Welcome back to “NFL’s Believe It or Not.” This week, I will focus on controversial comments from C.J. Spiller, Josh Huff, and Michael Preston.
C.J. Spiller
I will start with Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller, who said, “E.J. is the guy to take us to where we want to go and we understand that.” I’m going to assume that the Bills want to go to the playoffs, at least. Usually when a player makes this kind of statement, he is talking about a championship, but even the playoffs might be difficult for the Bills this year. Manuel wasn’t exactly impressive last season, throwing 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions, with a quarterback rating of 42.3. That quarterback rating was ranked 28th in the NFL last season, behind bottom tier quarterbacks like Matt McGloin and Christian Ponder. Manuel will have to be much better than last season to lead this Bills team to the playoffs. While he definitely has much more talent around him this season, I’m still not buying it. I can’t see E.J. Manuel leading his team past Tom Brady and an improved Patriots team.
Josh Huff
Next up, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Josh Huff praised Green Bay Packers tight end Colt Lyerla, saying, “There are tight ends in the league now I know he’s better than — an All-Pro tight end like Jimmy Graham. That’s saying a lot. Guys like Tony Gonzalez, who’s no longer in the league. Those athletic guys. Rob Gronkowski. I feel like he can be better than those guys.” The offseason is definitely a time where outrageous claims and comparisons are made. Colt Lyerla and Josh Huff were teammates at the University of Oregon last season, until Lyerla left for “personal reasons.” Lyerla was arrested for unlawful possession of cocaine shortly after. He is a talented player, but his off-field problems interfered with his life and he went undrafted this year. The Packers gave him an opportunity though, signing him as an undrafted free agent. Now that this mini-narrative is out of the way, let’s focus on Josh Huff’s comments. Huff is claiming that an undrafted free agent is better than one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history (Tony Gonzalez) and arguably the two best tight ends currently playing in the NFL (Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski). Why don’t we let Lyerla play a game first before we make ridiculous comparisons? There was a reason Lyerla went undrafted, and unfortunately that reason will be very difficult to overcome. Hopefully Colt Lyerla can straighten out his life, but until then, he probably isn’t as good as Tony Gonzalez.
Michael Preston
Finally, Tennessee Titans wide receiver Michael Preston added to this list of ridiculous claims, saying, “I know how great a player Randy Moss was, and in my mind, there’s no reason Justin can’t be the next greatest player.” Most likely, Randy Moss is on your list of top five wide receivers of all-time. Justin Hunter probably won’t be the sixth-best, but that’s just a guess. Justin Hunter has the chance to have a breakout season under new head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s pass-happy offense, but he has a long way to go before he can even be called a “great” wide receiver, let alone one of the best of all-time. Just like the aforementioned Colt Lyerla claim, I’m going to let Justin Hunter’s career unfold before I discuss his legacy. Michael Preston should probably do the same so that he doesn’t say anything else as ignorant as this.
Make sure to leave your own comments below and come back next Thursday for another edition of “NFL’s Believe It or Not.”
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