Handing Out Report Card Grades for Every NFL Team's Offense in 2011

In today's NFL, the offense is the thing.

Yes, defense is important, but in the end, you need a team that puts points on the scoreboard.

As we wrap up the 2011 regular season, some teams stood out from the rest, though not always for the best of reasons.

Yesterday I rated the whole team. Today we'll look at just the offenses around the league and see who rode the waves to victory, who had tread water, and who might have their fans itching to hold them underwater.

Remember that this is only a rating for the offense, though defense might get a mention here or there.

Also, as I mentioned in the last column, injuries play a part, so some of these offenses struggled more because of bad luck than bad play.

Although a few dipped into both columns.

AFC East: New England Patriots

There's very little to criticize about the Patriots offense this year.

Sure, the running game was a lackluster 20th in the league, but the combination of Benjarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead and late-addition Steven Ridley was productive and kept the chains moving.

Which is all the Patriots ask of it.

What is really impressive is the continued development of the double-edged sword of tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowksi. The Patriots watched the offense stumble early last year when Randy Moss left, but as 2010 progressed, they discovered that their two rookie tight ends could be productive in his absence.

That continued in 2011, as the Patriots made sure to utilize the two-tight-end sets early and often.

While Wes Welker still puts up good numbers and makes tough catches, Gronk and Hernandez make it impossible for defenses to lock onto Welker and shut him down.

If they do, one of the two (often Gronkowski this year) burns them for a long gain.

While the offensive line still has some issues, it stepped up its play in 2011 and has not allowed Brady to be hit as much as in the past.

The Patriots continue to be very good at finding new ways to move the ball, a key to their success this year.

Grade: A

AFC East: New York Jets

The Jets offense is a disaster.

There. I said it. Whew. Good to get that off my chest.

As someone who gets paid to analyze the NFL, I try hard to ignore my upbringing as a Jets fan. I'm for no teams, and I am for every team.

For this slide, I'm tossing that aside. For this slide, in this column, I will voice the frustration of every Jets fan across the board.

What is this offense? Really, what is it supposed to be?

There are a lot of issues here, and we'll get to them. But at it's heart, I want to know what the personality of this offense is supposed to be. I myself have no idea, and watching the Jets all season long, I'm pretty darn sure they have no clue either.

They said they were going to be more of a passing team. That lasted all of a month before they cut bait. Not nearly enough time for quarterback Mark Sanchez to get used to new receivers.

Then the team claimed it was back to "ground and pound." Seriously? Don't you have to commit to running the ball to do that?

This team doesn't do anything well offensively. Maybe it's because they have no real direction. You say "Green Bay Packers," and you know you're getting a high-octane passing offense. You say "Denver Broncos," and you know you have a spread-option style. You say "Baltimore Ravens," and you know you'll get a strong ground-game with effective passing.

What do you think of when you say "New York Jets?"

Aside from a complete lack of personality and direction, let's look at three more big problems (and a pair of small ones) for the Jets offensive unit.

Mark Sanchez

Let's call this what it is. Sanchez is not a good quarterback, and I have severe reservations that he can become one. I know that he's done fantastic in the playoffs, and that's impressive.

But he's been horrid in the regular season. In three years, his accuracy has not improved; he continues to make bizarre decisions on where to throw the ball, which often results in soul-crushing interceptions. He cannot seem to read a defense to save his life, and this year he started staring down his primary receiver, exacerbating all the other issues.

Do the Jets dump him? Probably not. To some extent, offensive-line issues and some very vanilla play-calling have hampered him. Some of the failure comes on the coaching staff.

His clock is running, though, and if he struggles to start the 2012 season, the Jets will have to have another option.

Speaking of boring play-calling...

Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer

It's trendy to bash Schottey at this point, but it's also well-deserved. People point to Sanchez as a problem, but what quarterback has flourished under this guy? Favre did his own thing (there was a rumor that former-coach Eric Mangini tied Schottenheimer's hands as well), while Brees did better after he left Schottenheimer behind.

Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens—neither of these guys flourished under his watch.

And the plays—oh Lord, the predictable plays. For an offense with zero personality, how can the plays be this easy to read? It's the same, basic dink-and-dunk, slant, slant, slant, run off-tackle plays.

Every. Single. Game.

There is a counter-argument that Sanchez is so bad that Schottenheimer can't call better plays. That he can't go with a vertical passing game because Sanchez would screw it up. It's not completely wrong. Sanchez's execution on the plays he does get is poor at best.

However, it's the OC's job to put an offense together that fits the tools he has—to adjust based on the game as it happens and do something different if one thing is failing.

Schottenheimer cannot seem to adjust mid-game. The Jets play the same in a poor first-half as they do in a poor second-half.

Finally, if Sanchez is a bad quarterback—and there is evidence supporting that—how much responsibility does the staff have? What have they been doing with him for three years? How come he still makes the same mistakes over and over again?

