The NFL Season is only two weeks old and we are still trying to get a grasp on most teams. Some appear to be easier than others. Every year, there is one team that is expected to do great, but sucks (i.e.… 2011 Eagles) and a team that is expected to suck, but finds its way into the playoffs (2008 Dolphins).
I am here to tell you why every team will suck this year.
Arizona Cardinals-Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald are both well past their prime, I guess it’s fitting that they are in Arizona considering that’s where just about every old person goes to retire. The Cardinals will be without David Johnson for at least two months, which means they will have to trust Kerwynn Williams to carry the workload that Johnson usually would. The Cardinals currently have 128 rushing yards through just two games, meaning that their lack of a running game is forcing them to rely on a 37-year-old Palmer.
Atlanta Falcons-All hangovers are bad, but Super Bowl hangovers are the equivalent to drinking a bottle of Jack and then chasing it down with a case of Milwaukee’s Best. Since 1997, the team that has lost the Super Bowl has failed to make the playoffs the next year 40 percent of the time. No team has returned to the Super Bowl the year after losing it since the Bills in 1993. The Falcons also tend to turn away from Julio Jones at points in the game forcing them to rely on Taylor Gabriel and Mohammed Sanu. Their defense is above average, but still very young and will be without their best defensive player Vic Beasley who is expected to miss at least a month after he suffered a hamstring injury in their win over the Packers.
Baltimore Ravens-The Ravens have done what they needed to do to win in their first two games against opponents that do not look very good (Bengals and Browns). Joe Flacco’s gunslinger mentality forces him to make a handful of mistakes. Since winning the Super Bowl in 2012, he has thrown 63 interceptions and has the worst touchdown to interception ratio for a quarterback who has started multiple seasons since then. Their running game is a liability as well since Terrance West and Buck Allen are at best average running backs. They will need more production from their running game in order to be able to rely on their good defensive play and to make up for Flacco’s inconsistencies.
Buffalo Bills-The Bills defense has been solid through the first two weeks, only allowing a combined 21 points from the Jets and Panthers. The offense; however seems to be mediocre at best. Tyrod Taylor has the ninth best QBR rating in the NFL right now, but they did play the Jets in Week 1. Taylor no longer has the deep threat weapon that they had prior to trading Sammy Watkins. The Bills expect LeSean McCoy the focal point of their offense, but he was awful against Carolina, only picking up nine yards on twelve carries. The good news is that The Bills are in prime position to reach in 2018 to draft a quarterback after acquiring the Chiefs first round pick in the Patrick Mahommes trade, but that does not help them in 2017.
Carolina Panthers-The Panthers are 2-0 despite a lethargic start. Christian McCaffery has failed to wow me so-far despite a ton of preseason hype. This team has a ton of weapons on the offensive side, but just lost tight end Greg Olsen to a broken foot. They have also tried to make Cam Newton into a pocket quarterback, I personally think he is capable of doing that, but based on what happened to RG3 and Michael Vick, I can see where some people have their doubts. The Panthers went 6-10 and found ways to lose in 2016. Losing six games by seven points or less. They will have to be able to close out games in 2017.
Chicago Bears-Mike Glennon looked OK in Week one against the Falcons (26/40 213 yards and one TD), but struggled in their loss to Tampa Bay. This season the Bears will learn why nobody else wanted to pay him $15 million a year to a quarterback that has only started 20 games with a record of 5-15. Glennon is a good backup, but clearly not a capable starting quarterback and is just a stopgap quarterback for the Bears while they groom Mitchell Trubisky. The Bears are also inept at wide receiver after losing their top two receivers (Cam Meredith and Kevin White) to injuries. Their defense is also not up to the standard that we are accustomed to seeing the Bears defense be, having allowed an average of 26 points in their first two games.
Cincinnati Bengals-How Marvin Lewis still coaches there just baffles me. He is the equivalent to Jeff Fisher. Lewis has been just good enough to not be fired. That could change if things do not get better for the Bengals. Their offense has been historically inept, becoming the first team to fail to score a touchdown in their first two home games since the 1939 Eagles. Andy Dalton has been firing blanks and has the worst QBR in the league (9.6). Their offensive line has taken a step back since losing Kevin Zeitler to free agency, which could be a part of Dalton’s early woes. The Bengals could end up handing the reigns over to A.J McCarron if things do not get better for Dalton. Which probably won’t fix anything but McCarron is nothing more than a game changer.
