Players Who Will Feel the Heat in 2009

Mike Florio - SportingNews.com

As camps begin to open, there's no shortage of articles focusing on specific issues facing NFL teams.

Let's take a look at specific players and the real pressure they're facing in 2009.

Pressure to perform. Pressure to validate their salaries. Pressure to stay in the cities where their careers unfolded. Pressure to craft their legacies.

Here are 10 of them (in no particular order):

1. Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson

Earlier this year, it appeared L.T. was going to get the Shaun Alexander treatment in San Diego. Somehow, the Chargers and the 2006 league MVP worked out a compromise that keeps him around at likely more money than he'd make anywhere else.

But it's by no means an arrangement that will allow Tomlinson to retire in San Diego. To force another year of big money from the Chargers, he must have another big season -- and to find a way to stay healthy come January.

L.T. says turning 30 won't diminish his skills. If he's right, he'll be the exception to the rule.

If he's wrong, '09 likely will be his last season in San Diego, and possibly his last in the NFL.

2. Cowboys QB Tony Romo

The Cowboys have admitted they cut receiver Terrell Owens to clear out the primary impediment to Romo's genuine leadership.

If Romo were a genuine leader, he would have found a way to get Owens under control.

Romo, who was undrafted and who has achieved more than he or anyone else ever dreamed possible, seems content with his level of success.

He'd better find a way to raise his threshold for contentment in '09. With Owens gone, so are the excuses. Romo must take the team to the playoffs and must win at least one game when he gets there.

Otherwise, Romo could be done in Dallas. Sure, owner Jerry Jones will say he fully intends to keep Romo, no matter how bad it gets.

After all, that's what Jones said about T.O.

3. Bills QB Trent Edwards

In two short years, Edwards has displaced a first-round pick and has claimed the starting job in Buffalo. But toppling J.P. Losman was easy compared to what's coming.

You see, there's a new sheriff in Buffalo. And his name isn't Reggie Hammond.

It's Terrell Owens.

The fans adore T.O. In their eyes, the fact he has rescued the franchise from a decade of irrelevance excuses in advance any problems he might cause. Owens has plenty of influence over the fan base, which means Edwards had better keep T.O. happy.

4. Rams QB Marc Bulger

The veteran St. Louis quarterback hasn't done much the past two seasons to earn the huge contract he signed nearly two years ago.

With a general manager and a head coach who have both arrived since the money was paid to Bulger, he knows the time to make a difference is now.

With Michael Vick soon available, Bulger's window of opportunity might have shrunk from a year to a month. If the Rams sign Vick, Bulger would have to do enough during Vick's season-opening suspension to justify keeping Vick on the bench once he's cleared to play.

With or without Vick, if Bulger doesn't turn things around quickly he could find himself benched in favor of career underachiever Kyle Boller.

5. Bears QB Jay Cutler

Well, he got what he wanted: He forced a trade out of Denver, and he'll likely get a big, fat contract before too long.

Now, he has to deliver.

Cutler will have to overcome the reality that Chicago's receivers aren't as good as they were in Denver. Then again, maybe the quarterback had a lot to do with the quality of the wideouts? Either way, we'll find out soon the answer to this chicken-and-egg riddle.

For Cutler's sake, he'd better hope that great quarterbacks dramatically improve the output of otherwise mediocre pass catchers.

6. Eagles QB Donovan McNabb

As of now, a positive vibe exists between the Eagles, McNabb and the never-bashful fan base.

McNabb got the raise he wanted, and the team devoted plenty of time and money in the offseason to upgrading the offense.

But the atmosphere will change quickly if the Eagles fall behind the NFC playoff field come November. It's what happened last November, culminating in McNabb's stunning benching in a road loss to the Ravens.

If the team hadn't turned things around, both McNabb and coach Andy Reid could have been gone after the '08 season. If McNabb doesn't deliver in '09, this could be the year it all ends.

7. Saints RB Reggie Bush

The second-overall pick in the '06 draft hasn't been terrible during his three NFL seasons, but he hasn't fulfilled his potential, either. Frankly, he hasn't come close to it.

So with the question of whether he's the next Gale Sayers long since resolved with a resounding and decisive "are you freakin' kidding me?", the next question is whether he can become a good-to-very-good pro.

The clock is ticking. Loudly.

If it's ever going to happen, it's going to happen this year. He supposedly has committed himself to working out in the hopes of maximizing his abilities. Even so, the bottom line is the best of his abilities never will come close to the promise he showed at USC.

8. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger

Even without last week's bizarre civil suit alleging sexual assault, Roethlisberger was facing plenty of pressure. His passer rating in '08 was pedestrian (80.1), and his habit of holding the ball for too long drives coach Mike Tomlin crazy.

Though he was just good enough to win Super Bowl 43, Roethlisberger must be smarter with the ball -- and with where he throws it. Working behind a mediocre line, he'll eventually get hurt.

And by "hurt" I mean truly injured, not the laundry list of boo-boos he often hypes as being worse than they really are.

Roethlisberger must block out the mental stress arising from the lawsuit he faces in Nevada. If he did what he's accused of doing, he has every reason to be distracted. If he didn't do it, he could spend too much time fretting over whether a jury will believe his accuser's version of events.

Yes, this could be a long, trying season for Roethlisberger.

9. Texans QB Matt Schaub

In September '07, the Falcons likely wished that they hadn't traded Vick's backup -- Matt Schaub -- to the Texans. (Today, the Falcons probably have no regrets.)

By September '09, the Texans might be wishing they hadn't traded Schaub's backup — Sage Rosenfels — to the Vikings.

Schaub has been far less than durable in his two Houston seasons, missing five games each year. This year, his backup is Dan Orlovsky, best known for running out of the back of the end zone while being chased by Jared Allen.

Schaub must avoid guys like Allen, who sprained Schaub's knee last year with a low hit, and be more effective. If he isn't, and if the Texans don't make the playoffs, Houston could have a new coach, new general manager and new starting quarterback next year.

10. Redskins DT Albert Haynesworth

I couldn't devote this list to offensive players exclusively. There's one defensive player who should feel plenty of pressure. Regardless of whether he actually is.

On the surface, Haynesworth should be happy. After two years of sprinting after that golden carrot, he scored a long-term deal with more than $40 million guaranteed.

Now he has to prove wrong the folks who think that once he gets paid he'll relax.

He claims he is motivated by the doubters.

Whether he can continue to perform at a high level now that he's achieved financial security for himself and the next generation or two of Haynesworth progeny remains to be seen.

Mike Florio writes and edits ProFootballTalk.com and is a regular contributor to Sporting News. Check out PFT for up-to-the minute NFL news.

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