Some of that is on Sanchez. However, some of it falls squarely on the offensive coordinator's shoulders as well.

Offensive Line Depth

As much as anything else, observers have warned that the Jets' depth along the offensive line was shallow and it would catch up to them. Somehow they avoided injuries for Sanchez and Ryan's first three years, but not in 2011.

From the moment C Eric Mangold went down, this offensive line saw difficulty that must have seemed like a nightmare to those there. Players like Wayne Hunter were terrible and consistently got Sanchez killed behind the line. Second-year-player Vlad Ducasse once again could not take a step forward in his development. Even Pro-Bowler D'Brickashaw Ferguson played poorly.

Even if the plays were good, even if Sanchez played above and beyond what we saw this year, the offensive line was so terrible that it might not have mattered.

If the Jets do not start taking offensive-line depth seriously and don't find ways to get talent at all the spots as well as amongst the backups, they will continue to struggle into 2012.

OK. Got that out of my system. Let's move on.

Oh yeah. The grade for this travesty? F+

AFC East: Buffalo Bills

Overall, the Bills offense took some promising steps forward, even if the team seemed to lose focus midway through the season.

Ryan Fitzpatrick was a bit up and down, with some poor performances yardage-wise in the middle of the season and way too many interceptions overall. While a few of those were the fault of his receivers, most of the blame falls on Fitzpatrick.

He's going to have to take much better care of the ball if the Bills are going to challenge the other teams in their division for the title, much less make a run in the playoffs.

Aside from Fitzpatrick's turnovers, the biggest issue they faced this year was losing Fred Jackson in Week 11. The team then sank into a five-game losing streak, emerging only to beat the Denver Broncos and then get pounded by the Patriots.

CJ Spiller filled in, but he was uneven in his production, though he did put some good games together when he was used in the receiving game as well.

If head coach Chan Gailey can get the balance right between the two backs without killing both of their production, the Bills will have a very potent ground attack.

With Lee Evans gone, Steve Johnson took over as the No. 1 option and discovered what Evans long struggled with—a second strong wide receiver is a big help.

Johnson seemed to be able to overcome that for most of the season, though there were several games where he was completely shut down. David Nelson and Donald Jones both had some success in the No. 2 spot, but neither seems to be poised to breakout as a very good second option.

It would also help if the wide receivers were all healthy at one time.

Overall, the Bills took some strides forward this year, but they still need some depth along the offensive line as well as some help at the receiver position. If they can get Fitzpatrick to be a bit more consistent (and get the defense a bit better so he isn't chasing other teams), the Bills could be on their way to being a very tough offense to stop.

Grade: C+

AFC East: Miami Dolphins

When the Dolphins signed Reggie Bush, I can't say as though I expected much to come of it. In fact, I probably said something to the effect of "they will look back and regret letting Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown go."

Bush was hurt far too often in his time in New Orleans, and it tended to balance out the tremendous upside he had.

I certainly didn't expect a) a 1,000 yard season or b) for him to play in 15 games.

Yet he did, and in the end, he seems to have revitalized his career and was just about the only bright spot in a dismal Dolphins year, offensively speaking.

Between Bush and wide receiver Brandon Marshall, the Dolphins were generally able to move the chains, but saw little of the end zone.

There are several areas where this offense falls short.

First, the offensive line gave up the third most sacks in the league this year (52) and the fourth most quarterback hits with 94. Matt Moore is a mobile quarterback, but we're not talking about a Michael Vick/Tim Tebow/Cam Newton type guy.

It's unacceptable, and the offensive line needs to be improved.

The wide receivers are serviceable, and their struggles this year were more about issues at quarterback than they were about the receivers.

Which, of course, brings us to the quarterback. Chad Henne isn't the answer, something that the team must acknowledge at this point. Is Matt Moore? He has shown some potential both here and his first chance to start in Carolina, but far too often he just doesn't look good.

Some of that goes back to the offensive line, but at some point, the Dolphins are going to have the opportunity to get a better quarterback. Do they pull the trigger? Myself, I think they have to; Moore hasn't shown me anything that tells me that he is a cornerstone you build a team around.

This offense wasn't terrible the whole year, but it has a lot of issues that have to be dealt with this offseason.

Grade: D+

AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers

Losing Rashard Mendenhall to a torn ACL hurts the Steelers' playoff chances, and it could be a struggle to get him ready in time for the first week of the 2012 season. Will he be the same back he was when he returns?

That question will dog the Steelers into the 2012 NFL Draft and shape how this offense plays next season. For this season, Mendhenhall played well, but the run game isn't the focus of the Steelers offense, as odd as that always feels to say.

This offense is a passing offense.

