Blow It Up: What Changes Do Struggling NFL Teams Need to Make?

We're 12 weeks into the 2017 NFL season. For many teams, that means the push to the postseason is underway. Some are jockeying for any spot, while others are angling for a first-round bye or home-field advantage.  

For other teams, however, a different kind of push is underway. For the NFL's bottom-feeders, the rest of this season isn't even about this season. It's about what comes next.

Whether it's the winless Cleveland Browns, the one-win San Francisco 49ers, the disappointing New York Giants or floundering Chicago Bears, the remainder of this campaign is more about figuring out how to get back to respectability and deciding on a plan of action for 2018.

The present is lost. So it's time to look to the future.

With that in mind, here's a peek at the renovations the NFL's cellar dwellers need to make if they want to move from the basement into the light.

Chicago Bears: Overhaul an Offensive Offense

Michael Perez/Associated Press

We'll start the rebuild in the Windy City by working under an assumption that just about everyone is making with the Bears mired at 3-8 and in last place in the NFC North: Head coach John Fox will be fired.

And as Barry Rozner wrote for the Daily Herald, it isn't hard to make an argument that general manager Ryan Pace should get the axe too, given his track record over three seasons in Chicago.

The consensus appears to be, however, that Pace will be with the team in 2018, and his job will be two-fold.

First, the Bears need to go out and find a young, offensive-minded head coach. Pace rolled the dice on moving up in the 2017 draft to select Mitchell Trubisky as the team's franchise quarterback—just weeks after handing Mike Glennon $18.5 million in guaranteed money to come to Chicago.

The Bears don't need another retread coach. They need a young gun who can do for Trubisky what Sean McVay appears to have done for Jared Goff in Los Angeles. Most of the criticism being directed at Trubisky in 2017 was also tossed Goff's way a year ago. "But" was being bandied about with some frequency.

The Bears probably don't offer an attractive enough situation to lure Josh McDaniels away from the New England Patriots, but perhaps they could poach 33-year-old Jim Bob Cooter away from the Detroit Lions. Or the Bears could consider going in house with offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains.

Don't groan. Loggains isn't nearly as responsible for Chicago's offensive struggles as the problem that created Step 2: Trubisky needs help.

Offensively, the Bears have tailback Jordan Howard and...nothing else. Chicago has arguably the weakest receiving corps in the league. The Kevin White pick was a waste. The team let Alshon Jeffery walk in free agency and replaced him with a group of castoffs.

A Chicago offensive line that was thought to be a strength has regressed in a big way as well. Injuries have played a part there, but they don't fully explain why the Bears rank outside the top 20 in both run and pass-blocking at Football Outsiders.

Trubisky's in the same no-win situation Goff was in a year ago: poor coaching (at least at the top), a below-average line in front of him and jack squat in the way of viable targets to throw to.

The kid could be a phenomenal quarterback and he isn't going to succeed in that mess.

Cincinnati Bengals: A Long-Overdue Firing

Frank Victores/Associated Press

The Cincinnati Bengals aren't a cellar-dweller. They aren't especially bad at 5-6, and it wasn't that long ago that the Bengals made five straight playoff trips and six in seven seasons. But this year will (barring a miracle) be the second straight season missing the playoffs for Cincy, and it hasn't won a playoff game in well over two decades.

The Bengals don't need a roster overhaul. What they need is a shake-up—something to break them out of the funk the franchise is in. To shake them out of their commitment to mediocrity.

The Cincinnati Bengals need to fire head coach Marvin Lewis.

Yes, Lewis is the winningest coach in Bengals history, at least in the regular season. He led the Bengals from the franchise's nadir back to respectability. And he's the longest-tenured head coach in the NFL's non-Darth Hoodie category.

The problem is he really shouldn't be.

Even at his best, Lewis helmed a Bengals team that was its own worst enemy. There were off-field incidents galore and Far too many unforced errors, including the infamous playoff meltdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015.

That hasn't gotten any better with time. The Bengals are under .500 in no small part because they have the fifth-worst turnover differential in the NFL. The offense is dead last at just 274.3 yards per game.

Those offensive woes appear to be wearing on the head coach. Per Jordan Heck of Sporting News, Lewis called out running back Jeremy Hill publicly after Hill decided to have season-ending ankle-surgery. He has similarly thrown John Ross under the bus, who has gone from top-10 draft pick to healthy scratch.

