How Can Each 0-2 NFL Team Turn Things Around?

The 2012 NFL season is now two weeks old, and there are a few unfortunate teams that have yet to win a single game—some we could see coming from a mile away, others not so much. 

It is not a shock to see the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns among the winless teams thus far. 

Conversely, even amid numerous scandals, it is jaw-dropping to see a team like the New Orleans Saints, led by quarterback Drew Brees, sitting in the bottom of the standings with the likes of the Jaguars and Browns. 

The only thing these teams have in common is their 0-2 records. Each team has a drastically different path to turning things around and overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds now stacked against them.

Here's how. 

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are easily one of the worst teams in the NFL thanks to a soft defense, a second-year erratic quarterback and a franchise running back who is suddenly one of the worst in the league. 

The Titans dropped their opener in Week 1 to the New England Patriots, 34-13, then turned around and came out flat against the San Diego Chargers, losing 38-10. 

Offensively the Titans are a joke. Jake Locker is inaccurate, inconsistent and any other synonym you can come up with for "bad quarterback." Running back Chris Johnson may be the biggest joke on the team; he has rushed 19 times for 21 yards in the two contests. 

For the Titans to turn things around, the defense is going to have to be able to come up with a stop every now and then. Locker is going to have to show something or be benched in favor of veteran Matt Hasselbeck, and Johnson is going to have to average at least a yard a carry. 

The schedule gets a bit easier, but the Titans can only win games if they start functioning like a normal NFL franchise. 

Kansas City Chiefs

On paper the Kansas City Chiefs have one of the most talented teams in the NFL, minus the quarterback position. 

As we all know, games are not played on paper. 

The Chiefs got wiped out by the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, 40-24, and then did the same thing the following week, falling victim to a rebounding Buffalo Bills team, 35-17. 

Kansas City's issues seem to be very similar to the issues the Tennessee Titans are having right now—nothing is going right. 

Quarterback Matt Cassel is mediocre at best, and the running back duo of Jamaal Charles and Peyton Hillis behind him has been average. An iffy offensive line has not helped things. Defensively the team cannot tackle and gives up too many big plays. 

Cassel is going to need to elevate his play in order for the offense to live up to its full potential. On the defensive side of things, the unit is going to need to get back to the basics and not give up so many game-breaking plays. 

The AFC West is not ridiculously competitive, but the Chiefs are going to have to get back to playing sound all-around football to compete for the division. 

Cleveland Browns

To no one's surprise, the Cleveland Browns are once again in a rebuilding phase. This time, things are looking much brighter than usual, but that has not prevented the team from starting out 0-2 in 2012. 

After losing a close one to the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-16, on kickoff weekend, the Browns traveled to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in an AFC North matchup and came up short, 34-27. 

There are a few positives to take away from the losses. For one, rookie running back Trent Richardson looks like the real deal and could truly be a special player if they surround him with the right pieces. 

Secondly, rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden made a marked improvement in Week 2, throwing for 322 yards and two touchdowns, a dramatic change from his horrid rookie debut. 

In what is becoming a trend, the Browns defensive unit is pretty stout, and if it had elite cornerback Joe Haden, Cleveland may have escaped Cincinnati with a win. 

To turn things around, the Browns must simply continue to develop in a positive manner. The coaching staff needs to give the rock to Richardson and call plays that will put Weeden in a position to succeed. 

From here for the Browns, a few smart draft and free-agency periods will build a contender. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars probably should not be on this list, but that is what happens in the NFL when a team loses a heart-breaker in the final minutes to a mediocre team like the Minnesota Vikings. 

Things are not as bad as they seem in Jacksonville, even after getting trounced by AFC divisional foe the Houston Texans, 27-7, in Week 2, especially when compared to what the team looked like a year ago.

Second-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert appears to have improved leaps and bounds from his rookie campaign despite the Texans defense bottling up all attempts. His decision-making and accuracy have greatly improved.

Rookie Justin Blackmon is a legit No. 1 threat at the NFL level, and the team has last year's rushing champion, Maurice Jones-Drew, back from his holdout.

On the defensive side of things, the Jaguars have one of the more stout units in the league that can keep almost any game close.

The Jaguars are a team that is slowly growing up under new ownership, and all the important pieces seem to finally be falling into place. 2012 is not the year to contend for a divisional championship, but it is an important growth year for the franchise.  

Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are simply one of those middle-of-the-pack teams that will always hang around but never truly compete for a title. 

After breaking the bank for quarterback Carson Palmer last season, 2012 was supposed to be a big year for Oakland. Instead, the team has once again stumbled out of the gate and has to play catch up. 

After losing a close game in Week 1 to the San Diego Chargers, the Raiders were embarrassed by the mediocre Miami Dolphins, 35-13. 

Oakland still has an elite back in Darren McFadden and some great receivers to go along with a stout defensive unit, but the team has not been able to put it all together yet, which can mainly be attributed to poor coaching. 

If things are going to turn around for the Raiders in 2012, coaching and execution are going to have to improve. Palmer is going to have to elevate his play, as is McFadden. Injuries are hurting the team a bit right now, but the AFC West is weak and can still be won. 

The schedule does not get any easier for the Raiders, with matchups against Pittsburgh, Denver and Atlanta up next, but there is still time to turn things around if the organization can identify the problems now. 

New Orleans Saints

By now we all know about the Bountygate drama and the details surrounding it, so we'll leave that out. Once again Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints have one of the best offenses in the NFL, but this time they are simply not winning games. 

Brees and the Saints were humbled in the first week of the season by a rookie quarterback named Robert Griffin III, 40-32, and then beat up on by a divisional foe the following week in the Carolina Panthers, 35-27. 

The cliche stands true—when it rains, it pours. 

The Saints are still scoring a boatload of points thanks to Brees, running back Darren Sproles and tight end Jimmy Graham, but they also still have one of the worst defenses in the entire league. 

Fixing the Saints in 2012 is easy. Learn to tackle. Stop allowing big plays. It sounds so basic, one has to wonder why it is not happening. 

No excuses for the Saints in 2012. The defense is atrocious, and unless someone flips a magical switch that allows them to wrap up ball-carriers and play better coverage, this alarming start to the season will stretch into a year-long affair. 

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