Rookie Battle Royale: Week 12

Hope you all had great thanksgivings, I know I had a great weekend of relaxing and watching football. The rookie class is shaping up to be pretty impressive, and some of them had their best games of the season. Without further adieu...

Mark Sanchez

Another shitty game for Dirty, but the Jets won, so its not all that bad in the long run. 154 and a pick will not cut it this late in the season, and his team is starting to fade out of the long run playoff picture if they continue to play at this level. Yes, they won, but they just dont look like a great team. Sanchez is looking as human as ever, and he definitely has Darrelle Revis to thank for this one being expunged from his record.

Matt Stafford

Stafford had an abysmal game and threw four picks for another loss to the Packers. Stafford has been very up and down, which is how rookie QBs usually are, and lucky enough for him, his team is too horrible for it to matter all that much. Stafford has had a better season than Sanchez to this point, but he will need pieces around him to keep it going.

Josh Freeman

Freeman almost came away with a win if not for Roddy White. Freeman had 250 and 2 TDs with no INTs, so a good game there. Freeman has turned out to be a surprise rookie success story, I guess thats what happens when you have no pressure on a 1-10 team. Id be interested to see what happens when they get CJ Spiller or something in the backfield, as Freeman could turn out better than expected.

Percy Harvin

I will say this right now. ROY is Harvin's to lose, and this game shows how versatile he can be in this league. Harvin had his first 100 yard game of the year, and even managed 45 extra yards on the ground. Considering the Bears defense is still pretty formidable, and Peterson only had 85, Harvin looks that much better. He also had a first quarter TD, so I would file this under one of the best games of his short career so far. What is it with Vikings' rookies destroying the Bears?

Kenny Britt

Britt had a great game, including the game winning TD catch against the Cardinals. He had 128 receiving yards and was definitely one of the best rookies of this week, if not the best. Britt has done his best to put together a pretty good rookie campaign on a team that hasnt done well until 5 weeks ago.

Knowshon Moreno

A good game for Moreno, including a TD and 100 total yards. I expected him to have a little bit better of a game, especially when the Broncos were up big and running late in the game. Either way, they beat a failing team with good players, and that always is a nice boost. Next week should be another good game, so we will see what he can do.

LeSean McCoy

With Westbrook out indefinitely, McCoy will need to carry this team at the RB position. He had a pretty good game including a key two point conversion, as well as 100 total yards. They gave the goal line carry to the backup, so that sucks for his stats, but overall a game that wasnt a bad one. McCoy is turning out to be a viable option for McNabb, which can only help his stock.

Darrius Heyward-Bey

He finally caught a TD, and its been 11 weeks. Nice job Al Davis. Thats the only bright spot of the year for Hey Bey, and it was the only TD of the game for the Raiders. I guess that should count for something.

Jeremy Maclin

Maclin had a respectable five catches for 63 in the Eagles win, and he looked great on a few of those catches. Maclin will be good in the future, especially working on the other side from DeSean Jackson who will draw the coverage away from him. Jackson will be out next week, so we definitely get a good look at Maclin and what he can do.

Hakeem Nicks

Nicks had an okay game with 66 yards, but really hasnt shown the flashes of brilliance we saw from him earlier in the year. The Giants havent been doing very well, anyways, so Im guessing that has to be part of it.

Mike Wallace

Wallace was shut out in a key game, that hurts for the Steelers who havent had a very good couple of weeks.

Offensive Rookie of the Year Watch

1. Percy Harvin - another great game, his to lose (LW - #1)

2. Knowshon Moreno - a good week, and a great season (LW - NR)

3. Matt Stafford - best of the QB years so far (LW - #2)

4. Mark Sanchez - early good start will help him from falling off the board (LW - #2)

5. LeSean McCoy - great year in a pressure situation (LW - #4)