NFL's 13 Unlucky and Losing Teams: Which Ones Can Turn It Around in 2011?

Out of 32 NFL teams, 10 entered Week 8 with losing records. Another five were at exactly .500. In the latter group, you have to consider Cleveland as losers, given their play and the competition. And Washington officially abdicated contender status in Toronto. Not to mention the catastrophe in the City of Brotherly Love! 

That is almost half of the league without a winning record. I’m not sure how the NFL defines “parity,” but I think that half of the teams losing to the other half is probably close to what Roger and Company had in mind. It just stinks for the fans of those teams. 

Buck up, sports fans. All losing records are not created equal. Let’s take a look at teams that still have hope in 2011—despite the W/L column.

Carolina Panthers (2-6): Cam as Superman

I was in Charlotte for Week 7 and people were talking Wild Card. I’m not joking. Pundits laugh when fans are devoted to players who insist that there is always a chance to win. Both the Broncos and the Panthers have blind faith in their young quarterbacks, but those at Mile High are suffering from altitudinally induced delusions. 

Cam Newton probably wouldn’t appreciate the comparison, but it’s almost like “clap your hands if you believe in fairies.” No. 1 might not mind being mentioned in the same sentence as Peter Pan, though. He has brought a little boy’s enthusiasm and passion to Carolina. He plays with an abandonment that is truly a joy to watch.

Add in a tremendous running tandem, tough-as-nails Shockey, talented Olsen, a rejuvenated Steve Smith and at least one big catch per game by Naanee and/or Brandon LaFell. Things are exciting on offense these days in Pantherland.

On Sunday, the defense caught the fever. This squad is so depleted by injuries that half of them are complete unknowns. Yet they are playing with the same fire as their young QB. They are allowing fewer than 27 points per game. Not exactly the 2000 Ravens, but not too awful when you have a real offense. 

I know that the Panthers lost again this week, but fans can rest assured that every Panther game will be an exhilarating experience in 2011. And that is something I never thought I would say.

Minnesota Vikings (2-6): Hope on the Horizon

After two respectable starts that featured late comeback efforts (one of which was successful), rookie Ponder is clearly the future in Minneapolis. While it’s too early to tell if Christian will ultimately be successful at this level, he has definitely shown enough to keep the job through Week 17. The future is now.

I like some of Bill Musgrave’s play-calling for the Vikings. They have used Harvin as a change-up running back and called rollouts and bootlegs to help cover the appalling offensive line. With Peterson at running back and the defense finally getting their collective act together, things should improve dramatically for the second half of the season.

But the Vikings won’t go anywhere near the postseason without a complete overhaul of the O-line. This has been an embarrassingly awful group for the past four years. Favre compensated for it—for a while. Donovan couldn’t survive it and only Christian’s youth is keeping him out of the hospital. 

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6): No, I'm Not Kidding

Until the Jags pancaked Baltimore last Monday, few people knew that they had a defense. A darn good defense. In fact, I’m putting in my Pro Bowl vote for MLB Paul Posluszny. He, Smith and Session have formed a formidable linebacking corps in Florida. And keep your eyes on the secondary too; their starting four DBs are turning in impressive performances. Ask Joe Flacco.

Despite his draft status and college success, most folks are still trashing Blaine Gabbert. Let’s remember that:

a) He didn’t play for the first three weeks.

b) His receivers have been dropping everything in sight. 

Having said that, the rookie was 10-of-30 Sunday with two interceptions. Hmmmm.

But, wait, who is this Jason Hill guy? Well, he’s a fifth-year WR from San Francisco who went to Washington State. He started his career with the 49ers but has been in JAX for two years. He has started every game this season: 18 receptions for 301 yards with an average of 16.7 yards per catch. I’d call that encouraging for Jaguars fans.

Gabbert will get better as the year goes on. Jacksonville fans will have to be patient, but watching this team could be more fun in coming weeks. Remember that is Posluszny, with a “P.”

At Least They Have Drama: Philadelphia Eagles (3-4)

What could you say about a team with all the disparate pieces and no center?

While in no way an Andy Reid fan, I will say that the man knows how to work the bye week; he's 13-0 coming back from the break. I wonder how he does it. Do you think he needs that long to develop a foolproof game plan?

Whatever the secret, and however long it lasts, the Iggles were in full flight Sunday night. And the most significantly positive thing about that flight is that it wasn't supported solely on the wings of Vick.

Reid may not have any idea what to do with a power rusher, but he is a master at sniffing out strong, fast, medium-sized RBs who can catch the football. McCoy is so good he deserves a flight to Hawaii this year.

The rest of the offense has just been waiting for the rest to catch up:  Jackson is such a threat that he is effective without a ball thrown his way and Maclin appears to be fully recovered from that terrifying health problem of last year. The O-line ran its own version of 52-card pickup for eight weeks and at last seems to have found a winning combo.

