Stock Up, Stock Down - NFL Edition

Stock Up

Santonio Holmes - After he made the game winning catch in the Super Bowl, Holmes received loads of deserved praise. But coming into this season, it was still a question if Holmes could be a go-to receiver that Ben Roethlisberger has been missing over the last few seasons. Santonio has done everything to quiet the critics, as he’s started the season off with 14 receptions and 244 yards. He’ll never be the biggest (5′11″) or fastest guy on the field but Holmes never quits on his routes, something that is extremely important when Roethlisberger does his trademark scrambling to create time.

Darrelle Revis - The third-year player from Pittsburgh is officially a ‘playa’. Most cornerbacks would be happy if they weren’t cut after facing Andre Johnson and Randy Moss on back to back weeks, but Revis not only has a job but he made himself a lot of money while doing it. Check out the star wide receivers’ stats against the Jets corner: 8 catches, 59 yards and 0 TDs. That isn’t one of their games either, that’s combined. When you have a lockdown corner like Revis roaming around in the secondary, a lot more sacks will come and a lot more intermediate passes are going to be broken up. Darrelle Revis is a bad man.

Mike Bell - In 2006, Bell had a very productive season with the Broncos when he rushed for 677 yard and 8 TDs. He was cut in July 2007 after being asked to move to fullback with Denver. He dropped the added weight and caught on with the Saints. Now, he’s another weapon on a Saints team that scares the hell out of every defensive coordinator in the NFL. The passing game gets all the headlines but the Saints have given the ball to Bell 45 times in the first two games. He’s made the most out of his chances with 229 yards and a TD. He allows Reggie Bush to play decoy all game while he gets the tough yards inside. Just what the Saints needed, another offensive weapon.

Stock Down

Aaron Rodgers - There was a lot of talk about Rodgers being the best quarterback in the NFC in the preseason. We never understood why. He took over a team that was supposed to contend for a Super Bowl and led them to a 6-10 record. We know injuries are a big part of the reason why the Packers struggled last season but Rodgers has never proven to be worthy of such a title. In two games against the Bear and Bengals, Rodgers is only completing 56% of his passes. The Packers needed a defensive lapse by the Bears to pull out their first victory and were outlasted by the Bengals to fall to 1-1.

Steve Slaton - He had over 1,600 total yards last season and was expected to become one of the most dynamic running backs in football this season. Instead, he combined for 111 total yards and has been stifled on the ground during each of his first two games. Even as the Texans racked up the yards and points against Tennessee last weekend, Slaton only rushed for 34 yards on 17 carries. He’s averaging a measly 2 yards per rush through the first two games of the season.

JaMarcus Russell - Your stock usually has to be up before it can come down but not in Russell’s case. He came into the season as a bottom of the barrel NFL starter and has pretty much cemented his place there in the first two weeks. He’s still young but the tendencies that we’ve seen from other unsuccessful NFL quarterbacks are the same ones Russell displays on a consistent basis. He doesn’t go through his progressions, forces balls and relies too much on his arm to bail him out of trouble. It’s hard to picture him ever leading a team to a winning record with his work ethic and skill set. He’s completed 35% of his passes this year and has a QB rating of 46.6.