AFC North Revenge Matches for 2010
In National League Football, when a player has been traded or released by a team and returns to face them, the stakes are always raised. If the player performs well, he makes his former team look foolish for getting rid of him. If he doesn’t, the ex-team comes out looking better. This year, there are plenty of these types of grudge matches, specifically in the American Football Conference North division. Here are the top five grudge matches occurring involving AFC North teams and their former players:
Shayne Graham and the Bengals
Graham is the only intra-division grudge match occurring, which means fans will get to see the Baltimore Ravens kicker face the Cincinnati Bengals twice this year.
Graham spent seven up-and-down years with the Bengals. There he was one of the League’s most accurate kickers and set franchise records field goals made in a season, field goals made in a single game, most points in a season, and the highest field goal percentage for a single season.
Unfortunately Graham also developed a reputation for folding under pressure and costing the Bengals big games. His fate was sealed last season after two missed kicks in the Bengals’ playoff loss to the New York Jets.
Graham will kick against the Bengals twice this year, and he’ll want a close game so he can show the Bengals just how clutch he can be.
Kellen Winslow Jr and the Browns
The current Tampa Bay Buccaneer tight end had a very bizarre time with the Cleveland Browns. He was selected to the Pro Bowl as a Brown and had an 80 catch season. He was also often injured and suffered a staph infection from poor treatment from Browns team doctors.
Winslow has thrived in Tampa Bay and with 77 catches and 884 receiving yards has set two franchise records in his first season. Winslow is a major part of Tampa’s offence and will surely be looking to make even more of an impact during an opening day game against the Browns.
Braylon Edwards and the Browns, again
The Cleveland Browns may have to endure the wrath of another one of their former first-round picks when Edwards and the New York Jets come to town. Edwards is currently thriving as the Jets’ No. 1 receiver and has openly stated that he cannot wait to play against his former team.
Edwards was fairly disliked by fans during his time in Cleveland and a big performance would show the Browns how poorly they utilized his talent.
Jake Delhomme and the Panthers: Delhomme is an extremely nice guy who has publicly said only pleasant things about his lengthy tenure as the franchise quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. Delhomme was released by the Panthers after a string of poor seasons and has a two-year deal with the Browns.
Deep down, Delhomme has to have a desire to prove the Panthers wrong. Additionally, Delhomme has been the whipping boy of numerous NFL pundits after a 2009 season where he threw eight touchdowns and 18 interceptions while maintaining a quarterback rating of 59.4. A good game would show that Delhomme is not done and perhaps could help him return to the form he exhibited in earlier years with the Panthers.
Antonio Bryant and the Buccaneers: The Buccaneers prestigiously allotted Bryant with a franchise tag two years ago then proceeded to not sign him to a long-term extension. The wide receiver, currently playing for the Bengals, will get his chance to show his merit to Tampa Bay on October 10.
Although Bryant had been plagued with knee injuries, he is back in good health and will be a major target for Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. Tampa Bay was 27th in the League last season defensively and Bryant will be looking to exploit their coverage flaws as much as possible.
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