2010 NFL Rankings: The NFL's Top 10 Head-Scratchers
Just before each NFL season, fans and analysts everywhere wait in angst for the madness to begin. They sit discussing and stewing over their favorite teams. They debate about the newly added players, which games are an "easy win" and which games are a tough match-up. Ultimately, even though they can't help themselves from thinking about every possible outcome and scenario, they know there will be unforeseen chaos that interrupts the ride to the end of the season. Perhaps this is why we watch.
We're almost half-way through another NFL season, and there are more than a handful of seriously perplexing scenarios around the league. There's no way I can discuss all of them. Here is the top 10 head scratching stories so far in 2010...
10. Jared Allen: Outta Sight, Outta Mind??
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You know this won't be the only Viking on this list...
Jared Allen is a beast. The "Rhinestone Cowboy" was one of the the scariest players in the league last year. Check out his numbers in 2009
Tackles: 43
Sacks: 14.5
INT's:1
Forced Fumbles: 5
Now Jared's stats halfway through the 2010 season
Tackles:16
Sacks: 1
INT's: 1
Forced Fumbles: 0
That is a HUGE difference in his performance. Certainly opposing teams have been scheming for the 2009 Pro Bowl player, but is that all? It's not like the Vikings couldn't use the help...
My first thought: Jared Allen got married over the off-season, and for those of you who are married you might remember a lag in your normal production for a while after tying the knot. I don't know if this can affect someone as scary as Allen, but it wouldn't be the first time a guy lost his edge after being twitter-pated.
My second thought: There seems to be some strange happenings in Minnesota. They seem to be a very distant team from the Vikings we saw last year. Keep reading, we'll discuss this more.
Lastly, Allen's struggles are last in the top 10 because I truly believe he can turn it around at any moment. I can't see someone with as much talent, and in the peak of his prime completely falling apart. I think whether it's this year or next year, Allen will contribute again.
9. Arizona's Quarterback Situation, The Conun-Drum Rolls On
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Don't look at his jersey number...now try and tell me who he is, is it Derek Anderson? is it Max Hall? is it Matt Leinart?
It you said all of the above you are correct! They're all the same! Quarterbacks who aren't really fit to play (at least not start) in this league.
This is pretty low on the list for one simple reason, WE ALL SAW THIS COMING.
As soon as the legendary Kurt Warner retired all Arizona's coaches could think was "Please pull a Favre... Please pull a Favre..."
I'm not kidding. When Warner was interviewed earlier in the season prior to a Cardinals game he was asked, 'have the Cardinals coaches called you about coming back?' He immediately replied, "They haven't stopped calling."
Poor Cardinals fans. Never sure what jersey to buy. You never know who's gonna be under center!
The Cardinals invested a lot of time, money and resources into former USC QB Matt Leinart. He was the solid back-up to Warner for the past few years and everyone knew that when Warner retired it was Matt's job for the taking.
Everyone except coach Ken Whisenhunt that is. And even though Coach W swore all off-season that Leinart was the guy they brought in former Browns wash-out, I mean quarterback and in the final week of the pre-season they cut Leinart.
Long story short Anderson has been exactly like he was the last two years in Cleveland, not dependable and non productive. He was benched after week four against San Diego where he threw 7 of 14, 64 yards with zero TD's and 2 picks.
Then came Max Hall who looks more than a little overwhelmed to be playing against the defense's of the NFL. The most accurate passer in the NCAA last year currently has a 41 passer rating in the NFL.
To wrap things up, the Cardinals are so unsure of their QB's that Coach W has yet to announce a starter for next week. Maybe it's because in one game, both of his QB's threw INT's that helped the Buccaneers beat his team.
C'mon Kurt pick up the phone....
8. Daaa Raiderssss... Fad or Fade?
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For years we've had people to blame in Oakland...
But who do you blame for their success?
Jason Campbell? Darren McFadden? Tom Cable? Certainly not Al Davis...
The stats don't lie...
92 points in two games.
Over 500 yards of offense, in each of the last two games.
2-0 in their division, 4-4 overall
But is it too early to tell?
