The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/998636
THE WOLVERINE 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 163 Funchess also had the best statistical season of his career in 2017, set- ting career highs — by a wide margin — in catches (63), yards (840) and touchdowns (eight). The 6-4, 225-pounder also emerged as Carolina's top receiving threat, leading the team in yards, scoring catches and first downs gained. Perhaps what was most impressive, though, was his consistency. He only went over the 100-yard mark in a single contest last year, but hauled in at least 41 yards in 11 of the team's 16 regular-season affairs, and caught at least three passes in 12 of them. Pro Football Focus noted he had just three drops on the year, which ranked sixth among wideouts with 80 or more targets. But the outlet was even more im- pressed with Funchess' "contested catch" ability, which ranked 10th in the league. "The Panthers had trended toward 'contested catch' type receivers under for- mer GM David Gettleman, and Funchess certainly qualifies as such," the website noted. "He hauled in 14 of his 31 such targets in the most productive season of his career. Maybe more importantly, Funchess didn't drop a single contested pass last year — his first two years in the league were plagued with drops, as he whiffed on 14 of his 73 catchable targets over that span (19.2 percent)." 5. FRANK CLARK, DE, Seattle Seahawks After tallying a career-high 10 sacks in 2016, Clark nearly duplicated that per- formance this past season by racking up nine, good for 12th in the NFC. He also forced two fumbles and made one fumble recovery throughout the year, resulting in an 81.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. Kenneth Arthur of FieldGulls.com took a closer look after the season at just how impressive Clark has been the last two years. "Since the start of 2016, there are 16 NFL players who have at least 19 sacks," Arthur explained. "At the end of that list is a three-way tie between players who all play different positions: [Los Angeles Rams] defensive tackle Aaron Donald, [Baltimore Ravens] linebacker Terrell Suggs, and defensive end Frank Clark. In fact, that's not the only elite company that Clark is near or ahead of the last two years. "Despite limited playing time, especially in 2016 when he was still behind [team- mate] Cliff Avril, Clark has more sacks in the last two seasons than [Los Angeles Chargers] Melvin Ingram, [Cincinnati Bengals] Geno Atkins, [Carolina Panthers] Julius Peppers, [Cincinnati Bengals] Carlos Dunlap, [Houston Texans] Jadeveon Clowney, [New York Giants] Olivier Vernon, and even teammate Michael Bennett." Pro Football Focus awarded Tom Brady a 94.7 grade for the regular season. It was the league's top mark for an offensive player, despite Brady being 40 years old. He continued to excel in the postseason, helping his team to its eighth Super Bowl with him under center. PHOTO BY DAVID SILVERMAN/NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS Top Five NFL Seasons In 2017 1. TOM BRADY, QB, New England Patriots Even at age 40, Brady had one of the best seasons of his career in 2017. The ageless wonder was at or near the top of the NFL in most passing categories, leading in yards (4,577) and yards per game (286.1), while checking in with the second-best touchdown-to-interception ratio (4-to-1), placing third in touchdown throws (32) and finishing fifth in completion percentage (66.3). He helped lead the Patriots to a 13-3 regular-season and their eighth Super Bowl appearance with him at the helm. Although New England's season ended with a 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, Brady still managed to throw for 505 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions on the game's biggest stage. His postseason accolades included league MVP honors for the third time, a 13th Pro Bowl selection and first-team All-Pro recognition for the third time. Pro Football Focus tabbed him as the second-best player of the 2017 campaign, behind Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald. "Brady this season was the game's best quarterback by some distance, and did so at the age of 40," the website noted. "He led the league in passer rating under pressure at 95.8, even including the playoffs, more than 10 points higher than any other passer. In fact, Brady was around 10 points better than the league average in passer rating on all throws. He also led all quarterbacks with a 96.6 passer rating when under pressure in the regular season, more than 12.0 points higher than the next highest quarterback." 2. TAYLOR LEWAN, LT, Tennessee Titans Lewan is quickly climbing the charts of the best offensive tackles in the NFL, and that was evi- denced by his postseason hardware. The veteran lineman started all 16 games at left tackle for the Titans and earned a second consecutive berth in the Pro Bowl. NFL Network tabbed him No. 78 on its countdown of the top 100 players heading into the 2018 season, and with impending free agency lurking, he could be on the verge of a major payday. "Lewan should be the Titans' next extension, because it seems more likely that a big extension for quarterback Marcus Mariota would happen during the 2019 offseason," ESPN's Cameron Wolfe wrote. "Titans general manager Jon Robinson has told Lewan they want to get a long-term deal done with him." 3. BRANDON GRAHAM, DE, Philadelphia Eagles Graham will be best remembered for his game-winning sack and strip of Brady in the waning moments of the Eagles' Super Bowl victory, but it's important to note how dominant the defensive lineman was throughout the regular-season as well. The eight-year veteran had his best statistical campaign in 2017, setting a career high in sacks (9.5) while also forcing two fumbles. Pro Football Focus certainly took notice of Graham's outstanding season, tabbing him as the league's 27th-best player in 2017. "For the first time in his NFL career, Brandon Graham got enough sacks over the season to get some of the credit he has deserved for years, and ironically enough, he was even better the previous year when his play went largely unnoticed because he didn't have those sacks," the website noted. "In addition, Graham's run-stop percentage of 13.7 led all edge defenders during the regular-season." 4. DEVIN FUNCHESS, WR, Carolina Panthers