Cleveland Browns-The Browns have lots of young talent; however that does not mean they will succeed in 2017. The Browns have gone a dismal 88-202 since rejoining the NFL in 1999. The Browns have also started 27 different quarterbacks in that time and have only started one quarterback for the entire season once (2001, Tim Couch). DeShone Kizer has the tools to be their signal-caller of the future, but he is still very raw and is prone to make mistakes. The Browns are very young team that does not have a lot of experience aside from Joe Thomas. They let their number one receiver (Terrelle Pryor) leave during free agency and they cut their best defensive player (Joe Haden). You will never believe this, but the Browns are going to be a dumpster fire in 2017.
Dallas Cowboys-The Cowboys will struggle if Ezekiel Elliott ends up getting suspended. They have a great offensive line, but Elliott is the type of game-changer that neither Darren McFadden nor Alfred Morris can be. Dak Prescott will also be exposed as nothing more than a game manager who has been aided by a strong running game. The Cowboys have a mediocre defense at best. Their secondary is pretty banged up. The Cowboys defense was so bad in Week 2 that it made Trevor Siemien look like John Elway. The secondary will struggle with the other quarterbacks on their schedule such as Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Alex Smith and Derek Carr.
Denver Broncos-The Broncos have looked impressive through the first two weeks, but do not be fooled. The Chargers are choke artists and we just discussed how bad Dallas is defensively. Trevor Siemien had a good game, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally. Siemien is a run of the mill quarterback who will struggle against superior defense. Their ground game consists of a trio of injury prone running backs (C.J Anderson, Jamaal Charles and Devontae Booker). The Broncos offensive line is also a question of concern given that they struggled in 2016.
Detroit Lions-The Lions recently made Matthew Stafford the highest paid player in the NFL. Which is good, because he is about all the Lions have. Detroit makes no bones about the fact that they do not run the ball. Last year they only had three 100-yard rushing games. They managed 82 rushing yards against Detroit, but they do not have a go-to running back. Golden Tate is not Calvin Johnson and Eric Ebron has yet to live up to the hype hauling in only seven scores in three seasons. He will have to become more of a red-zone threat. The Lions also have an average defense that consists of journeyman players and an aging Haloti Ngata.
Green Bay Packers-Aaron Rodgers is perhaps the best quarterback in the league, but the Packers are not the best all-around team. Their weaknesses were exposed in their Sunday night loss to the Falcons. They do not have a reliable running game. Their starting running back is a converted wide receiver, and if he goes down, they will be forced to rely on a trio of rookie running backs. Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb both suffered injuries against Atlanta. Rodgers will be forced to rely on Geronimo Allison and DaVante Adams if Cobb and Nelson cannot stay healthy. Protecting Rodgers might be hard for the Packers as well. Their offensive line has been bad the first two weeks. The Packers have a mediocre at defense, last year they had one of the best rushing defenses, but one of the worst passing defenses. Only the Saints gave up more passing yards and only the Browns, Rams, and Saints gave up more passing touchdowns.
Houston Texans-The Texans offense has looked underwhelming. Tom Savage apparently had a short leash and they turned to rookie Deshaun Watson after Savage had an abysmal first half against Jacksonville. You would think the Texans learned from the David Carr mistake that you should be careful handing the reigns over to a rookie signal-caller, but Watson did show flashes of brilliance in Week 2 and he has the weapons around him to succeed, but the Texans should expect growing pains from their rookie signal-caller. Watson had the tendency in his first start to tuck it run when his primary target was not open, that could be detrimental to what the Texans want to do offensively and could put Watson in danger. The offensive line is also a liability, their best lineman Duane Brown is currently holding out and they are an average line with him, they have been atrocious without him allowing 13 sacks in two games including 10 against Jacksonville.
Indianapolis Colts-Aside from Andrew Luck the Colts easily have the worst roster in the NFL. Bad news for them is that Andrew Luck has missed the first two games and it sounds like he is going to miss at least a few more. Scott Tolzien was garbage in Week 1 (9-18, 128 Yards and 2 Interceptions). Tolzien was not good at Wisconsin, so I am not sure why the Colts thought he was a reliable quarterback. They did make the switch to Jacoby Brissett, but even Brissett cannot be expected to succeed with the lack of talent surrounding him. With Luck, the Colts have the ability of going 6-10, without him they will be lucky to win three games.
Jacksonville Jaguars- If Blake Bortles never has to throw the ball, the Jaguars will be fine or maybe Bortles should just treat the entire game as if it is garbage time. Nearly twenty-one percent of Bortles touchdowns in the past two seasons have came when the game is out of reach. More than any other quarterback. His quarterback rating is over thirty points better in garbage time. The Jaguars have lots of young talent surrounding Bortles, but they are without their number one receiver Allen Robinson who tore his ACL in Week 1. The Jaguars appeared to find a winning formula in the opener against Houston by developing a game plan that took a lot of work away from Bortles; however, Bortles did what Blake Bortles does in Week 2 against Tennessee. Asking for the Jaguars to win while their quarterback does essentially nothing is a lot to ask for.
