stork, and I'm probably missing someone else have come out of nowhere. These guys have become a big part of the team.

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Not everything.

Jordan Devey says hello.

shmessy said:

Not everything.

Jordan Devey says hello.

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Geez, talk about picking nits. Their UDFA lineman hasn't become great halfway into his first year on the roster.

La Fell. He did not look this dynamic on videos. Chungs improved coveraged surprised me, not much else. He was never as bad as people made him out to be. He had a blown shoulder that healed IMO.

Many posters have listed Blount as a "surprise". Blount has not shown me any thing yet this season. He is a good addition to the RB rotation, no doubt. In the playoffs last year, Blount had good success, but did he not get shut down against Denver last year, when it mattered the most?

The greatest surprise to me this season has been the manner in which this defense has gelled to become the best and meanest we have had since 2004. Defense wins championships and it looks as though this defense has that feel to it.

Technically, it has to be the player acquisitions (each individual seemed very unlikely until he was here), followed by the Mankins trade.

In the spirit the question was asked, the recurring answers of Chung, LaFell and the KC game are all good.

Beyond that I'd say no one player, but rather the general excellence of the DL/LB group as the season progressed, especially given the level of injuries.

Injury risk aside, the only units on the team anybody should worry about are the OL and maybe the RBs. (The receivers, including the TEs, are plenty good enough if we assume that a healthy Brady has time.)

Lafell is turning out to be that receiver we are lacking for so many years, and he was only an ok receiver in Carolina.