NFL Teams: Dealing With Early Struggles

This NFL seasons has been quite strange, with many teams not playing up to expectations. I mean there is no clear cut power houses in the NFC, and many of the teams that we all expected to fight for the Super Bowl are heading in the wrong direction. The six teams that I will be focusing on are the Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints.

Bounce Back:

San Diego Chargers (2-3) – This is simple to me. The Chargers have been 2-3 the past 3 seasons and have made the playoffs in each one. It is obviously not a healthy pattern but none the less it is a pattern that eventually leads to success. I have not been shy about announcing my position on these poor starts, fire Norv Turner. Either way, I think the Chargers will eventually get their game together and start putting up wins. They definitely do need to find a way to address their special teams issue but come on now, there is no way the Kansas City Chiefs are going to win the AFC West.

Time to fire Norv, Photo courtesy of http://d.yimg.com.

New Orleans Saints (3-2) - This is odd for me to even include them in this article, and it is the only featured team that currently has a winning record. The Saints are the defending champions and there was no expected hangover for them, but they have been struggling and have not looked like their old selves. Their defense has not been playing as well but more importantly, their high octane offense has disappeared. I truly believe that the injury to Reggie Bush plays a big part in this and it doesn’t help the Pierre Thomas also had to miss time. Bush opens up the field offensively and is an aspect that every defense needs to concentrate on. Without this strong backfield threat, more attention can be placed on Drew Brees and the Saint’s receivers. Luckily for the Saints, Bush will likely return in a few weeks, and in an un-conquered NFC, this team can get back on track and take over.

Down and Out:

Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) – There were huge expectations for this team, especially after they acquired Terrell Owens. Unfortunately the offense has not been clicking and Carson Palmer has been playing atrocious football. He has a passer rating of 78.3 and has thrown 7 touchdowns to 6 interceptions. I guess those numbers are more poor than atrocious but when you have two high-caliber wide receivers, a highly regarded rookie tight end, and a good running back in Cedric Benson, those numbers become atrocious. The Bengals could finally start clicking but in a division with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, they have no chance and by the looks of the rest of the AFC, the wild-card is a no go also.

Dallas always has been overrated, Photo courtesy of http://www.zimbio.com.

Dallas Cowboys (1-3) – I have said from the beginning that the Cowboys were overrated and hey look, they are! They looked ugly in the pre-season and have carried it over to the regular season. Their offense and defense both rank pretty low and they just seem to keep making mistakes. Tony Romo, although having a good QB rating, has thrown 7 touchdowns to 5 interceptions, and is also looking overrated. I was also expected Dez Bryant to make a huge impact for this team but that has yet to come and this could party because of the total play shown by the Cowboys. The Cowboys are now in a tough situation, in which they have the Washington Redskins, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles all better than them and fighting for first place in the division. I’m sorry to say this Cowboy fans but…how about not them Cowboys.

Toss-up:

Minnesota Vikings (1-3) – Okay the Vikings are in a very similar situation as the Cowboys, with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers ahead in the division, yet I still have them as a toss-up. I am still not sure how for reals Chicago is and Green Bay has been plagued with many injury issues. I still do like the Packers to win the division but the Vikings could still be a strong possibility for the wild-card spot if they get things on the right track. It now all falls on their savior, Brett Favre. The Vikings have acquired Randy Moss and have a top running back in Adrian Peterson, meaning the only piece that needs to be fixed is quarterback. Favre is old and now has all these sexual harassment allegations against him. This teams future will all depend on if Favre can clear his head and get his game together, if not, maybe it is time to bring in Tarvaris Jackson.

Can Favre get it together?, Photo courtesy of blippitt.com.

San Francisco 49ers (0-5) – I honestly do not know why I have them as a toss-up still, they are 0-5. The NFC West is just such a weak division and it’s very hard to see the Arizona Cardinals or Seattle Seahawks continuing to win games. Therefore, a huge hot streak could actually get the Niners back into the race for the division. This has just been a huge surprise, in a very negative way. This defense had high expectations but have been playing pretty poorly and Alex Smith, well he is just Alex Smith. Just when it started to look like he was turning a corner last season, he comes back and plays like him old self. His biggest problem is that he is very inconsistent. There are times where he does actually look good, but then there are more times where he looks pathetic. It is now or never for this team that was once projected to win this division easily. Mike Singletary, can you get your defense back up to par, and Alex Smith, can you finally play like a first pick.

This is just an opinion so please…Pardon My Bias