Kansas City Chiefs-The Chiefs have been the most impressive team throughout the first two games. Alex Smith has confidence that I had not seen from him in his previous four years in Kansas City. However, is this the new Alex Smith or a fad? If Smith returns to his old self, that could be trouble. Rookie running back Kareem Hunt has looked impressive in his first two games, but he would not be the first rookie to have two good games, and then fade into oblivion. Tyreek Hill is the fastest player in the league, but surely, at some point teams will find a way to contain him or minimize him. Travis Kelce is perhaps the best tight end in the league, but he can be a doofus and it might end up costing his team a game at some point. Derrick Johnson looks and plays old and the secondary does have some question now that Eric Berry is out for the season.
Los Angeles Chargers-New Coach, new city, same inability to close out games. The Chargers went 5-11 last year, losing nine of those games by less than a touchdown. It appears their tendency to choke moved from San Diego to Los Angeles when even their quarterback would not. The Chargers could be 2-0 if not for two missed game-winning or game-tying field goals. The Chargers have a young team with a lot of talent, but history shows that teams who move rarely play well in the first season in a new city. The Chargers also play in the toughest division in the league.
Los Angeles Rams-The Rams have been one of the more surprising teams so far this season. They have scored 114 points through three games. They only scored 224 points in 2016. The Rams will struggle if Jared Goff struggles like he did in 2016 (5 TDs, 7 INT and an 0-7 record) Todd Gurley also has to return to his 2015 form, not his 2016 form (3.2 YPC, 6 TD’s). The offensive line has to be better than it was in 2016. Rams quarterbacks were sacked too much in 2016 (49 times) three Ram’s offensive lineman ranked in the top 15 in sacks allowed (Tim Barnes, Rob Havenstein and Greg Robinson) Thankfully only Havenstein is in the 2017 lineup, but they still have to be able to protect Jared Goff in order for him to be successful.
Miami Dolphins-Last year the Dolphins bounced back from a 1-3 start to make the playoffs without their starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill is out in 2017 with an ACL injury. Jay Cutler came out of retirement to run Adam Gase’s offense. The Dolphins have a ton of offensive weapons, but the real question is whether Cutler can be a competent quarterback. He has not been good the last few years throwing 34 interception in 35 games since 2014.
Minnesota Vikings-Last year everyone panicked when Teddy Bridgewater went down with a pre-season injury. Sam Bradford stepped and led the Vikings to a 5-0 start. The defense then fell apart as the Vikings lost eight of their last 11 games to finish 8-8. The Vikings failed to close out games in the latter half of the season losing four games by one score or less. Sam Bradford looked magnificent in their Week 1 win over the Saints, but he has been out with a knee injury. He has been a week-to-week decision the past couple weeks, so it is tough to tell when he will come back. The Vikings will have to rely on Case Keenum until Bradford is able to come back. Keenum has essentially been a journeyman bouncing from Houston and Los Angeles. The offensive line was absolutely awful last year. Pro Football Focus ranked them as the 29th best offensive line and tackle T.J Clemmings was statistically one of the worst tackles in the league. They will have to be able to protect whomever their quarterback is if they want to succeed this year.
New England Patriots-Father time has never lost to anybody and at some point he is going to beat Tom Brady, it is just a matter of when. Brady is 40 years old. Even the greatest quarterbacks have failed to do much once they hit the age of 40. I am sure many teams will take an aging Tom Brady over whomever they have at quarterback, but the Patriots could struggle if Brady regresses. He is a bookshelf in the pocket, so the offensive line has to stay consistent. They do not have a go-to running back, Rob Gronkowski cannot be trusted to stay healthy and the defense has struggled immensely allowing over 30 points per game.
New Orleans Saints-Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the Saints defense is terrible. You and I could probably team up and throw for 300-yards on them. The Saints scored 30+ points in a losing effort three times last year. They have offensive firepower, but cannot stop anybody. On the offensive side, Drew Brees is also getting up there in age (he is 38.). They signed Adrian Peterson this year, which made absolutely no-sense because Peterson does not fit what they do offensively. The seat for Sean Payton has to be hot and I think this could be the end of the Drew Brees era in New Orleans.