With Ben Roethlisberger behind center for the whole season and with young weapons like Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown, why not? Both receivers broke the 1,000-yard mark for receiving, and the only thing Brown could do better would be to get into the end zone more often.

If anything needs to be improved, it is an offensive line that allowed 40 sacks and 74 quarterback hits. It also struggles to open gaps for the ground attack. The Steelers might see more success from their run game if they can find a way to improve the line.

Still, this is a very good offense with both proven veterans and up-and-coming youngsters.

Grade: B

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens

It's hard to criticize an offense whose running back totals more than 2,000 all-purpose yards, but I'll do it anyway.

This is an offense which seems like they should be capable of more than just average stats. As I mentioned in the team grades article, with the weapons they have, I expect more than just "average."

Perhaps part of it is the youth at tight end and wide receiver. Besides Anquan Boldin and Lee Evans (who wasn't a factor when healthy anyway), both positions are filled with guys not long out of college.

That said, Torrey Smith had a tremendous rookie season, unfairly overlooked because of the great seasons that AJ Green and Julio Jones had. Both Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta are coming along very well, and the Ravens could have a two-tight-end set to challenge New England's in short order.

Joe Flacco isn't a great quarterback, but with the defense he has, he doesn't to be. The Ravens strive to keep games in control, so Flacco isn't having to throw from down 14 or 21 points.

When it comes to that, Flacco isn't at his best, so if the defense loses a step, there could be problems.

Offensively, though, this is a team with a lot of upside. Ultimately, the run game should improve, just because there isn't any reason why a ground attack with Ray Rice at its center should be in the middle of the road. For the most part, though, this is an up-and-coming group with the potential for big things down the road.

Grade: B

AFC North: Cincinnati Bengals

When the Bengals picked Georgia wide receiver AJ Green with the fourth-overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, I had to say that there was no argument you could make with the pick.

I didn't feel that way about Andy Dalton in the second.

I saw Dalton up close during a week of practices in Mobile at the Senior Bowl and came away disappointed. The ball really seemed to come out of his motion without zip, a necessity for any quarterback in the NFL.

If you cannot fire the ball like a rocket between two defenders, your tenure in the NFL tends to be short.

As much as I liked him before that week in Mobile, I came away with a lot more questions than answers.

Fast-forward almost a year later, and I have to say that while I am still not totally sold, Dalton has surpassed any expectations I had for him and played exceedingly well.

It looks like the two picks together might have been the smartest of the draft.

Look at it this way—you knew that you were short a high-impact wide receiver, and you knew Carson Palmer had no interest in playing for you again. If you were adding a quarterback in the draft, you might as well get him a weapon that he could grow with and depend on.

Given that this was a shaky quarterback draft class to begin with, don't reach for an early quarterback. Get the best receiver in the draft and grab a quarterback later.

While I had doubts about Dalton, really, if you (you being an NFL franchise) like a player, you might as well get him while you can.

Dalton has taken good care of the ball, and AJ Green has been outstanding in his rookie season. Fourth-year wide receiver Jerome Simpson finally started to reach his potential, and Andre Caldwell looked effective before he got hurt.

If there is any place that I think can get improved, it's the run game. Sure, Cedric Benson cleared 1,000 yards, but his 3.9 yards-per-carry average isn't very good. Whether they give Benson another year, turn to Brian Leonard or Bernard Scott, or look for help in the draft or free agency, the ground attack needs to be improved.

Still, this is a young offense which only looks to be getting better in the years to come.

Grade: B-

I have to admit, the Bengals surprised me. Especially Andy Dalton.

Dalton was a guy who I saw a lot of last year, then watched at the Senior Bowl practices in Mobile and came away unimpressed. I thought the pick was a bit of a reach, and while I knew Dalton had the intangibles and acumen to play well, I didn't think he had nearly enough arm-strength to zip the ball in between defenders at the NFL level.

Jury is still out—one year does not a career make—but color me impressed so far. While I still think his arm a bit weak and don't see the heat I'd prefer to see on the short passes where he has to thread the needle, he's done everything else pretty close to perfect.

Letting Carson Palmer go was the right choice either way, but Dalton is making life post-Palmer much more palatable for Bengals fans. Dalton and fellow-rookie AJ Green have made this offense something to watch very carefully in the coming years.

It's still a bit raw, and the run game isn't what it could be, but the corps is there, and the Bengals have played well.

Defensively, I think Cincy is almost always underrated. This is a team which can pressure just about any quarterback, though they aren't as consistent as you'd like to see. On the whole, this is a team still rebuilding, though perhaps closer than expected.

Hats off to Marvin Lewis. I wasn't sold on him being employed after the season.

I'll give the team a B-. I like the defense and think the offense has potential. It may seem close to the Ravens and Steelers, but—and I acknowledge neither fanbase will swallow this—I don't think the Bengals are too far behind either team.

