Hey, guess what today is! It’s National Coming Out Day!! SUPER!! So in celebration, here are 9 NFL athletes who have been making 2008 their coming out breakout season:

Eli Manning
It’s strange to be considering the year after a Super Bowl victory his “breakout” season. But the truth is, Eli just wasn’t very good last year - managing just a 73.9 QB rating and throwing a career high 20 interceptions. But in 2008, Eli’s been strutting his stuff with a 5th-best 99.7 QB Rating with 6 touchdowns to go with just 1 interception.

Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers
These two come as a package, if for no other reason than the fact that they play in the same division. In San Diego, Philip Rivers is sporting a classy 103 QB Rating and 11 touchdowns, both of which are second only to Brett Favre. Jay Cutler’s been airing it out himself with 1,502 yards, second in the league to Drew Brees’ 1,673 yards.

Michael Turner
In his first full year as a starter, and after signing a very lucrative contract with the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Turner has been taking full advantage. He averages 5.3 yards per carry and a league-best 108.6 yard per game. His 6 touchdowns are also tied for tops in the league with Miami runningback Ronnie Brown.

Kyle Orton
There used to be a quarterback controversy in Chicago between Kyle Orton and “Sexy Rexy” Grossman. But it wasn’t because they were good; on the contrary, they both stunk. Or so we thought. Orton’s actually proving himself to be capable in the NFL, accumulating 1,100 yards through the air and 7 touchdowns. Those are numbers that make New England fans jealous.

Le’Ron McClain
While 266 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns may not seem like much, keep in mind that Baltimore’s Le’Ron McClain is a fullback. In 2007, McClain was given the rock just 8 times; in 2008, his workload has increased exponentially with 63 carries. And he’s responded about as well as you can expect from a fullback, averaging 4.2 yards. If you want to play the “what-if” game, he’s projected to finish the year with about 1,000 yards and 16 TD’s.

John Abraham
It’s not like 2007 was a bad year for Atlanta Falcons defensive end John Abraham - 10 sacks is never a bad thing (though I’m not sure how one would walk around! ZING!). But he’s on pace to obliterate that number this year as he already has 7 sacks in just 5 games. If you want to play more of the “what-if” game, that translates to about 22 sacks (!!!!!). To put that in perspective - he’s threatening to break Michael Strahan’s record 22.5 sacks set in 2001.

Cortland Finnegan and Michael Griffin
We’ve got another package here, both of whom play for the undefeated Tennessee Titans. Both Finnegan (CB) and Griffin (FS) lead the league with interceptions at 4 a piece. In 2007, the two COMBINED for just 4 interceptions the whole year. This is precisely the type of production Denver Broncos fans expected when they put Dre’ Bly and Champ Bailey together…those two? Just 1 interception (Bailey) between the two of them.

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