Can NFL Teams With Losing Records Turn Their Seasons Around?
Three weeks down and 14 weeks to go for the 2010 NFL season. After this weekend, we are almost one quarter of the way through the 17 week NFL schedule. Bye weeks are already hitting the schedule. Teams that are reeling from injuries, losing streaks and players not living up to their expectations are being scrutinized by their coaches and front offices to determine what fixes can be made to turn teams around.
We have five teams without a win so far, and nine teams that have only tasted victory once so far in three tries. Out of the fourteen teams, some of them will get hot and probably make the playoffs, while the vast majority will be struggling to finish the year with a winning record.
We will take a look at the teams with a losing record and try to determine what their major weaknesses are. The trade deadline is fast approaching on October 19th, so teams will be scrambling to see who is willing to part with some of their talent for future draft picks. That leaves teams roughly three weeks to get a deal done.
For some teams, there is not enough time in the day to list all of their problems, but we will try anyway.
0-3 Buffalo Bills
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As one of the featured columnists for the Buffalo Bills, here at Bleacher Report, I figure it is best to trash my own team first, before I attempt to trash the other 13 teams. As painful as it is to admit, this is a team that has many glaring holes, and not a bunch of positives.
Where do I start? The offense is dead last in the NFL averaging 242 yards per game. The defense is tied for last in NFL with San Francisco 49ers in giving up the most points in the league at 87. The offense has only generated 42 first downs so far, which is good for 31st, just ahead of league worst Pittsburgh with 38, which is understandable since they are missing their quarterback. The Bills led the AFC in interceptions last year, but this year they are one of three teams that doesn't have any so far.
Team Needs: Franchise QB, LT, RT, Pass Rushing Specialist, LB's, Wide Receiver. The switch to the 3-4 has allowed Aaron Rogers and Tom Brady to sit back in the pocket and pick the secondary apart. They have to find a way to protect their own QB while finding ways to get to the opposition QB.
Team Strengths: Running Back, Defensive Secondary, Punter
Solution: The Bills GM Buddy Nix believes in building through the draft, so he will not be dealing away any high draft picks to acquire top flight veterans that might offer a quick fix. They will continue to add to their core by drafting quality players and building from there. With their surplus of running backs, if a playoff caliber team loses its starting running back, the Bills are able to deal from their surplus for draft picks. Either Marshawn Lynch or Fred Jackson could serve as trade bait to acquire the coveted picks.
0-3 Carolina Panthers
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Just like the Buffalo Bills dumped starting quarterback Trent Edwards for Ryan Fitzpatrick, it didn't take the Carolina Panthers long to dump starter Matt Moore for rookie Jimmy Clausen. The Notre Dame graduate became the starter in week three. He has not led the Panthers to a win yet, but the experience he gains on the field will prove to be invaluable for his development.
Head coach John Fox is in the final year of his contract, but if he doesn't start winning, he may not be allowed to finish his deal out. Jake Delhomme, the long time Panthers quarterback left for Cleveland, and the team thought Matt Moore would be able to step in to the vacated role. Moore wasn't able to finish the season opener without fans calling for Clausen to come in to the game.
So why are the Panthers off to an 0-3 start? For starters they sit at the bottom of the NFL by scoring the fewest amount of points with 32. Their pass rush has only resulted in two sacks to date, which is tied with three other teams for last in the NFL. Then we get to the turnovers, with a whopping 12 so far in the young season, evenly split between fumbles and interceptions.
DeAngelo Williams isn't given the ball enough, and Steve Smith is unhappy that Jimmy Clausen isn't passing the ball to him more. If things aren't bad enough, next up is New Orleans, so it would not be far fetched to think that the Panthers are staring at a record of 0-4 to begin the campaign.
Strengths: Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams. Defense has generated six turnovers so far.
Weaknesses: Lack an experienced NFL quarterback, pass rush and finishing off drives in the red zone.
Remedy: If the Panthers can't start winning and Steve Smith becomes more frustrated than he already is, it might make sense to move him at the trade deadline to acquire some valuable draft choices.
0-3 San Francisco 49ers
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Is there any team in the NFL off to more of a disappointing start than the San Francisco 49'ers? Picked by many pundits to win the NFC West Division, the 49'ers have dug themselves a major hole by dropping the first three contests to start out the 2010 season.