AFC North: Cleveland Browns

As I said with the Jets, I have no clear idea what this offense is supposed to be.

One would think that with a young quarterback, they would be a ground-and-pound team, but injuries scuttled that. There are no real wide receivers of note, though rookie Greg Little managed to have a pretty nice season.

It won't get better in the offseason. Workhorse Peyton Hillis hasn't ingratiated himself to anyone in Cleveland and will probably be gone sometime this winter. Which leaves oft-injured Montario Hardesty or journeyman Chris Ogbonnaya as the feature back—a role I'm not convinced either can handle. The other option is the draft, and unfortunately the Browns will once again have a high pick. Perhaps Alabama running back Trent Richardson could be on the agenda.

The Browns need so much help, though, that even a stud like Richardson couldn't turn things around. They need some wide receiver help, and honestly, they should look into a new quarterback.

This offense may not be the worst out there, but it's not pretty.

Grade: D-

AFC South: Houston Texans

The Texans' 2011 season should stand as a testament to perseverance and team depth.

How else can you comment on a team that made the playoffs despite counting on a fifth-round draft pick at quarterback for the better part of six games and without their best wide receiver for most of that stretch (indeed, most of the season)?

TJ Yates was thrown into the fire and emerged relatively unscathed. And any Texans fan has to buy the guy a drink when they see him because he performed more than admirably.

It didn't hurt that he almost had two 1,000-yard running backs playing for him. Arian Foster continues to prove what a crime it is that he's making so little money (and continues to not care about that), and Ben Tate fell 56 yards shy of 1,000 and proved that his selection last season in the second round of the 2010 draft was no mistake.

While this team may not be able to survive the playoffs with a rookie fifth-rounder at the helm, Houston fans should be ecstatic with how the team performed over the course of the season. Getting a healthy Matt Schaub back next year only makes it more potent.

Hats off to an offense that managed to have enough depth to get the job done and had the will to overcome not one but two key injuries.

Grade: B -

AFC South: Tennessee Titans

Head coach Mike Munchak has already intimated that this preseason will see a quarterback competition between current-starter Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker. While Hasselbeck played well considering his biggest weapons—receiver Kenny Britt and running back Chris Johnson—were either injured or flat-out ineffective, Locker looked good in his brief action this year and is a far more mobile quarterback, which would help keep opposing defenses in check.

Quarterback wasn't the biggest issue for this team. As I just mentioned, losing Kenny Britt for the year due to a torn ACL was a blow to this offense, and while Nate Washington played well and Damian Williams had his moments, nobody really was able to fill that void.

The good news is that Britt is ahead of schedule in his rehab. And according to Jim Wyatt, beat writer for The Tennessean, he is working out in Nashville. I think that's a big thing to note, as it seems like every time Britt leaves Nashville, he ends up in trouble.

If Britt is back and healthy (and not in trouble or suspended), that would be huge for this offense.

The other issue was the horrible play by running back Chris Johnson. While some of the blame might be placed on the struggles of the offense (though it never seemed to bother him before), a lot has to fall on Johnson's shoulders.

Oftentimes a player who holds out and misses training camp ends up injured or just plain ineffective. For examples, see Darrelle Revis and Steve Jackson. Johnson had career lows in touchdowns with just four and yards per carry with, again, four.

Beyond that, though, Johnson just looked a little slower than he did in 2010. Maybe it was that he lacked incentive after having signed his contract already—or maybe the workload of 900-plus carries in three seasons had taken its toll.

Whatever it is, the Titans need to figure it out. He's too important—and too expensive—to be so lackluster.

Grade: C+

AFC South: Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars just couldn't get their act together offensively this year.

Let's start with the good, or really, great.

With all the talk about him wearing down and being injury-prone after struggling with injury in 2010, Maurice Jones-Drew had a career high in carries (343) and yards (1,606). He also caught the ball well, an important thing once rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert took over.

We can debate all day whether it was the right move to dump David Garrard so close to the start of the season, leaving Luke McCown in charge for a whole game-and-a-half before pulling the trigger on Gabbert.

The fact is that they weren't going anywhere with Garrard, and in fact, the move was probably overdue.

Gabbert himself appeared ill-prepared for the starting job, especially behind an offensive line which allowed 44 sacks this season, tied for seventh most. He never looked fully comfortable, and while I wouldn't call him scared, he was definitely skittish. He seemed to rarely set his feet, and his throwing motion was hurried.

The wide receivers weren't any help. Mike Thomas is a much better slot guy and seemed out of place as a primary receiver. And nobody behind him stepped up to help out.

While this offense is likely destined for some changes with a new head coach coming, this year they couldn't get it together.

Grade: D-

AFC South: Indianapolis Colts

When I wrote the team-grade piece, I called out the Colts front office for failing to have any plan in place for a Manning injury, much less any other plan for anything.