And, love him or hate him, Vick remains a one-of-a-kind phenomenon.

Juan Castillo's job is safe for another week at least as the defense absolutely obliterated the Cowboys O. This bunch of shuffled and reshuffled odd bag of rookies and retreads have finally coalesced into a defensive powerhouse.

If they can hang on to what they found on Sunday night, the Eagles are riding the thermals up the standings in the NFC East. Look out, Big Blue. 

There's Trouble in DC City: Washington Redskins (3-4)

Mike Shanahan's first shutout. I am less impressed with either Mr. Shanahan than much of the NFL world, but that is an amazing fact given his many years of coaching.

This is a short story:  There are simply too many injuries on an offense that was hardly explosive to begin with. Running back, No. 1 WR, TE and a dinged-up line. All of this without the benefit of a top-level quarterback. I think it's over. 

London Fletcher is a one-man wrecking crew in the middle of that defense, but he can't rush the passer, stop the run and pull down interceptions at the same time. 

Orakpo and Kerrigan will get their share of sacks going forward and DeAngelo Hall will no doubt ruin a few passers' days and QB ratings. But it won't be enough.

No one is talking about the 'Skins being in the Andrew Luck chase. But they should be.

A Complete Mystery: Dallas Cowboys (3-4)

I did not intend to have the Cowboys on this list. I make fun of Tony's newlywed and impending fatherhood status as the reason for his distracted season. But this is ridiculous!

Anyone watching the offensive and defensive introductions to Sunday's game, including me, would think, "That is quite a collection of gridiron talent." And it is. So, why can't they put it together? 

I hate saying that a team needs to be "blown up." I don't like anything about the phrase. But after Sunday night I have to admit that it may be the only option left for this team at the end of 2011. 

I understand why the Eagles had a slow start:  They are an All-Star team that had no preseason. So, what happened to Dallas? 

This team came storming out of the gate looking like it would be another 13-3 season. Then Tony Romo made a couple of boneheaded mistakes and they stumbled. 

Well, you can't blame it on Tony anymore. This is another full-team meltdown. It's inexplicable. 

Like I said in my picks this week, "I do not understand anything about Texas." Must be something in the water.

Refusing To Quit: Offensively Challenged Cleveland Browns (3-4)

His name is Chris Ogbonnaya. I wonder if he could be Pat Shurmur's solution to the Hillis-gate nonsense going on in Cleveland.

More likely, his arrival signals that the Hillis hamstring is in much worse shape than anyone in Cleveland wants to think. And Chris only managed 37 yards Sunday. Oh dear.

Meanwhile, Colt McCoy and Joshua Cribbs absolutely refuse to bow to a general lack of offensive talent. They continue to produce late in games, keeping Cleveland competitive. On paper anyway. 

This Browns defense has flat-out wowed me in the last two weeks. They are playing NFL-level D. Too bad the offense is stuck in high school.

Remember that the defense was built by Mangini and Rob Ryan and is now run by Jauron. The offense is Pat Shurmur's sole responsibility and he acts as the offensive coordinator. So far, it's dismal.

I hope that there is improvement offensively in the last half of the season or they might replace Shurmur too. While I do not think Shurmur is a good coach, yet another new offensive scheme might ruin Colt McCoy for good. 

Cold comfort, for sure, to Cleveland's faithful supporters.

Lost Season: St. Louis Rams (1-6)

We all know that Week 8’s beatdown of the Saints was much more a product of a New Orleans collapse than of a Ram rally. But this was the way I expected St. Louis to play this year—and I did not see it until this week.

The offense was doomed to struggle when the front office refused to give Bradford a receiver. Then No. 8 was injured and the Rams had to rely on Feeley. Correction, on Steven Jackson.

Now that Jackson is healthy, he is back to his usual, under-appreciated self—tearing up defenses. Jackson has a stride that is so smooth it masks his tremendous power. This Sunday No. 39 rushed for 159 yards and two TDs. I’m thinking Hawaii. Again.

Brandon Lloyd looks comfortable now and, when Bradford gets back under center, we should see some passing production.

I was perplexed and severely disappointed by the Rams’ heretofore-lame D. How could a Steve Spagnuolo defense that has been drafting for this side of the ball consistently (with the exception of Bradford) play like weekend warriors? Wussy weekend warriors. But they seem to have found their collective spine in Week 8, so I expect an improvement.

This team could be downright watchable when Bradford returns. Unfortunately, with a 1-6 start to the year, St. Louis will be home for the New Year. 

"What the Heck Is Going on Around Here?": Arizona Cardinals (1-6)

I’ve always considered Kevin Kolb to be a good quarterback, but not a great one. Thus far, he is proving me right in Arizona. Granted, he had no preseason and granted, their top draft pick running back was injured before Week 1.

