The Worst Personnel Decisions of the 2011 NFL Season

This NFL season has been full of head-scratching decisions by front offices, and these are the worst personnel decisions of 2011.

In a season where the Green Bay Packers and Tim Tebow dominated all sports networks, some of these lame-duck personnel decisions seem to have gone nearly unnoticed. Does anybody remember the the Carson Palmer trade?

As for the personnel issues this year, there’s been plenty of decisions to question, but you know what they say about hindsight.

Hindsight vision might be 20/20, but these are the moves that had me baffled the minute I heard them being discussed.

Donovan McNabb Going to Minnesota

I loved Donovan McNabb as much as the next guy, but you have to know when it’s time to hang it up.

I understand that Christian Ponder isn’t going to give you the best chance to win (right now), but that’s your team’s fault for drafting him anyway.

We won't talk about that first-round draft pick, though, but you had to know better than starting McNabb this season. The Minnesota Vikings have the best running back in the league, so why not start Ponder and let him get some valuable experience to build toward the future?

Yeah, he’s getting some experience at the end of this season, but imagine how much he would have learned if he, not McNabb, started the entire season. That’s valuable experience that was thrown by the wayside.

As for McNabb, well, he had four touchdowns and two interceptions in six games played, and he came in out of shape! These are the kind of decisions that make me want to say, "C’mon man” in my Keyshawn Johnson voice.

Not Having Curtis Painter Ready to Play

I understand that Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, but you have to have a quarterback behind him that’s ready to play.

Curtis Painter was not. Painter has thrown six touchdowns this season and nine interceptions, so it’s been a long year to say the least.

The Indianapolis Colts won their first game of the season in Week 15. This is the first year that I’ve ever considered giving the MVP to a player that hasn’t played a single down all season long.

Is Manning that valuable to this team? I believe he is, but I also believe that a poised backup quarterback that knows the system well could have success with this talented Colts team.

Manning or no Manning, going 1-13 with the Colts is an injustice.

Andy Reid Hiring Juan Castillo as DC

I like Andy Reid. I think he’s a great football coach, and I trust his judgement when it comes to football.

But let’s just say that hiring Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator was not his defining moment as a head coach.

For most of the season, Castillo’s schemes have been exposed and offenses have thrashed this defense. What was thought to be a strength before the season turned out to be a weakness for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles have struggled with their defense all season long, and it’s the biggest reason why this "dream team" hasn’t turned out to be all that dreamy.

Releasing David Garrard in Jacksonville

I understand that this was a move to save money, but why Jacksonville, why?

David Garrard was never the flashy quarterback that could make all the throws or bring an entire country to the edge of their seats like Tebow, but he’s proven that he can take care of the football in the past.

Garrard managed the game well in his career in Jacksonville, but he did have a career-high 15 interceptions last year.

There might be more going on behind the scenes that fans don’t know, but Garrard’s departure still makes me scratch my head.

Raiders Trading for Carson Palmer

The Oakland Raiders basically gave away their 2012 first-round pick.

That’s all you need to know about acquiring Carson Palmer, because since the Raiders have acquired him, he’s thrown nine touchdowns with 13 interceptions and lost their last three games.

The Raiders are now in the fight of their life with the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers for the AFC West.

This trade was not smart at all in my opinion, because we all knew it would take Palmer some time to develop chemistry with the wide receivers and get the playbook down. Not worth losing your first-round pick at all.

Jacksonville Drafting Blaine Gabbert

This seriously was the shocker of the year to me.

Let me take you back to April this year and try to paint the picture of how I felt about the Jaguars drafting Blaine Gabbert.

“And with the 10th overall pick, the Jacksonville Jaguars select...Blaine Gabbert.”

This was my response: “They drafted who? Surely, not the Missouri quarterback, right? That has to be a mistake!”

To this day, I don’t know how Gabbert was the 10th pick of the draft. I mean, really? I said going into this draft that if you want a quarterback, you might as well wait until next year’s draft unless you get Cam Newton.

I’ll give it to Andy Dalton, though. He’s had a great rookie season.

But Gabbert, Jacksonville?

Gabbert has completed 50 percent of his passes, and he's thrown 11 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. I just don’t know.