By the about 3:00pm EST, the entire front office was gone, including both Polians.

I promise you, dear readers, that I will use my powers for good, not evil. Unless evil includes a pizza with meatballs, in which case, I see the power of the Dark Side.

Seriously though, would it shock anyone if Jim Caldwell is gone come 3:00pm on Tuesday? According to Phillip Wilson of the Indianapolis Star, his situation is "under evaluation."

I feel better about the Colts' future than I did when I wrote the team piece because they appear to be dealing with the problems I outlined and their source—a front office just coasting along on Manning's ability to win and stay healthy.

I don't dislike Caldwell, but I don't think he's done anything to keep his job either.

We all know what went wrong for the Colts offense. No real backup for Manning, poor stabs at replacing him, bad pick after bad pick at running back, and poor offensive line play from a line that was too old two years ago.

Nobody was surprised that the wheels came off. Manning moved the offense by sheer will. Nobody ever worried about the Colts ground attack, and the defense didn't do all that much to keep it close, so he was always throwing.

Whether Manning comes back or not, the Colts need to look past him for the future.

This year was so bad they might want to wipe it from their memories.

Grade: F

F for FREAKING AWFUL.

AFC West: Oakland Raiders

Some Raider fans disagree with me, but this team needs a quarterback.

I realize that they basically have no more picks left to trade or use on a young quarterback. I don't have an answer as to how—I'll admit that.

However, there is no way that Carson Palmer is the long-term answer here. Neither is Jason Campbell (who is a free agent anyway). Terrelle Pryor might be, but I think he's incredibly raw.

Palmer might captain the ship for a while, but he turns over the ball a ton and hasn't been the same since he hurt his leg several years ago.

Somehow, the Raiders need to get their quarterback situation righted.

Aside from that, Darren McFadden needs to stay healthy. Mike Bush is slated to become a free agent, and because McFadden can't stay healthy, I think the Raiders will have to spend money to either franchise him or pay him.

Either way, it isn't cheap. They need a backup that they can trust until either McFadden stays healthy or Taiwan Jones is able to step up and replace the lead back in a pinch.

The receivers aren't really as awful as some think. Rookie Denarius Moore showed some skill; Darrius Heyward-Bey came close to breaking 1,000 yards and finally shaking the rookie-bust label that comes with being over-drafted.

The skill is there. The ball just needs to get to them.

The Raiders aren't that far from being a very good team. It's going to be hard to build, though, when they have no high-round picks for the next couple years.

Grade: C

AFC West: Denver Broncos

Of course, I led with a slide of Tebow. Is there any other player on the Broncos offense who holds so much importance?

Like him or hate him, he's going to be the quarterback next year, barring a horrific collapse in the playoffs.

Even then, I'd be shocked if he wasn't the guy in 2012.

In order to grade this offense, you have to look at where it was at the start. Frankly, you can wish Kyle Orton had stayed as much as you want, but he wasn't getting the job done. Between the 20's, Orton can move the chains. Once he hits the red zone, though, he struggles to put the ball in the end zone.

Hate Tebow all you want—and from a pure quarterbacking standpoint there is plenty to not like—but don't delude yourself that Orton was taking them anywhere this year.

If nothing else, this team believes in Tebow in a way they didn't believe in Orton.

I've said before that John Fox deserves respect for forming an offense to his quarterback's skills and not forcing his quarterback into a mold he was going to fail in.

Tebow isn't a good quarterback by what we generally judge quarterbacks by. He is, however, a good quarterback for what Fox and the Broncos want to do.

There's an important distinction there I think people miss.

Now, is this offense able to survive long-term? I would say no, but it's a little early to say it definitively.

A full offseason of prep and work with Fox and Elway should help Tebow tremendously, as a full offseason of tape will help defensive coordinators.

Opening up the playbook some more and going a little longer on passes also needs to happen to loosen up opposing defenses.

Aside from the Tebow question, the Broncos need some more consistent receivers (they drop a few too many balls right now) and some better offensive-line play.

The best thing to happen to this offense might have been signing Willis McGahee. McGahee was a bit banged up, but he passed 1,000 yards for the first time in three years and looked very good for most of the season.

If anything, I'd like to see Denver pick up a change-of-pace back to alternate with McGahee. Sure, they have Knowshon Moreno, but at this point, we've seen enough to know that he's not an answer.

This offense is probably the hardest one I have to grade tonight because it is so unlike anything we've seen in pro football, and of late, it's been pretty bad.

I'm open to the idea that it can get better. So far, it's been a mixed bag.

Grade: C-

AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs

I think I see Todd Haley in that picture trying to strangle Dwayne Bowe. I might be wrong.

We can start with the absence of OC Charlie Weis, move to point out a much tougher 2011 schedule than they had in 2010 and say it all went downhill from there.

