5 NFL Figures Who Were Detrimental to Their Team This Season

With one game left in the 2011-2012 NFL season, there have been many triumphs and many failures.  While some failures spoke louder than others, all of them happened for a reason.

Sometimes you can point the finger at others. Sometimes you have to look within.

Here are five NFL figures who were detrimental to their team's successes this season.

5. Cam Cameron

The Baltimore Ravens did not have an unsuccessful year by any means.

They sent eight players to the Pro Bowl and were a Billy Cundiff field goal away from sending the AFC Championship Game to overtime.

Like every other team, though, they are not immune to criticism.

Although it’s easy to give Joe Flacco flak, the bulk of the blame belongs to offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

In a Week 7 loss to the then-1-5 Jacksonville Jaguars, the Ravens were limited to 146 total yards of offense, including only 16 yards in the first half.

It took 28 plays for the Ravens to get a first down. 

Flacco threw 38 times for 137 yards (3.6 yards per attempt) and All-Pro running back Ray Rice carried the ball a mere eight times for 28 yards.  After that loss, linebacker, Terrell Suggs said, “It baffles me,” when asked about the play-calling.

To make matters worse, head coach John Harbaugh did not question Suggs’ criticism, but seemingly supported his claim.

Suggs is not the only Baltimore defender to have openly criticized the offensive side of the ball, as future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed also criticized Flacco after their divisional round playoff victory over the Houston Texans.  And although Reed didn’t address the play-calling as an issue, it is ultimately Cameron who should be putting the quarterback in the best position to make a play.

With Cameron set to return for another year and veteran leaders like Ray Lewis on the short end of their careers, it will be interesting to see if any more conflicts arise from the Ravens locker room.

4. Peyton Hillis

Contending in the AFC North is a daunting challenge. 

Contending amongst your own team makes that challenge nearly impossible.

Peyton Hillis came off a great 2010-2011 campaign, his first year with the Cleveland Browns, and his efforts were good enough to win a nation-wide fan vote that landed him on the cover of Madden NFL 12.

Ever since then, Hillis has been on a free fall. 

After failed attempts at securing a new contract, Hillis became a distraction.

At the advisement of his agent, Hillis pulled himself out of a Week 3 matchup against the Miami Dolphins due to strep throat.  It had been noted that teammates were unhappy with his timing and absence of effort.

Hillis then went on to miss five straight games in Weeks 7 through 11 due to a hamstring injury that wasn’t properly attended to.

Whether on the field or not, Hillis seemed to be a perpetual headache for a team starting a second-year quarterback.

Several teammates voiced their displeasure with Hillis after he was seen throwing passes at a crossbar from midfield before a Week 8 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.  

Quarterback Seneca Wallace went on to say, “Yes, it did get on some people's nerves that he was throwing balls when he was injured. But at the end of the day, it's his last name on the back of his jersey, and he has to decide how he wants to represent himself.”

During that week of practice, players were also upset when the running back went to Arkansas to get married instead of coming in for treatment.

Although Hillis is still regarded as the Browns’ best offensive weapon, the team finished 1-9 in the games he played and 3-3 in the ones he sat out.

3. John Elway

As the vice president of football operations, John Elway hired coach John Fox to change the culture in Denver.

Fox went on to name Kyle Orton as the starting quarterback, only to replace him in the second half of Week 5.

As a starter, Tim Tebow won seven of his next eight games, leading the Broncos to an 8-8 record and AFC West championship.

Even when he was winning games, Tebow still drew the ire of fans and management.

Tebow finished the season with 1,729 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing only 46.5 percent of his passes.  Due to his struggles with accuracy and inability to convert third downs, Elway remained unimpressed with the former Florida star and was not afraid to voice his displeasure.

When asked, “Any closer to feeling if you have your quarterback on this team?” on a weekly radio show, Elway replied with a simple “No.”

For a locker room with respected leaders like Brian Dawkins and Champ Bailey, the greatest Bronco of all time did a tremendous disservice to his team by publicizing an internal matter.

Although Tebow accepted Elway’s criticism in good faith, it would be hard to blame him if he were never to trust Elway again.

2. Jerry Jones

Where to begin with the billion-dollar man?

As owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, Jones has been running the show for the past 22 years. 

Due to his successes as a businessman and entrepreneur, Jones carries himself with an undeniable sense of pride.  It is this pride that fogs his judgment and ultimately affects the product he fields.

In the past 15 years, the Cowboys have had six head coaches, one general manager,and one playoff victory.

Jones believes he is the man best suited to make roster decisions and evaluate football talent and doesn’t plan on relinquishing those duties any time soon.

The knock on the Cowboys is simple: They simply can’t win games in December and January.

The team started off a mediocre 3-4 but was still in contention in the NFC East.

In November, the Cowboys found their stride and finished a flawless 4-0 during that month.

At 7-4, the Cowboys were in control of their playoff destiny, but we all know how that turned out.

The team closed the season with four losses, including three critical games to divisional foes and one to the lowly Arizona Cardinals.  The only victory they managed was a road win against a hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers team.

A team with the eighth highest payroll only bought Jones eight wins and a third-place finish within their division.

The team’s struggles in December can be directly linked to the general manager’s personnel decisions.

It started in the offseason when Jones prematurely celebrated what he thought was going to be the best signing of free agency.  After failing to sign cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, Jones decided he was content with Terence Newman, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick.

In their season finale against the New York Giants (a game that determined playoff entrance), Eli Manning continuously picked apart the Cowboys’ secondary to the tune of 346 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions while completing over 72 percent of his passes.  The Cowboys’ pass defense allowed 244.1 passing yards per game, good enough to rank 23rd-worst in the league.

Jones has managed to acquire some talented players, but has failed at finding quality depth. 

Once the injuries began to pile up in December, the Cowboys showed how much they had to rely on their starters and proved the quality of their entire 53-man roster.

1. Rex Ryan

The loud and provocative coach of the New York Jets seemed to give his ways some credibility when his teams were winning.

This season, they did not.

After starting 8-5, the Jets were in wild-card contention and on a three-game winning streak.

It all unfolded from there.

After embarrassing losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and rival New York Giants, the Jets were faced with a Week 17 “win-to-get-in” deal against the Miami Dolphins.

Instead of coming together, the team fell apart in front of Ryan’s eyes.

Mark Sanchez threw three interceptions in a 19-17 loss, a game where offensive captain Santonio Holmes was held without a catch and was ultimately benched for criticizing teammates.

To make matters worse, the turmoil spilled over into the offseason.

Instead of battling opponents in the playoffs, the Jets were fighting amongst themselves.

Eleven-year veteran LaDainian Tomlinson revealed the troubling details between Sanchez and his number one wide receiver in an interview with Showtime, claiming, “It is as bad as I’ve ever been around.”

To compound the damage, All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis claimed Ryan was unaware of the locker room conflict and suggested it could have been easily fixed.

In a year of disappointment, Ryan allowed his acts of showmanship to overtake his qualities of leadership.