The Raiders certainly looked like the Raiders of old early in the year, I hate to say it but the first few games Jason Campbell looked like a slimmed down JaMarcus Russell. He was inaccurate, inconsistent then injured and finally benched for Bruce Gradkowski.
The last two games though, he's looked like a dream come true for Al Davis.
It's also needs to be noted that Darren McFadden is playing out of his mind right now averaging 5.5 yards a carry. He has four TD's on the ground and another two through the air.
To further emphasize that point, McFadden is the 6th ranked RB in the league. That's higher than Maurice Jones-Drew, Arian Foster and Jamaal Charles.
Oh what, you didn't take McFadden in your fantasy league? Me either... that's why he and the Raiders are a true head scratcher, not many people saw this coming and no one knows how long it will last.
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7. Vick Or Kolb, Kolb Or Vick?
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Like Arizona, when the Eagles veteran QB was shipped out fans and coaches thought they knew what would happen. Kevin Kolb, the back-up for several years was slotted to get the starting job. And like AZ it only took a couple of weeks to disrupt the whole system.
In Philly it was a Kevin Kolb concussion that left the entire Eagles fan-base woozy.
Michael Vick came in for the next couple of games and helped relieve the fans of their fears. Kevin Kolb however must have felt like he'd been hit in the head again. Mike Vick playing like the Pro Bowl Mike Vick?
Eagles fans and their loyalty have been torn left and right. The two QB's had similar stats and success. So when Vick went down with his own injury, the merry-go-round started all over again.
This would have been higher on the list were it not for Kevin Kolb's sub-par performance last week against Tennessee. I wrote an article about that performance read it here.
For now Vick is the starter, how long will that last?
6.Steelers Defense Rallies With No Big Ben
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This one isn't so head scratching as much as it is impressive. I had pretty much written off the Steelers knowing Big Ben wouldn't be there.
They won three of the four games with Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch at the helm. They didn't win the games for their team, but they helped by keeping it close. The defense and the run game did the rest.
The defense came up big keeping their opponents from running up the score. That wouldn't have been such a feat but they did it each week while playing several quality teams such as Tennessee, Atlanta, and Baltimore. The Steelers are currently number one in scoring defense.
5. We're Not In Kansas Anymore...
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2007 4-12
2008 2-14
2009 4-12
2010... 5-2 and first in the AFC West. Definitely not in Kansas any more... So where the heck are we?
I heard a lot of analyst's talking how adding Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel would only confuse things at the top, if anything it seems to have brought some stability to the coaching staff. Todd Haley seems more relaxed, more comfortable leading the Chiefs week in, week out. Or maybe it's just all the winning.
Still the changes are reflecting everywhere. This year the Chiefs are 1st in rushing yards, last year, 11th.
On defense they are ranked 7th against the run, last year 31st.
The Chiefs are still struggling in the pass game, on both sides of the ball. You almost wouldn't know it to watch their games, their playing intense football, making plays on offense and defense. To think of where the Chiefs were last year and where they are now is hard to believe.
I've certainly scratched my head over these Chiefs.
4. McNabb Benched...for Grossman??
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What was Shanahan thinking?.
McNabb played well most of the game, but didn't help the 'skins with his 4th quarter pick that gave the Lions the ball in the red zone. Stafford quickly hit Johnson to take the lead. on the ensuing drive McNabb took a sack on 4th and 10 with two minutes to go. That led to a Lions field goal that increased Detroit's lead to six.
But there was still almost two minutes. Who would you put in the game, McNabb or Rex Grossman?
It's not even a contest. I think most of us would have left McNabb who, amongst other things has played in several Pro Bowls throughout his career.
Shanahan said in his statement to the media "The cardiovascular endurance that it takes to run a two-minute, going all the way down with no timeouts, calling plays, it's just not easy...If I thought it was the best situation to do, then Donovan would have run the two-minute offense...I thought that was the best scenario for us to win,"
So lets make sure this is clear: McNabb needs to sit on the cardio bike and lose some weight, while Rex Grossman loses the game. Got it.
In the one play that Grossman was in there, you got an idea of the kind of defense McNabb had been dealing with all game. McNabb made some bad throws, no question. The Lions defense wasn't giving much freedom. They were blitzing constantly, getting past the O-line with ease, as well as stopping the run. The Lions also piled up 6 sacks. McNabb played pretty well for how poor his situation was.