Given Cincinnati's lack of discipline in recent years, Lewis calling out players in the media is just a tad ironic.

Marvin Lewis isn't a bad head coach. But even the best head coaches have a shelf life. We saw it with Andy Reid in Philadelphia. Sometimes it's just time to move on.

Unfortunately, to date, we've seen no indication that team owner (and general manager—a problem in its own right) Mike Brown has any intention of doing so. It's as likely Lewis will be given an extension as shown the door.

And if he's back in 2018, the Bengals will be what the Bengals have been: a middle-of-the-pack football team that will win seven to 10 games but won't sniff success in the postseason.

Cleveland Browns: The Nuclear Option

Frank Victores/Associated Press

Entering the 2017 season, I was a big proponent of organizational continuity in Cleveland. Of resisting the urge to repeat the mistake of recent seasons by making a knee-jerk decision to clean house if this was another disappointing campaign.

Despite last year's 1-15 record, it was this writer's opinion that Hue Jackson and the Cleveland front office deserved a chance to try to build something by the shores of Lake Erie.

That opinion has changed—because the only thing this regime is building is a dumpster fire.

At 0-11, the only progress the Browns have made is in the wrong direction. The team is a laughingstock—a punchline that grows more dysfunctional by the week.

DeShone Kizer may be coming off the best game of his career, but the rookie isn't the answer for the team at football's most important position. His accuracy is spotty, and there have been far too many bad decisions and turnovers.

There's no reason to think that Cleveland's current brain trust is capable of finding the answer, either. In 2016, Sashi Brown and the front office passed on Carson Wentz, with chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta telling WKNR (per NBC Sports Philadelphia) that the Browns didn't feel Wentz was a top-20 prospect.

Wentz is playing like an NFL MVP in his second season.

In 2017, the Browns passed on Deshaun Watson, who took the NFL by storm in Houston before tearing his ACL. You can call criticism of those picks 20/20 hindsight, but the Texans saw "it" in Watson. The Eagles correctly did the same in Wentz.

The Browns saw it in wide receiver Corey Coleman, who can't stay on the field. And safety Jabrill Peppers, who looks completely lost in the NFL.

Sure, it looks like Cleveland hit on Myles Garrett—a player who just about everyone agreed was the No. 1 overall prospect in last year's class. Good for them, I guess?

Even if the Browns were somehow able to buck years of awful first-round picks over a number of regimes, Jackson hasn't offered much hope he could develop a young quarterback, given how he has yanked Kizer in and out of the lineup this season.

Way to build a youngster's confidence, Hue.

The A.J. McCarron debacle was the straw that broke the camel's back. Best-case, the Browns were saved from making a disastrous trade by their inability to tell time. Worst-case, Sashi Brown intentionally sabotaged the deal (for the record, per ESPN's Pat McManamon Brown denies that was the case) as part of a civil war between the coaching staff and front office.

The harsh reality is that so long as Jimmy Haslam owns the Browns, the franchise is going nowhere. Haslam built this circus tent by tent and fostered an environment where everyone and no one is in charge.

The Browns are a clown show. Their chances of attracting free agents (or keeping their own) without wildly overpaying right now is less than zero. And this group has offered little reason to think they won't waste the draft picks they've been stockpiling.

So as distasteful as it may be to start over from scratch for the umpteenth time, that's what needs to happen.

Clean house...again.

Brown needs to go. So does DePodesta. And Jackson. Find a young assistant coach (like Cooter) and executive (football this time, not baseball) hungry for a bite at the apple and let them have a shot.

They can't possibly do worse than this bunch.

Denver Broncos: The Elephant in the Room

D. Ross Cameron/Associated Press

Prepare for some hard-hitting analysis.

The Denver Broncos need a quarterback.

BAM!

Are you floored? You should be floored.

After watching Paxton Lynch average fewer than three yards per attempt against a bad Oakland Raiders defense, it's now clear why the Broncos were in no hurry to get the second-year pro on the field in 2017.

The Lynch pick was wasted—period. Denver can either pretend it wasn't and chase its tail or just move on.

We know that Trevor Siemian isn't the answer. Or Brock Osweiler.

And that leaves John Elway and the Broncos at a crossroads.

As things stand today, the Broncos would pick fourth in next April's draft. In his latest mock draft, Bleacher Report NFL draft lead writer Matt Miller has the Broncos taking Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen with that selection.

