2014 PLAY FOOTBALL VIGNETTES LESEAN MCCOY THE 2013 RUSHING CHAMP, LESEAN MCCOY ALSO LED THE NFL WITH OVER 2100 ALL-PURPOSE YARDS. WITH THE BALL IN HIS HANDS, MCCOY CAN CHANGE THE GAME IN A BLINK OF AN EYE. STANDING 5 FEET 10 INCHES, “SHADY” IS ONE OF THE TOP 10 ALL-PURPOSE PLAYERS IN TODAY’S GAME. IN 2014, LOOK FOR LESEAN MCCOY TO LEAD THE EAGLES BACK TO A DIVISIONAL TITLE. CORDARRELLE PATTERSON BURSTING ONTO THE SCENE IN 2013, ROOKIE CORDARRELLE PATTERSON PLAYED LIKE A SEASONED VETERAN. LINING UP AS RECEIVER, RUNNING BACK AND KICK RETURNER, PATTERSON HELPED THE VIKINGS IN ALL FACETS OF THE GAME. HE RECORDED 9 TOTAL TOUCHDOWNS INCLUDING 3 OUT OF THE BACKFIELD AS A RUNNING BACK. THE SKY IS THE LIMIT FOR THE VIKINGS PLAYMAKER IN 2014. JAMAAL CHARLES JAMAAL CHARLES HAD A BREAKOUT YEAR IN 2013 COMPILING OVER 1900 TOTAL YARDS FOR THE SECOND TIME IN HIS CAREER. ONE OF THE ELITE RUNNING BACKS IN THE NFL, CHARLES RECORDED CAREER HIGHS IN RECEPTIONS, RECEIVING YARDS, AND RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS. Page 1 of 11 AN ELUSIVE RUNNER IN THE OPEN FIELD, JAMAAL IS A PLAY AWAY FROM CHANGING THE GAME WHENEVER HE TOUCHES THE BALL. 2014 SHOULD BE ANOTHER BIG SEASON FOR JAMAAL CHARLES AND THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS. MATT FORTE THE STAPLE OF THE CHICAGO BEARS BACKFIELD, MATT FORTE WAS A FORCE IN 2013 RECORDING OVER 1,300 YARDS ON THE GROUND AND RACKING UP OVER 500 YARDS THROUGH THE AIR. STANDING 6 FEET 1 I, #22 IS A THREAT TO TAKE IT THE DISTANCE ANY TIME HE TOUCHES THE BALL. FORTE HAD A CAREER HIGH AND TEAM LEADING 12 TOUCHDOWNS IN 2013. HEADING INTO HIS 7TH SEASON WITH THE BEARS #22 SHOULD HAVE ANOTHER BIG SEASON WHILE TRYING TO LEAD THE BEARS BACK TO THE PLAYOFFS. ANTONIO BROWN A 5 FOOT 10 SPEEDSTER, PITTSBURGH’S ANTONIO BROWN IS A WEAPON WHEREVER HE LINES UP ON THE FIELD. THE STEELERS NUMBER #1 RECEIVER, BROWN RECORDED A CAREER HIGH 1,499 RECEIVING YARDS AND WAS THE THIRD LEADING PUNT RETURNER IN THE NFL IN 2013. ONE OF THE FASTEST PLAYERS IN THE NFL, #84 TOOK IT THE DISTANCE A CAREER HIGH 9 TIMES LAST SEASON. IN 2014 LOOK FOR ANTONIO BROWN TO HAVE ANOTHER BIG SEASON FOR THE BLACK AND GOLD. Page 2 of 11 DEVIN HESTER ONE OF THE MOST ELECTRIFYING PLAYERS IN THE NFL, DEVIN HESTER CONTINUED HIS SUCCESS IN 2013. #23 HAD OVER 1200 ALL-PURPOSE YARDS FOR THE FOURTH STRAIGHT SEASON INCLUDING A CAREER HIGH AND NFL LEADING 1,436 YARDS ON KICK RETURNS. HESTER WILL LOOK TO ADD A SPARK TO HIS NEW TEAM, THE ATLANTA FALCONS. 2014 WILL BE A NEW BEGINNING FOR DEVIN HESTER AS HE LOOKS TO HELP THE FALCONS REACH THE PLAYOFFS AFTER MISSING THEM IN 2013. KNOWSHON MORENO 2013 WAS A SEASON TO REMEMBER FOR KNOWSHON MORENO AS THE DENVER BRONCOS REACHED SUPER BOWL 48. MORENO POSTED CAREER HIGHS IN RUSHING AND RECEIVING YARDS WHILE POSTING HIS FIRST CAREER 1,000 YARD SEASON. ONE WIN SHORT OF BEING A SUPER BOWL CHAMPION, MORENO IS TAKING HIS TALENTS TO SOUTH BEACH IN 2014. WITH A NEW BEGINNING, MORENO WILL LOOK TO CONTINUE HIS SUCCESS FROM A YEAR AGO AND HELP THE MIAMI DOLPHINS REACH THE PLAYOFFS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2008. JACOBY JONES LAST YEAR BALTIMORE’S JACOBY JONES PUT TOGETHER A SOLID SEASON FOLLOWING HIS SUPER BOWL WINNING