This is a franchise in a state of disarray, as the front office is a mess, the head coach is firing one of his coordinators and calling his players out. Other than that, the 49'ers have a lot going for them, so maybe things need to cool off and just let the players play. A couple "W's" could go a long way towards letting cooler heads prevail.
The year began strangely enough when the team fired General Manager Scot McCloughan before the draft. Head coach Mike Singletary then fired offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye in the past week.
The defense is tied with Buffalo for giving up the most points so far in the NFL at 87. You combine that with the fact that the 49'ers are next to last at scoring points (38), and you realize that this is a team in trouble on both sides of the ball. Another issue is that San Francisco is next to last at converting on third down at 20 %, so if that number doesn't improve they will continue to lose.
Strengths - major weapons up and down the offense - Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, Ted Ginn Jr., and Josh Morgan. They just haven't put it all together yet.
Weaknesses - defense that is yielding far too many points, has some aging veterans in Takeo Spikes and Nate Clements, needs to start shutting some opponents down.It would also help if the defense started to hit some people to cause a fumble or two. Only the 49ers and Denver have yet to cause a fumble so far this year.
Alex Smith was a first overall draft pick and he has to play up to the expectations level of that selection.
Solution: Not sure if one trade can turn this team around. Winning a game or two soon would probably be the best elixir. If they lose to Atlanta this Sunday, things could get even uglier.
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0-3 Cleveland Browns
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The Cleveland Browns were unhappy with their offense in 2009, so Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson departed and Mike Holmgren, Jake Delhomme, and Seneca Wallace came in to replace them. Three weeks in to the season, and the Browns are still seeking their first win.
On the surface, there are concerns about the state of the roster that GM Tom Hackert put together. Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll has watched three leads going in to the fourth quarter in every game disappear, so people want to know why his play calling isn't doing more to protect the lead. Head coach Eric Mangini is seemingly on his last stop as a head coach in the NFL.
The fact is that the Browns are a competitive team and have some strength at running back in Peyton Hillis and Jerome Harrison. They have a multi-talented player in Josh Cribbs. But their wide receiver situation is hurting the team. The Browns don't have many cornerbacks on the roster, and the one they do have, Eric Wright, was burnt repeatedly by Baltimore last week.
The Browns are in the bottom three of scoring in the AFC, so putting up some more points would do wonders. Jake Delhomme was injured, so the team is waiting to see if he can improve their fate.
Outside of swinging a deal for Vincent Jackson, the Browns are going to continue to work with what they have and hope to hang on to some of these fourth quarter leads.
Strenths: Running game with Peyton Hillis, Jerome Harrison, and a talent in Josh Cribbs. Defense has improved from the 2009 campaign.
Weaknesses: Wide receivers, cornerbacks, and finding their own franchise quarterback. Trading three draft choices to select Montario Hardesty in the second round is looking like a really strange move right now given all the holes the team has.
Solution: Make an offer for Vincent Jackson and look to add a cornerback. Do they really need 12 linebackers?
0-3 Detroit Lions
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The Detroit Lions have been seemingly stockpiling talented players forever due to having a prime draft slot from which to add one star player after another. Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Jahvid Best, and Ndamukong Suh are some of the examples.There are some very serviceable tight ends in Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler.
They have talent, but they haven't found the elusive next step to turn the talent in to a winning team.
The Lions, just like other 0-3 teams in this slide show, are a competitive team. They were edged out by the Chicago Bears by five points, and lost a heartbreaker to Philadelphia by three points. The only loss by a bigger margin was to Minnesota Vikings last week, 24-10.
Injuries have hampered the team so far. Starting quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered a shoulder injury and may be ready to return by week five. Injuries to running backs Aaron Brown (broken bone in hand) and Jahvid Best (turf toe) may force the Lions to activate Kevin Smith for this week, when they travel to Green Bay. The Packers will be another tough test, so 0-4 could be reality for Detroit.
For his part, Ndamukong Suh sacked Jay Cutler in the season opener and had a couple other QB hits. He will be a major factor as he learns more about the NFL game. The rest of the defense though is not playing up to par, as the Lions are giving up the most rushing yards in the league at 446 and are in the bottom three in the league for total yardage allowed with 1241. All that yardage has resulted in 78 points allowed, which is also in the bottom three of the NFC.
Strengths: Good core of young talented players. They just need to learn how to win.
Weaknesses: Defense needs to tighten, and secondary has to improve.