"Once NFL scouts get a look at him [Allen] in workouts and interviews," Miller said, "his stock will solidify in the top 10. And don't be surprised if Denver Broncos general manager John Elway sees a lot of his younger self in the strong-armed, athletic Wyoming quarterback."

It's not a bad idea at all. But Allen will take to time to develop and the Broncos are in a team built to win now. Also, Denver's lost seven in a row, but it's a good enough team to win just enough games to miss out on the elite options under center.

That may lead Denver to Kirk Cousins.

According to Over the Cap, the Broncos have about $32 million in cap space available in 2018. Signing Cousins would take up most of that. The six-year veteran will command in the neighborhood of $25 million a season.

Cousins wouldn't be the magic bullet that makes the Broncos an instant Super Bowl favorite. Denver's offensive line still needs work. The team needs a tailback it can count on.

But Elway and the Broncos can offer Cousins more than money—which is something that few of the other teams that will be in on the sweepstakes can say. The Broncos have an excellent one-two punch at wide receiver in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, and they have a top-five defense.

Landing Cousins might not make the Broncos an instant Super Bowl favorite, but it would instantly make Denver the best team in the AFC West.

Indianapolis Colts: Make Your Own Luck

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Most of the teams in this article share a common problem: no franchise quarterback.

The Indianapolis Colts weren't supposed to have that problem. They fell into Andrew Luck at the tail end of the Peyton Manning era and cut bait on Manning because they were so confident that Luck would lead the franchise for the next decade.

Now, that's all been cast into doubt. One year removed from inking Luck to a five-year, $123 million contract, he has missed the entire 2017 season after shoulder surgery. Luck's gone to Europe to seek additional treatment. There are hushed whispers that he might never play again.

Make no mistake: That is a catastrophic scenario. Never mind the guaranteed money he's still owed. Luck was (is) the real deal and an honest-to-goodness Pro Bowl-caliber, franchise quarterback.

His injury leaves general manager Chris Ballard staring at a decision that would have been unimaginable a year ago: whether to seriously consider moving on.

The far more likely path Ballard takes in the offseason is to proceed under the assumption that Luck will be back to his old self (or at least close) in 2018. If that's the case, the edict is clear: Build around him.

Part of the reason Luck's on the shelf is that the offensive line charged with protecting him has been putrid. If anything, it's gotten worse in 2017. The Colts rank dead last in pass protection, per Football Outsiders and lead the league in sacks allowed.

That has to change. Whether it's through free agency, the draft or both, Ballard must attack the offensive line with a frenzy next spring. Use the top-five draft pick the Colts could have on an elite tackle prospect. Use some of the Colts' $86 million and change in cap space to add veteran free agents up front.

It's equally important that Ballard take another swing at upgrading the Indianapolis defense. He tried in 2017, adding a number of free agents and using his first-round pick on Ohio State safety Malik Hooker, but Hooker got hurt, the free agents (for the most part) didn't pan out and the Colts sit at 29th in the NFL defensively.

Asking Luck to drop back 50 times a game behind a bad line and win shootouts in 2018 would be the worst kind of deja vu.

There's also all-but-surely going to be a new head coach in Indianapolis in 2018. If Luck remains the franchise's guy, he should have a measure of input on who will be taking the reins as coach.

That would mean an offensive-minded coach with a coordinator to fix that busted defense. The alternate scenario is the Colts using their first-round pick on a quarterback and breaking the internet.

Miami Dolphins: Smooth out the Rough Edges

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Fans of the Miami Dolphins don't want to hear this in the midst of a bummer of a 2017 season, but the reality is the 'Fins really aren't that bad. Miami won 10 games last year and started this season 4-2 despite horrible quarterback play.

Sure, Ryan Tannehill will miss the entire season after tearing his ACL, but he is a capable starting quarterback for the future. He's certainly better than Matt Moore or Jay Cutler's corpse.

The Dolphins have a talented receiving corps, a top-10 offensive line in terms of pass protection and some pieces on defense.

The cupboard is far from bare.

But there is work to be done. After trading away Jay Ajayi, running back is a glaring need for the team, especially if Kenyan Drake fails his audition over the next month. The Dolphins are better defensively than their ranking (21st—thanks for nothing, offense), but the team is getting old on the edge and needs to upgrade at cornerback.