And then the second running back (Beanie Wells) was out of action for a while. And I do have to give Kolb that the O-line appears to be made of Swiss cheese. Plus, who the heck hires Todd Heap? I honestly don’t remember a year in which this talented-but-breakable TE played every game.

However, I’m not exactly seeing leadership beaming out of Kevin thus far. And Whisenhunt hasn’t dazzled me in this department either. It makes me wonder if the leadership on this team departed when Warner retired.

The good news is that they managed enough offense against the Ravens to almost win. Last time I checked, though, almost winning was losing. And don’t even get me started on the defense.

The bottom line is that the Cards will improve throughout the rest of this year. But with San Francisco storming back into the NFL under Harbaugh, the NFC West won’t allow another .500 team to sneak into the playoffs.

Not a Chance: Indianapolis Colts (0-8)

Zero and eight. Staggering, isn't it?

In preparation for this article I was watching the Colts at Tennessee. By the third quarter, my husband was begging me to change the channel. Yeah, it’s that bad.

Going into Week 8, Indy had been outscored 75-7 in 2011. No wonder Manning looks like a tall, skinny Churchill during the Battle of Britain.

You know it’s bad when all anyone can talk about is whether the team should pick the No. 1 QB next April.

No Friggin' Way: the Miami Dolphins (0-7)

I heard one of the NFL Network analysts say this week that “the Miami Dolphins fired their coach in the offseason. They just didn’t tell him.” That’s cold.

However, they really did tell him; they just didn't use words. The fact that the team still didn’t get a quarterback in the offseason and that the entire staff is in lame-duck mode virtually guaranteed on-field disaster.

However, the 'Fins are showing tremendous professionalism by playing hard every week. I have to say that Sparano has done the only thing he can do as a coach in this position:  It’s no-holds-barred, freewheeling, go-for-it football. So fans might have something to see in the second half of the year. It just won’t save the season.

I’d like to say that things will be better in 2012. But I can’t. Miami will have a new coaching staff, hopefully a new quarterback and heaven knows what else. Unless the team experiences an historic turnaround (which they have done once this century already), 2012 won’t be much better.

Rush for Luck: Seattle Seahawks (2-5)

Or is it "rush for luck?" Either way, don't expect the Seahawks to be bidding for that number one pick. They clearly don't know a good QB when they had one.

Why does Pete Carroll have a coaching job? After skating away “Scott Free” from USC (wonder where that expression came from? Who is Scott?), Carroll is having his usual lack of success in the NFL. He must give a great interview. Or maybe the ‘Hawks’ front office is too young to remember that Carroll can’t cut it in the pros.

I have to give the Emerald City boys credit for Marshawn Lynch. When healthy and focused, he can carry an offense in the same way as Steve Jackson. But even with him toting the pigskin, Seattle came into this week averaging only 88 yards per game on the ground.

I will never understand bringing in a QB who has proven ineffective (Jackson) and the offensive coordinator (Bevell) who tried for years unsuccessfully to make him effective. Even stealing Sydney Rice won’t fix that.

The one thing that will move this team up into the "having hope" category would be if Carroll and Company get it through their heads that Charlie Whitehurst is a better quarterback than Jackson. Was in August, still is in November.

Of course, this is not saying much. Carroll pulled Whitehurst Sunday after 1 and a half quarters only to see Jackson go 21 of 40 for 300ish yards and an INT. Yeah, that was stellar.

The defense seems perpetually on the brink of being good, without ever crossing over into actually being good. I don’t’ understand it. Again, I think they have an overall focus problem. And that is coaching.

Total, Unmitigated Disaster: Denver Broncos (2-5)

I’m sorry, Denver faithful, but this is what you get for drinking the Tebow Kool-Aid. I wish No. 15 well—I do. He really does do everything right.

But he is not playing well and I think the front office wants him to play just well enough to trade him. That’s hard to overcome. How else can you explain the fact that Timmy is now the only offensive weapon on this team? Brandon Lloyd was jettisoned the moment that Tim got the reins, the rest of the WRs can't separate and the running game is tepid, to be kind. Ugh.

I’m not a Fox fan, but I do have to admit the defense is slightly improved from 2010. Slightly. But they have an aging Champ Bailey issue that is going to be awkward to say the least until Champ hangs it up.

The team will struggle along gamely, and Tebow will pull off a few miracle wins to keep the fans from lynching Fox. The defense will keep it just close enough to be moderately interesting. But only if you want to watch Tebow.

Like Miami, I wish I could say that 2012 will be better. But unless a real QB drops into Denver’s lap, followed by a real running back—I don’t hold out much hope for a couple of years as Elway and Fox try to remake the team in their image, and since I think they have incompatible ideas of what that image should be—good luck.

Thirteen may be an unlucky number and it may be Halloween—but this is the only team where the situation is truly frightening.