However, they weren't the only reasons why this offense failed so much.

The Chiefs had two big blows happen, which they only recently seemed to start to get over. Losing Matt Cassel hurt, though only because the alternative was Tyler Palko. Not seeing that and doing anything about it until late in the year was a huge mistake.

As was not really getting a replacement for Jamaal Charles when he was lost for the season.

I don't think anyone could seriously look at Thomas Jones, Dexter McCluster and Jackie Battle and say "Sure, these guys will do."

Those two things alone make it difficult to grade this offense very high.

Romeo Crennel has stepped in, and the players have responded. Though offensively, they haven't been all that good.

Outside of Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston has played well, but that's about it.

Whether Crennel gets the job full-time or not, someone has a ton of work to do.

Grade: D-

AFC West: San Diego Chargers

Should Norv Turner keep his job? Philip Rivers seems to think so.

I understand where he's coming from; Rivers has been terribly prolific under Turner's tenure.

Rivers has had a poor season by his standards, and I still contend he's playing hurt. I have no data or source for that, just my own eyes that tell me something is off with the quarterback.

Beyond Rivers' struggles (which really were about turnovers, as he topped 4,000 yards and threw for 27 touchdowns), this offense has been up and down most of the season. I was shocked to look and see that Vincent Jackson had more than 1,000 yards receiving because he had so many games where he was almost non-existent.

Malcom Floyd had 800 yards, and rookie Vincent Brown filled in well for Floyd when he was hurt.

Ryan Mathews led a solid ground game, and Antonio Gates looked much like his old self, despite playing through a foot injury much of the year.

While the offense struggled at times and the offensive line still needs to be improved, many of the losses San Diego endured were because the defense collapsed, not that the offense failed.

While they've been a bit streaky, this offense is better than the record indicates.

Grade: B-

NFC East: New York Giants

This offense has done an excellent job of overcoming injuries in 2011.

Leading the way has been Eli Manning, who is having one of the best seasons in his career, throwing for just short of 5,000 yards.

Seriously? Wait, I need to double-check that stat and make sure that my water isn't vodka.

Nope. 4,933 yards. While I don't think he's had a better year than Aaron Rodgers, Manning has not missed a beat this year—not when Ahmad Bradshaw went down, not when Kevin Boss left, not when Hakeem Nicks has been hurt.

Manning has played tremendously, as has both Nicks and Victor Cruz, who has made Giants fans forget all about Steve Smith leaving for Philly.

If this team can stay healthy, they'd be hard to stop. As it stands, they had a few bad games and underperformed (two losses to Washington, folks?) a few times, but overall, this offense has performed very well.

Grade: B+

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys

This offense was plagued by injuries, and the one which hurt the most might have been the least-likely one—losing rookie running back DeMarco Murray.

Murray was a revelation when he replaced Felix Jones when Jones went down with his own injury. If Murray had remained in the featured-back role, I think this season might have ended differently.

Across the season, the Cowboys lost many of their best players—Murray, Jones, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. I think Murray hurt the most, especially when their defense wasn't playing well.

Felix Jones just wasn't as effective at grinding the clock and keeping the defense off the field.

A few other things stand out, like needing to continue improving the offensive line, but more than anything else, it's the injuries that hurt this group.

Grade: B-

NFC East: Washington Redskins

You knew that the offense was in trouble before it was really in trouble. We were all a bit stunned that the Redskins were going into the season with Rex Grossman and John Beck as the potential starters.

Not that Donovan McNabb was any better, but there were other options they could have taken.

That said, for a moment, it almost worked. Then reality—that neither was any good—crashed in, and it fell apart.

Losing Santana Moss was just extra fuel on an out-of-control fire that nobody seemed to be able to put out. Jabar Gaffney played well but was no replacement for Moss. Fred Davis replaced Chris Cooley, but then he ended up suspended for the last four games of the season.

Even the running backs were in a constant state of flux with Tim Hightower hurt, Ryan Torain eventually cut and rookies Roy Helu and Evan Royster stepping in and out of the lineup.

This team needs some direction, and it needs a quarterback.

It needs them fast.

Grade: D-

NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles

More money was spent for less result here than on any other team in the league.

At least it wasn't on offense. On the offense, things just went horribly awry on their own.

Once again, Michael Vick was hurt because he takes too many big hits. Jeremy Maclin also missed a ton of time due to injury. DeSean Jackson proved himself to be a petulant spoiled brat who quit on occasion (maybe he knows Santonio Holmes).

Thank goodness for LeSean McCoy. "Shady" put up over 1,600 total yards and was nearly impossible to stop anytime he got a hold of the ball. His 17 rushing touchdowns were often the only thing keeping this offense in the game.

The talent is here, to be sure, but they need to be healthy to utilize it. Vick isn't going to change how he plays the game, so they need to find ways to keep him healthy—although, would it kill him to learn how  to slide to finish a run?