SEASON IN 2012. Page 3 of 11 A RETURN SPECIALIST, JONES HAS ACCUMULATED OVER 2,500 RETURN YARDS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, WITH 4 TOUCHDOWNS, THE MOST DURING THAT TIME SPAN. HEADING INTO HIS 3RD SEASON WITH THE RAVENS, JONES WILL LOOK TO ADD ANOTHER SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP, HIS 2ND IN 3 YEARS WITH THE RAVENS . MARSHAWN LYNCH ONE OF THE ELITE RUNNING BACKS IN THE NFL, MARSHAWN LYNCH LED THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS TO A SUPER BOWL WIN IN 2013. BEAST MODE RUSHED FOR A TEAM LEADING 1,257 YARDS AND 14 TOUCHDOWNS. IN A 3 YEAR SPAN LYNCH HAS COMPILED OVER 4,000 YARDS ON THE GROUND, GOOD FOR SECOND IN THE NFL BEHIND ADRIAN PETERSON. HEADING INTO THE 2014 SEASON, MARSHAWN LYNCH AND THE SEAHAWKS HAVE A TARGET ON THEIR BACKS AS THEY LOOK TO REPEAT AS SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS. GOLDEN TATE THE LEADING RECEIVER ON THE SUPER BOWL CHAMPION SEATTLE SEAHAWKS, GOLDEN TATE HAD ONE OF THE BEST SEASONS OF HIS CAREER IN 2013. THE ELUSIVE AND ALWAYS ENTERTAINING TATE POSED A THREAT WHEREVER HE LINED UP ON THE FIELD. WITH OVER 1,500 ALL-PURPOSE YARDS LAST SEASON, TATE RECORDED CAREER HIGHS IN EVERY MAJOR STATISTICAL CATEGORY. Page 4 of 11 NOW A DETROIT LION, TATE HOPES TO BRING THE MOTOR CITY ITS FIRST NFL CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE SUPER BOWL ERA. ALSHON JEFFERY / BRANDON MARSHALL THE CHICAGO BEARS DYNAMIC DUO OF BRANDON MARSHALL AND ALSHON JEFFERY IS SECOND TO NONE IN THE NFL. LOOK FOR MARSHALL AND JEFFERY TO HAVE ANOTHER BIG SEASON IN 2014. SAINTS DEFENSE – ROB RYAN IN 2013 THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS DEFENSE HAD A DRASTIC TURNAROUND. THEY WENT FROM SECOND TO LAST IN THE NFL IN PASS DEFENSE TO SECOND IN ONE SEASON. THE ARCHITECT OF THIS NEW DEFENSE IS COORDINATOR ROB RYAN. RYAN HAS BROUGHT HIS FIERY ATTITUDE AND BRAVADO TO THE BIG EASY, MAKING NOTHING “EASY”. IN 2014 EXPECT THE SAINTS TO ONCE AGAIN IMPROVE AS THEY SETTLE IN WITH THEIR NEW COORDINATOR. SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS DEFENSE THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS DEFENSE IS PHYSICAL. THEY ARE LED BY PERENNIAL ALL PRO INSIDE LINEBACKER PATRICK WILLIS. BUT THERE IS TALENT ACROSS THE BOARD. THEIR EXCELLENT BALANCE OF RUN STOPPERS AND PASS RUSHERS MAKES LIFE EASIER ON THE BACK END IN PASS COVERAGE. Page 5 of 11 ONCE AGAIN THE NINERS SHOULD BE RANKED NEAR THE TOP IN 2014. KEENAN ALLEN/PHILLIP RIVERS PHILLIP RIVERS HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY PRODUCTIVE OVER HIS CAREER. IN 2013 HE FOUND A NEW FAVORITE TARGET IN SECOND YEAR WIDE RECEIVER KEENAN ALLEN. ALLEN HAS THE ABILITY TO CONSISTENTLY GET OPEN AND MAKE TOUGH CATCHES. THE NEW DYNAMIC DUO OF RIVERS AND ALLEN HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DO MAJOR DAMAGE IN THE AFC WEST IN 2014. ANDREW LUCK ENTERING HIS THIRD SEASON, ANDREW LUCK HAS TAKEN THE INDIANAPOLIS COLTS TO THE PLAYOFFS EVERY YEAR, SINCE HIS ARRIVAL IN THE NFL. HIS STRONG ARM AND FOOTBALL I.Q. HAS PROPELLED HIM INTO THE UPPER ECHELON OF QUARTERBACKS. LUCK’S STATISTICS HAVE IMPROVED EVERY SEASON AND SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN. RODDY