New York Giants-Many pundits predicted that the Giants would make the playoffs, but the Giants have looked disappointing the first few weeks of the season. They have no running game and make no bones about it. Paul Perkins is not a liable starting running back. The offensive line, particularly Ereck Flowers has been terrible. Eli Manning is aging and immobile, so he has to be protected which the Giants do not seem capable of doing. They signed Brandon Marshall to compliment Odell Beckham, but Marshall has been non-existent so far. The only bright spot for the Giants seems to be Beckham, but he has not been healthy.
New York Jets-The Jets are atrocious. They might have the worst roster in the league. Their quarterback situation is a mess. I have no idea why teams keep signing Josh McCown. Bryce Petty is not the answer and Christian Hackenberg might go down as one of the most overrated freshman quarterbacks in the history of college football. The Jets are relying on an aging Matt Forte to lead their ground attack. Their receiving corps is young and inexperienced except for Jermaine Kearse. The Jets traded away Sheldon Richardson, their best defensive player. Todd Bowles seat is flaming hot and perhaps rightfully so. The Jets were 10-6 his first year in New York, but they have drastically trended downward after that. The Jets will be lucky to win three games and appear to be in prime position to tank the 2017 season with the hopes of being able to draft Sam Darnold or Josh Allen next year.
Oakland Raiders-The Raiders have tons of young talent and one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. It is difficult to find much bad with the Raiders. They have an underrated coach, an experienced running back, a massive offensive line and one of the best defensive players in the league. However, the Raiders defense is pedestrian outside of Khalil Mack. The defense will have to step up in 2017. They also have to play better in the AFC West. Last year, they were swept by the Chiefs, split with the Broncos and narrowly defeated the Chargers.
Philadelphia Eagles-The Eagles have all the makings of a team that could surprise people in 2017. They have a young quarterback who is becoming a rising star, a veteran offensive line and a solid front seven on the defensive side. However, their biggest weakness on defense is their secondary. They have been dinged up and are relying on rookie Rasul Douglas at Safety. The running game has been non-existent on the offensive side, Darren Sproles is out with a broken arm, LeGarrette Blount has done very little since they signed him and they have not been able to get much production out of Wendell Smallwood.
Pittsburgh Steelers-The Steelers have one of the best top to bottom rosters in the NFL, but they are far from perfect. Ben Roethlisberger is aging and his playing style gets him hit a lot. He has only started all 16 games twice since 2010 and the Steelers struggle without him. They have to keep him healthy because Josh Dobbs or Landry Jones could be tough to watch. The Steelers also tend to struggle on the road; they’ve lost 11 games on the road in the last three years including losses to opponents who are inferior to them.
San Francisco 49ers-The 49ers are bad. Brian Hoyer is their starting quarterback, but look for C.J. Beathard to be the guy by the end of the year because Hoyer has a history of injuries and inconsistencies. This team is very different from the teams that Jim Harbaugh put together in 2012 and 2013. The 49ers have one of the younger and more inexperienced rosters in the NFL and it has shown the first few weeks.
Seattle Seahawks-The Seahawks could very well be a Super Bowl team. They have a stout defense, an experienced quarterback and one of the leagues’ best coaches but their offensive line has been terrible. They even made the Packers defense look good in Week 1. The Seahawks have ignored spending money on their offensive-line and it has showed. The running game has been relying on Chris Carson who has done well in the first couple games, but Seattle always seems to have a running back who has two or three solid games and then falls a cliff (i.e.…CJ Prosise, Thomas Rawls).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers-The Bucs are another team that has a lot of young talent. 2017 could be their breakthrough year. Jameis Winston has the tools to be a star, they have one of, if not the deepest receiving corps in the league and they have a stellar defense. The big question mark on the offensive side is how productive their running game can be. Doug Martin is currently suspended and Charles Sims is mediocre at best. The offensive line also needs to be consistent to keep Winston upright.
Tennessee Titans-The Titans are similar to the Bucs. They have lots of young talent. Marcus Mariota could be a star for the next five or ten years, but he has yet to have a breakthrough year. He needs to have that in 2017 for the Titans to make the playoffs. They play in a weak division and should be able to win it with just their offense. Their defense is run of the mill, which could potentially doom them.
Washington Redskins-The Redskins are a difficult team to wrap my finger around. Kirk Cousins is one of the most polarizing quarterbacks in the league. He has a lot of upside, but his gunslinger mentality also causes him to make costly mistakes at time. Their run game is solid, but not wowing. Jordan Reed cannot be trusted to stay healthy, the defense is very young and could possibly experience some growing pains, but Greg Manusky is one of the more underrated coordinators in the league.
So there you have it, obviously not all of these teams will suck. Some of them were so much easier to dissect. The season is still young, so it will be interesting to see which teams prove me wrong and which teams prove me right.