They need to jettison DeSean Jackson and find another player who believes in what they are doing there and who is willing to put team first and "me" second.

Then they might be what they could have been this year.

Grade: D+

The "D" is for disappointing.

NFC North: Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers has had one of the best seasons a quarterback has ever had. It's not just the stats—though 4,643 yards, 45 touchdowns and just six interceptions is pretty damned impressive—but the way he leads this team, how they trust him and how well they all overcome the bumps in the road.

This is a team that lost it's running back (James Starks) and top wide receiver (Greg Jennings), hit one minor road bump and then got about the business of winning again.

The "next man up" mentality of the Packers has always impressed me, and seeing guys like Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb or Ryan Grant step up when needed only deepens that thought.

If you look at the best offenses—Giants, Pats and Packers—it's that ability to overcome injuries and other problems which sets them apart.

The Packers have been tremendously prolific offensively and look keyed to go deep into the playoffs.

Aside from locking Jermicheal Finley down with a contract long-term, there's not much this team needs to do other than stay healthy.

Grade: A

NFC North: Chicago Bears

Here's another great example of not planning ahead. Jay Cutler falls victim to poor O-line play and Mike Martz's "DIE, QB, DIE" scheme (that might be the actual name of it). And we discovered that no, there isn't a real clear plan for backup aside from an overwhelmed Caleb Hanie.

Then, Matt Forte goes down for the count, and we discover that here, too, there is no plan.

I suppose that given the dearth of talent at wide receiver for years, we shouldn't be shocked that there was no real plan A, B or C at the other positions. But for a team who was gunning for another playoff run, the Bears were woefully unprepared.

As the Colts can tell you, if you are not ready to lose a key guy to injury, you will suffer for it.

The Bears may or may not keep Martz. Regardless, this is a team that should look hard at who is pulling the trigger (or not) on player acquisitions and ask them what they were thinking. Or if they were thinking at all.

Grade: D-

NFC North: Detroit Lions

Offensively, everything almost came together for the Lions.

Losing Jahvid Best hurt, in part, because there were no real plans for backup (which, as the Bears and Colts will tell you, gets you dinged grade-wise in my class).

However, the offense eventually managed to overcome that with some superb play by Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and rookie Titus Young.

Stafford accounted for more than 5,000 yards this season with 41 touchdowns and only 16 interceptions.

* Writers side note: I think this might be the year of the quarterback. Just a guess.

The Lions need a solution at running back since it is unknown if 2011 pick Mikel LeShoure will return from injury and if Best will be able to return given how many concussions he's had.

Even without those two players, it's been a tremendous year for this offense.

Grade: B+

NFC North: Minnesota Vikings

Even before Adrian Peterson went down for the year with both MCL and ACL injuries, things were grim for this unit.

Donovan McNabb found a way to be even worse than he was in Washington DC, but Christian Ponder wasn't quite ready to take up the mantle of starter. Percy Harvin was mostly healthy and played well, but the rest of the wide receivers were no real help.

This is a team with a lot of work to do and some hard decisions. They can't just depend on Peterson until Ponder matures.

We've seen what happens when that happens. There's only so much one guy can do.

Grade: F+

NFC South: New Orleans Saints

Another offense with a "next man up" mentality, the Saints offense didn't miss a beat this year.

Though expectations for rookie running back Mark Ingram were high, his injury-filled first year didn't affect the ground game. But newly arrived Darren Sproles and veteran Pierre Thomas were both effective.

The ball gets spread out a lot in the running game, so neither player gets enough carries to be considered a "feature" back, but the overall effect is that defenses need to plan for multiple styles of running.

Like the running backs, the receivers see the ball going in many different directions, so the defense can't just shutdown one target. And if you choose to shut-down 1,000-yard wide receiver Marques Colston, you get torched by tight end Jimmy Graham.

Graham was a key piece of the offense this year from the beginning and has amassed a stunning 1,310 yards and 99 catches to date.

On top of all that is a little-known quarterback named Drew Brees who threw for 5,476 yards.

That guy might have a future in this league.

Grade: A-

NFC South: Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons have had a solid offense this season with—wait for it—a quarterback who threw for more than 4,000 yards leading the way.

Matt Ryan can be streaky, but he was able to take full advantage of one of the best wide-receiver tandems in the NFL. Roddy White was joined by rookie Julio Jones, and the two accounted for 2,255 yards combined. Add in Tony Gonzalez's 875 yards, and your looking at one fearsome group to defend.

The run game was very effective as well, led by another 1,000-yard season from Michael Turner.

This is an offense which has to put up a few more points to keep up with the Rodgerses, the Breeses and the Staffords of the league, but they have all the pieces in place.