WHITE/JULIO JONES ARGUABLY THE BEST WIDE RECEIVER TANDEM IN THE NFL, RODDY WHITE AND JULIO JONES ARE A SECONDARY’S WORST NIGHTMARE. BOTH ARE TALL AND STRONG, WITH GOOD HANDS AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO CATCH THE BALL IN SMALL WINDOWS. ATLANTA’S DYNAMIC DUO CONSISTENTLY GETS OPEN. Page 6 of 11 WHICH HAS TO MAKE QUARTERBACK MATT RYAN HAPPY. JJ WATT FULL OF ENERGY AND INTENSITY, HOUSTON’S JJ WATT IS A NIGHTMARE FOR OPPOSING QUARTERBACKS. HIS COMBINATION OF SPEED AND STRENGTH ARE SECOND TO NONE IN THE NFL. ENTERING HIS FOURTH SEASON, WATT HAS 36 AND A HALF SACKS AND 74 TACKLES FOR LOSS, AND IS THE ANCHOR OF THE TEXANS DEFENSE. NY JETS DEFENSE LED BY REX RYAN, THE JETS DEFENSE IS SURE TO PRESSURE QUARTERBACKS AND PLAY PHYSICAL FOOTBALL. RYAN’S DEFENSE THRIVES ON FORCING QUARTERBACKS INTO MAKING WRONG DECISIONS. WITH THE CORE INTERIOR RETURNING THIS SEASON, EXPECT ANOTHER STRONG SHOWING IN 2014 ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL FOR THE NEW YORK JETS. CARDINALS SECONDARY - PETERSON/ MATHIEU PRO BOWL CORNERBACK PATRICK PETERSON AND SECOND YEAR DEFENSIVE BACK TYRANN MATHIEU ARE EXPECTED TO LEAD THE BACK END OF THE ARIZONA CARDINALS DEFENSE. ENTERING HIS FOURTH SEASON, PETERSON HAS 12 INTERCEPTIONS AND 42 PASS DEFLECTIONS. Page 7 of 11 THE OFFSEASON ADDITIONS OF PRO BOWL CORNERBACK ANTONIO CROMARTIE AND FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK, SAFETY DEONE BUCANNON, THIS SECONDARY WILL BE FUN TO WATCH IN 2014. CHIEFS DEFENSE / DERRICK JOHNSON LED BY ALL PRO LINEBACKER DERRICK JOHNSON, THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS HAD ONE OF THE BEST DEFENSES IN THE NFL LAST SEASON. JOHNSON IS KNOWN FOR HIS SPEED AND ABILITY TO FIND THE BALL. HE IS AN EXCEPTIONAL PASS DEFENDER AND A BIG HITTER AT THE POINT OF ATTACK. AS JOHNSON CONTINUES TO IMPROVE EVERY SEASON, THE CHIEFS DEFENSE SHOULD ONCE AGAIN BE FORMIDABLE IN 2014. EARL THOMAS: FOR SEATTLE SAFETY EARL THOMAS, THE 2013 N-F-L SEASON IS ONE HE IS NOT LIKELY TO FORGET. TOGETHER, HE AND THE LEGION OF BOOM FORMED THE MOST IMPOSING SECONDARY IN THE N-F-L. THOMAS AND THE LEAGUE’S NUMBER ONE DEFENSE BUCKED THE BRONCOS EN ROUTE TO THE FIRST SUPER BOWL WIN IN FRANCHISE HISTORY, EARNING THOMAS A CONTRACT EXTENSION THAT MAKES HIM THE HIGHEST PAID SAFETY IN THE N-F-L. CAM NEWTON: 2011 OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, CAM NEWTON WAS HOPING HIS UNSATISFYING SECOND ACT WAS JUST A SOPHOMORE SLUMP, AND THAT APPEARED TO BE TRUE. NEWTON REBOUNDED IN 2013, PASSING FOR MORE THAN 33-HUNDRED YARDS AND 24 TOUCHDOWNS. THE FORMER NUMBER ONE OVERALL PICK BLOSSOMED INTO THE LEADER OF THE PANTHERS, CARRYING Page 8 of 11 THE TEAM TO A TWELVE AND FOUR RECORD AND THE TEAM’S FIRST PLAYOFF BERTH SINCE 2008. PHILIP RIVERS: PHILIP RIVERS BEGAN 2013 ON A MISSION TO WIPE AWAY THE MEMORY OF A DISAPPOINTING 2012 SEASON. THE FIVE-TIME PRO-BOWLER DID JUST THAT, FINISHING FOURTH IN PASSING TOUCHDOWNS AND FIRST IN COMPLETION PERCENTAGE. THE TEN YEAR VET SURPASSED 30-THOUSAND CAREER PASSING YARDS AND WAS NAMED THE N-F-L COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR AFTER PROPELLING HIS TEAM INTO THE PLAYOFFS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2009.