Miami also isn't in a favorable position relative to its salary predicament. According to Over the Cap, the Dolphins have just over $17 million in wiggle room. Only five teams in the NFL have less.

Looking at you, Ndamukong Suh. Looking right…at…you.

In other words, if Miami wants to fill holes in free agency, it may have to create a couple more by trimming some fat off the roster.

In that regard, this short-term setback may be a long-term blessing. Assuming that Miami doesn't peel off a winning streak (and if you've watched them play, that's a safe one), the team is in line to secure a top-10 pick.

That could put the Dolphins in the Saquon Barkley lottery. Or land the team Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward. Or, should a team fall in love with a quarterback like Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, the Dolphins could be in position to move down a handful of spots while adding more picks that can be used on younger (and cheaper) players.

The Dolphins need to take a measured, methodical approach this offseason and they can be right back in the hunt in 2018.

New York GIants: Big Changes, but Not TOO Big

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

There isn't going to be a more fascinating offseason in the NFL than what's about to unfold in New York.

The Giants weren't supposed to be looking at a rebuild. They were supposed to be competing for an NFC East title and a trip to Super Bowl LII.

Yeah…that didn't happen.

To say that the Giants imploded doesn't begin to cover it

The Giants have crashed, burned and exploded. Then the wreckage fell into a Sarlacc pit. Then the Sarlacc vomited the wreckage into a live volcano, which erupted and shot the wreckage into a bottomless abyss lined with razor wire.

When this catastrophe of a season finally, mercifully ends, there are going to be big changes for Big Blue.

Head coach Ben McAdoo is going to be fired after the season—possibly twice. It's also possible that just after Jerry Reese fires McAdoo, he'll get canned too.

There's even been real discussion regarding benching quarterback Eli Manning in favor of rookie Davis Webb.

Among the likely head coaching and general manager openings, the Giants will be the best gig of the lot. New York is a legacy franchise in America's biggest media market one year removed from a playoff trip.

If there's a job that could lure Josh McDaniels away from the Pats or get Jon Gruden out of the boot,. it's this one. In that regard, were I the Giants, I'd have already fired those on the chopping block and gotten a head start on my search, but that isn't how the Giants do things.

Also, this isn't a franchise in shambles. Blowing it up would be overkill.

Yes, the offensive line is a mess. The Giants need a running back. Maybe if Reese is fired, New York will finally draft an inside linebacker before the 27th round. And Eli isn't getting any younger.

But the Giants don't necessarily need to spend the high pick this disaster will net them on Eli's successor.

Mind you, no one will fault them if they do. There's no desperation in the NFL like quarterback desperation.

But there will be teams with a much bigger need at quarterback lined up around the block to inquire about New York's pick.

The Giants can trade back, still get a player who can help them win in 2018 and punt the quarterback pick down the road a year, when they would then have two firsts.

Unless they truly believe Manning's done, the Giants shouldn't fix what isn't broken yet.

New York Jets: Stop Winning Games!

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Only the New York Jets could ruin tanking.

I'm kidding—I think.

After the Jets cut bait on a number of veteran players before the season, more than a few pundits inferred that they were taking a dive in the hopes of landing a top quarterback in 2018.

Many others opined that the 2017 Jets wouldn't win a game.

Not only did the Jets not go 0-16, but Gang Green is two games ahead of the cross-town Giants. They won three of their first five games. They've downed a pair of teams in playoff contention already this season in the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jets need to knock that off.

Don't get me wrong, the Jets players should be commended. New York hasn't been an easy out—six of their seven losses are by single-digits. Todd Bowles has earned the right to coach the Jets through this rebuild. And veteran quarterback Josh McCown has been lightyears better than anyone expected.

But outside of pride, a Coach of the Year vote or two for Bowles and possibly some Comeback Player of the Year buzz for McCown, these wins aren't accomplishing a thing. They aren't getting the Jets any closer to the playoffs in 2018 than they realistically are in 2017.

As a matter of fact, the wins are setting the team back.

While the Jets would never admit it, tanking is exactly what they had in mind for 2017. New York didn't expect to win even four games this year.

In Miller's latest mock draft here at Bleacher Report, he has the Jets selecting Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield at No. 7.