Remedy: Get Stafford back healthy, as well as Jahvid Best. The offense has some strong weapons, they just need some time to play together and improve their chemistry.
1-2 Washington Redskins
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Which defense is worst in the NFL, the Washington Redskins or the Houston Texans? Both teams have been giving up yardage at an alarming rate. The Redskins total of 1271 yards allowed places their defense at dead last in the NFL, with the Texans right behind at 1269 yards. The biggest problem is the pass defense, as Washington has given up 977 yards through three games, which places them 31st out of the 32 teams. Probably not what Mike Shanahan envisioned when he signed up.
Most football fans are aware of the Albert Haynesworth saga. Overpaid and not happy with where the Redskins want to play him, he is the most expensive paid player on a defense that doesn't function very well. This unfortunately turned in to what can happen when you aggressively go after one of the best players in the league and throw millions and millions of dollars at them. You inflate their ego more than it already was, and then struggle to understand why they don't like being told what to do.
Donovan McNabb has joined the team and turned in some solid play to date. However, it has to be a major concern to Mike Shanahan that the Redskins are dead last in the NFL at converting on third down, as that has only happened 18% of the time. That is pretty bad.
That is somewhat surprising, because McNabb has plenty of weapons with Santana Moss, Chris Cooley, and Clinton Portis. If the Redskins thought they had a good team, losing to the St. Louis Rams should have served as a wake up call.
Defensive Coordinator Jim Haslett has got to be pulling his hair out by now to figure out how to turn around this defense. Maybe they can trade Haynesworth back to the Titans and secure some help for the secondary.
1-2 Dallas Cowboys
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Saw that rookie WR Dez Bryant would rather spend $50,000. on a dinner for his teammates than carry a veteran's shoulder pads in practice. So it goes, for the Dallas Cowboys, where everything is bigger, including the losses.
There are not any major areas of ineptness from a league wide statistical view. The Cowboys are entering the bye week with a victory over the Houston Texans and have a chance to heal up people like Jason Witten.
The offense has a multitude of weapons from Tony Romo throwing the ball to the likes of Jason Witten, Miles Austin, Roy Williams and Dez Bryant. They have Felix Jones and Marion Barber to run the ball, but the running game hasn't really developed as much as they would like.
They have had some problems with their kicking game, but expect them to come out of the bye week looking good and contending in the NFC East.
1-2 Denver Broncos
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The Denver Broncos are off to a 1-2 start. They have been hit with the injury bug to some key players and as a result have experienced a rougher start to the new season than originally hoped for.
The defense is needing to step up their game. After three games, the Broncos are tied with the 49ers as the only teams in the NFL that have yet to create a fumble. In addition, they are tied for last in the NFL with only two sacks so far, with three other teams. Those two issues indicate that the defense is not doing their job.
Five trips to the red zone last week against the Indianapolis Colts defense and no touchdowns? That doesn't seem possible when you consider the weapons that quarterback Kyle Orton has at his disposal.
At running back, you have newly acquired Laurence Maroney, Correll Buckhalter, and Knowshon Moreno coming back from hamstring injury. Good depth at wide receiver with Brandon Lloyd, Eddie Royal, Jabar Gaffney and Demaryius Thomas.
The defensive secondary is banged up and Champ Bailey is one of those that is battling through injuries. Can the defense step up and be more effective in creating turnovers and getting pressure on the quarterback? That seems to be the major issues right now. The Broncos opted not to address their pass rush in the first round by taking Demaryius Thomas and Tim Tebow, who was demoted to third string QB recently. That is a decision they may regret, but time will tell.
1-2 Oakland Raiders
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What happened to the Bay Area Bombers? No, I am not referring to the Roller Derby team. I am referring to the trendy choices to win the AFC West and the NFC West divisions - the 49'ers and the Oakland Raiders. Picked by many to win their respective divisions, they have begun the season with a collective record of 1-5. Ouch.
The Raiders have been drafting an arsenal of weapons over their recent draft classes that has now realized enough game experience that they are capable of coming together to have a dynamic unit. Like other losing teams we have previously demonstrated, the Raiders made their own quarterback change, which has proved to have more immediate upside by benching Jason Campbell and starting backup Bruce Gradkowski.
Courtesy of the AFC West blog at ESPN, saw that Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski leads the NFL with a 10.6 average yardage per pass attempt. Gradkowski challenges the opposition by throwing the ball downfield and not checking off. He also is developing some trust in wide receiver Louis Murphy, who has not dropped a pass in over 20 targets so far this season.