Grade: B

NFC South: Carolina Panthers

With a new head coach, a new quarterback and a new offensive scheme, I figured this Carolina Panthers team might struggle to move the ball.

I was wrong.

While the defense consistently let the team down, Cam Newton and the offense put together some very good drives. Newton needs to take better care of the ball, but his 17 interceptions aren't outrageous for a rookie quarterback. And his 4,051 yards helped propel receiver Steve Smith to his first 1,000-yard season since 2008.

The ground game played out very close to what it always had but with less carries. DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart split less carries then they did under John Fox, but both nearly topped 1,000 yards once they got past a slow start to the season.

The best part is that Cam Newton isn't sitting on his laurels or stats. Newton wants to win.

It's going to take some time, but the offense is on its way to making that happen.

Grade: C+

NFC South: Tampa Bay Bucaneers

I think the firing of Raheem Morris was a bit of an overreaction, but a backslide of this magnitude was going to cost someone their job.

Of the group, only running back LaGarrette Blount came close to playing like his 2010 self. Josh Freeman threw far too many interceptions; Mike Williams disappeared for the early portion of the season, and Kellen Winslow had about as quiet a season as I have ever seen from him.

This is an offense that woefully underachieved. The question is whether they can recover and what agenda will the new coach have coming in.

Grade: D+

NFC West: Arizona Cardinals

What do you get when you combine an overpaid, unproven quarterback, an oft-injured running back and a shaky offensive line?

Ladies and gents, I give you the Arizona Cardinals.

A few people didn't like my take on the defense in the team-grade piece, and I can guarantee they won't love this one either.

This offense made a huge mistake paying Kevin Kolb what they did. Maybe he turns it around next year, but they paid a ton of money to a guy who was outplayed by his backup.

Sure, he was hurt. But it's not like he was lights-out until he was hurt though, right?

The offensive line struggles to protect whomever is under-center as well as open holes for Chris Wells, who is rarely healthy himself. In Wells' defense, he did crack 1,000 yards and score ten times, and maybe with a better passing offense, he could do some real damage.

Larry Fitzgerald is the real bright-spot here; he will get any ball you throw to him, no matter how many defenders are on top of him. The attention paid to him frees up Early Doucet and Andre Roberts, who are starting to reach their potential and, in Doucet's case, stay healthy.

While there were pieces that worked well, this offense is still a bit of a mess and might be hamstrung by a contract to Kolb.

Grade: D

NFC West: Seattle Seahawks

While the quarterback position needs help, and the offensive line is still a mess, Marshawn Lynch needs to be the priority-signing this offseason.

Two years in a row now, Lynch has been the engine behind this offense. Letting him go would be a huge mistake.

Because make no mistake, there isn't a lot else going for the squad right now. Tarvaris Jackson is OK as a starter but not all that great. Aside from Sidney Rice, lost for the year due to a concussion, the wide receivers are hit-or-miss.

The offensive-line injuries and depth issues made Zach Miller stay in to block rather than doing what he does best—catch passes.

I would imagine that the Seahawks look for a quarterback in the draft and try to find some offensive-line help.

If for some reason they let Lynch go, though, they'll be in real trouble.

Grade: C

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers

Someone finally found a way to put Alex Smith in a position to succeed. Maybe that's because Jim Harbaugh is the first offensive-minded coach to head the Niners in a long time.

Smith has thrown just five interceptions this year, and most of that is due to a ton of emergency dump-off options for when the line failed (which it did).

While the wide receivers, aside from Michael Crabtree, weren't great once Josh Morgan was injured, Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter and Vernon Davis were good safety-valves for Smith.

Gore continues to be the engine driving this offense, although you wonder if the wear-and-tear of nearly 300 carries at this point in his career might break him.

He'll carry this team as far as he can go, though. And right now, that looks like a pretty far distance.

It's not the flashiest offense you'll see, but it gets the job done more often than not.

Grade: B-

NFC West: St. Louis Rams

As with Raheem Morris, I think the firing of Steve Spagnulo is an overreaction, but again, precipitous drops in production cost people their jobs.

It remains to be seen who will end up running the show, but I doubt it will be Josh McDaniel, who took a solid Sam Bradford and found a way to regress him back to his Pop Warner days.

How Bradford went from 18 touchdowns in his first year to six (!) in his second is impossible to comprehend. Even injuries to wide receivers don't explain it. At least he only turned the ball over six times.

Always look on the bright side, I say.

Bradford only threw the ball half as many times as he did in 2010, although, to be honest, 590 attempts was too much for a rookie.

Steven Jackson topped 1,000 yards, but even he had issues finding the end zone.

And the offensive line almost got Bradford killed.

If they can improve the offensive line, retain Brandon Lloyd, fix Bradford and keep Jackson healthy, this actually has the makings of a decent offense.

This year, though, it was a horror movie.

Grade: D-