"Some will brush Mayfield aside because he's too short," Miller wrote, "because he plays in a spread offense or because he's facing Big 12 defenses each week. I'm not worried about his height or scheme because I've seen him operate from inside the pocket. And if you can carve up Ohio State—a team loaded with future NFL talent on defense—you're good enough for me."

That works, in that it's an effort to address what is easily New York's biggest need. McCown is playing well in 2017, but he's 38. The other quarterbacks on the New York's roster are just bad.

But if the Jets mess around and beat the reeling Chiefs in Week 13 and/or travel to Denver and beat the floundering Broncos the week after, they could fall just far enough to miss out on this year's top quarterbacks.

In winning, New York would lose, which would be just about the most Jets thing ever.

San Francisco 49ers: Go Go Garoppolo

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On Sunday, San Francisco 49ers fans finally got to see something they'd been waiting weeks for—their first glance at quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

After C.J. Beathard was injured late in San Francisco's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Garoppolo finished the game, attempting two passes and throwing for a touchdown. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan insisted that cameo has no impact on whether Garoppolo will start in Week 13.

"Those plays have nothing to do with anything," Shanahan told reporters afterward. "That's just running around and made a great play, but those have no bearing on it at all."

With all due respect to Shanahan, it's Jimmy G time. It's past time.

It's understandable why the Niners were reluctant to throw Garoppolo to the wolves right away. Shanahan runs a complicated offense. The 49ers have struggled in pass protection, allowing the sixth-most sacks (35) in the NFL. And it's not like the one-win 49ers are competing for much of anything.

But it's been nearly a month now. Garoppolo likely knows the offense as well as the rookie—or at least well enough to show what he can do. And given that he's going to hit free agency at season's end, it makes sense to get some idea of what you have in him before making a multimillion-dollar decision that's going to take up a fat chunk of cap space.

Given what's happened to date, that decision is likely made. The 49ers aren't going to invest $100 million or more in a player they haven't seen in live action yet. San Francisco also isn't going to let Garoppolo walk after giving up a second-round pick to acquire him.

That leaves the franchise tag, and an expensive yearlong audition.

Still, it makes sense to get Garoppolo some game experience this year. Shanahan has said (per ESPN's Nick Wagoner) he intended to wait to start Garoppolo until he has "a chance to succeed." Of San Francisco's remaining games, this week's trip Chicago is easily the most winnable.

So, take off the handcuffs. Give a beaten-up Beathard a breather.

And take a step toward seeing if San Francisco has its franchise quarterback of the future.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Take a Deep Breath

Butch Dill/Associated Press

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into 2017 filled with optimism. Fresh off a 9-7 season, they had what appeared to be a good offseason, adding several notable pieces on offense. They were even the featured team on this year's edition of HBO's Hard Knocks.

Then the season started, and the wheels came off.

After last week's loss in Atlanta, the best the Buccaneers can hope for is a repeat of last year's nine wins—and that isn't happening. Quarterback Jameis Winston has missed Tampa Bay's last three games with a shoulder injury, and both head coach Dirk Koetter and general manager Jason Licht may be on the hot seat.

No one will dispute that the 2017 Buccaneers have underperformed this season. But going all Queen of Hearts and lopping off heads across One Bucs Place isn't going to get the team any closer to the playoffs than the TV appearance did.

For starters, Winston isn't going anywhere. No, he hasn't played up to the preseason hype this year, and he still has a penchant for turning the ball over too much. And it goes without saying that the allegations that Winston groped an Uber driver (allegations the NFL is investigating per ESPN's Adam Schefter) are disturbing.

But Winston has not been charged with any crime or been disciplined by the NFL yet. The Buccaneers assuredly will pick up Winston's fifth-year option next spring. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 2015, and for all his flaws, Winston remains an above-average starter on the precipice of his athletic prime.

So far as Koetter goes, he's had his share of ups and downs in his two years at the helm in Tampa. But he was hired in no small part because of his work and relationship with Winston.

In their tenure as the owners of the Buccaneers, the Glazer family has developed a reputation for a quick trigger finger where coaches are concerned. Since Jon Gruden was fired in 2009, no Tampa head coach has lasted longer than three seasons.

Over that span, the Buccaneers are 49-90 with zero postseason trips. If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.

This isn't to say Licht and Koetter deserve raises. Or that Winston doesn't have a lot to prove in 2018.

But taking a blowtorch to a franchise many thought would contend for a playoff spot in 2017 is taking things too far.

Give this group one more year.