Darren McFadden is off to a strong start with over 300 yards on the ground already. That bodes well for the Raiders passing game to keep defenses guessing. Darrius Heyward-Bay seems to be developing as well, which is another positive development for the offense.
But this is still the Raiders we are talking about. Care to take a guess as to what team is the most penalized in the NFL? Okay, that was too easy. But with 33 penalties in three games, the Raiders have to be the least disciplined team in the league. Averaging 11 penalties a game will result in poor field position or giving opponents easy first downs that will come back to haunt your chances to win.
The Raiders defense is tied right now with Green Bay for second in the NFL at yardage allowed with 782 yards. That bodes well for the team going forward to win the AFC West since three of the four teams have losing records and the only winning team is Kansas City, who people are still trying to figure out if they are for real, or will their bubble burst?
1-2 San Diego Chargers
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How can the San Diego Chargers have a losing record? From a statistical analysis you would think that this team should be undefeated. Instead they are 1-2, and the fans don't seem to be that motivated to come to the games as they will be blacked out again this weekend.
Consider the following evidence for how strong the Chargers are right now:
Philip Rivers has already passed for more than 1,000 yards in three games. He absolutely torched the Seattle Seahawks last week with 455 yards in passing. The Chargers have the number one ranked offense in the NFL. That was done without injured running back Ryan Matthews who is close to returning, and without holdouts Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill.
The defense has already generated seven turnovers and is being stingy in giving up yardage, as they are ranked number four in the NFL.
The number one offense and the number four defense, and you are 1-2? The explanation comes from giving away nine turnovers on offense and the special teams unit giving up three touchdown returns already. That is the difference between 3-0 and 1-2.
The Chargers are going to be making some personnel adjustments on special teams by asking some of their starters to take on a dual role by beefing up the special teams unit. Regarding the high number of turnovers, Norv Turner will probably get the team to focus on that issue, and they will probably reel off a long winning streak, as per usual.
The fact that they are playing at such a high level with the major distractions of the holdouts, and seeing LaDamian Tomlinson in a different uniform is a testament to the team and their character.
The Other 1-2 Teams: N.Y . Giants, Minnesota, Jacksonville, and St Louis.
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My apologies to the fans of the other four 1-2 teams I didn't cover in the article, as time did not permit me to include these teams in depth. A brief mention of each of their starts so far.
Minnesota Vikings - With only 43 points so far after three games, it is clear that the injuries that have limited Brett Favre and his talented weapons have really tied the hands of the offense. Six interceptions by Favre in three games hurt the team as well. The bye week should help to heal up Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, Visanthe Shiancoe, and Farve himself.
Jacksonville Jaguars - Not much is going right with the current Jaguars team. They are 30th out of 32 teams in scoring, with only 40 points to show for their first three games. In addition, their defense ranks 29th out of the 32 teams in points allowed at 83. So being outscored 83-40 means that this is a pretty bad team. They were however the winners of the waiver claims process for Trent Edwards over the Jets, so they have that going for them.
Maybe the real question should be: Who will leave Jacksonville first, Jack Del RIo, David Garrard, or the entire team?
New York Giants - The New York Giants have surrended 85 points so far, which is just one safety away from the most points allowed after three weeks in the NFL season. Perry Fewell was brought in to strengthen their defense, but the new coordinator has seen the defense go south early on.
This can't make life easier for head coach Tom Coughlan any easier, as the Bill Cowher rumors headed to New York simply aren't going away. The Giants fans won't sit still for a losing team, so they better turn things around fast, or the crowd will be calling for Coughlan's head on a platter.
St. Louis Rams - Their rebuilding effort continues with the addition of Sam Bradford to serve as the franchise quarterback. Bradford has demonstrated very strong accuracy so far, and his deep passes are a sign that the Rams made the right choice in making him the first overall pick. The injury to Stephen Jackson is a concern, because the Rams need a strong running game, to keep defenses honest.
Given Bradford's injury history, the Rams can ill afford him going down with a serious injury, so they need to have Jackson in the lineup as often as is possible. Otherwise defenses will think pass all the time, and can pin their ears back and bring it. That is not something Rams fans want to witness.
If you have a comment or thought you want to share about what any of the 14 teams needs to do to turn their season around, feel free to leave a comment and we will talk about it in the comments section.
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