That one play Rex was in, you know the cardiovascular quarterback, he was sacked by Kyle Vanden Bosch and fumbled the ball. Suh grabbed the loose ball and ran it in for the easy score. Thank goodness for cardiovascular quarterbacks!
Any other coach with a less than stellar career might have been fired already.
Again what was Shanahan thinking?
3. St Louis Rams Winning Actual Football Games
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No this isn't a joke, the Rams are winning real football games.
Do you realize that before the draft the Rams had Steven Jackson and James Laurinaitis on their team and that's about it?
Wait, I count two more Oshiomogho Atogwe, and Ronald Bartell.
Amendola was there before, and he's a work horse but without any semblance of a quarterback only Steven Jackson got the ball.
Along comes this kid Bradford and suddenly they've got a real team here.
Looking at my early season predictions I believed the Rams and Lions would have been flip-flopped in the win column. Not only are the Rams holding a .500 win-loss record they are also 2nd in the NFC West.
I expected Bradford and the Rams to need at least a few years to add more pieces to the team. I mean six players can't win games right?
Apparently they can.
2. A 3rd Round Pick For 174 Yards and 2 Touchdowns... I Mean Randy Moss
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It could be worse, it could be a first, a third and a seventh round pick for Roy Williams...
Still, it's pretty ridiculous to bring back someone like Randy Moss, and pay such a high price for them if you don't know what you're getting.
I'm not a big Moss fan, I'm not a diva fan, but if you bring a diva onto your team, you ought to be confident that the pros outweigh the cons.
Especially when he spent a good amount of time in your franchise already.
Then to go and waste a valuable draft pick for 13 catches 174 yards and 2 touchdowns, you should know better. The top receiver on the Vikings right now (Percy Harvin) only has 31 catches for 393 yards and 3 touchdowns. There isn't a huge disparity there; it's not like you couldn't use the help.
Me thinks I smell a rat.
I believe there's more than meets the eye with this situation.
It was weird when Randy went on a rant in front of the news media about how he loved, respected and missed seemingly everything about New England. But to me that was just Randy being Randy, speaking his mind. Who wouldn't miss a place where you had spent several years and a ton of success?
I felt he just wanted to speak his piece and that would be the end of it.
I think the real issue is Brad Childress.
The NFL.com report said that Vikings players were taken by surprise with Childress' announcement and are "livid" over the move. You know it wasn't expected or received well when the players are vocally upset about a coaches decision. They're taught to keep things quiet and in-house.
Equally strange is the report that Childress did not initially tell management of his desire to part with Moss, but he did tell the players that Moss would be waived. Childress ultimately has control over the 53-man roster.
Was he worried they'd try and talk him out it? If he tells the players first, it's too late to take it back, you have to go through with it then to ensure continuity, authority.
I think that's what a lot this is about. Childress wanting to ensure his control.
1. Dallas Cowboys: Spring Cleaning To Come Early?
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I know the Randy Moss thing is a little more "breaking news" but you can't put one man over an entire teams demise.
Oh the Cowboys... The ultimate 2010 NFL head scratcher
For the last couple weeks the success of the Texas Rangers was taking a little heat off of Jerry Jones and crew.
Now they don't even have that to save them. Texas sports fans should pretty much be out for blood.
Why not start by firing your coach Jerry?
Wade Phillips admitting "I'm at a loss...if I knew what to do, then I would have already done it." Wow. What confidence! What leadership!
If Jones didn't already know he needed a coaching change, I hope that was the cup of coffee in the morning to wake him up.
I'm not sure Jason Garrett is the answer the Cowboys need. He's got a lot of responsibility on the offensive side of the ball and he's only been using one phase of it. The phase that went down with a broken collar bone.
The Cowboys are 3rd in the league in passing yards but 31st in rushing.
However, Jerry it's not a bad time to try Garrett and find out. Your team probably won't make the playoffs, you know you want to change coaches at the end of the year; why not try Garrett and see what he can do?
If he can turn things around, great, keep him on. If not at least you know you need more than a new head coach.
Time's a wasting Jerry, and you've got nowhere to go but up.
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