NFL Disappointments

Mike Vick and the 2-4 Eagles may well be the biggest disappointment so far this year in the NFL

Along with the surprise NFL teams we have every year, there are those that disappoint.  We aren’t merely talking about teams that had moderate expectations before stinking; we are talking about playoff-caliber teams that completely fall off the radar.  Often times injuries play a big role in this, but for some teams they just fall apart.  Let’s take a look at some of the teams that have fallen well short of expectations this year, and see if there is any hope for them to get back on track.

 

Philadelphia Eagles (2-4, 4^th NFC East)

 

The “Dream Team” of the 2011 season seems to have had its wings clipped early on this season, sputtering to a 1-4 start before a potentially season-saving victory at Washington this past week.  Despite that win, Philly still sits at an unremarkable 2-4.  This is in large part due to their front seven on defense, which is in the bottom third in the league in rushing yards allowed per game.  This shortcoming has allowed other teams to dictate the tempo of games.  Also, QB Mike Vick has not played nearly as well as he did last season.

 

Prediction: 25% chance of making the playoffs.  While the Eagles have been struggling, they are only two games out of first in the weak NFC East.  Also, they get a bye week now before a favorable schedule to close out the year, with 6 home games and only 4 road games, two of which come at Seattle and Miami, both very beatable teams.  If the defense turns things around, I could see them finishing as high as 10-6.  But I wouldn’t count on that just yet, as even with Rex Grossman giving up 4 interceptions, the Eagles only managed to beat the solid if unspectacular Redskins by 7 points.  I think they’ll finish 7-9 or 8-8 and miss the playoffs, but they have the most upside of any of the underachievers on this list.

 

Kansas City Chiefs (2-3, 3^rd AFC West)

 

After making the playoffs last season and appearing to be one of the true up and coming teams in the league, the Chiefs have sputtered to an uninspiring 2-3 start.  They have been decimated by injuries, losing their best offensive player (RB Jamaal Charles) and defensive player (S Eric Berry) and even budding TE Tony Moeaki to year-ending injuries, all before week 2 had ended.  There have even been rumors of the Chiefs firing Todd Haley mid-season due to a rift with GM Scott Pioli, which would further complicate things.  QB Matt Cassel has looked shaky, but at least he and the Chiefs have righted the ship to some extent, getting to 2-3 with wins over Indy and Minnesota, who are a combined 1-11 right now.

 

Prediction: 3% chance of making the playoffs.  While the Chiefs only sit 2.5 games out of first in the AFC West with a crucial home game coming up against the Chargers in two weeks, I just don’t see them even sniffing the playoffs this year.  They face a brutal 6 week stretch beginning week 11, with games at New England, versus Pittsburgh, at Chicago, at New York Jets, versus Green Bay, and versus Oakland.  They are going to be hard pressed to win any of those games.  I don’t see them winning more than three more games, with the most likely victims being the Dolphins and the Broncos (twice).  At this point, a 5-11 season with the injuries suffered by KC could be considered a success, but nonetheless it would be a massive disappointment for a team that looked so promising after last year.

 

Saint Louis Rams (0-5, 4^th NFC West)

 

The Rams came into this year with legitimate NFC West title hopes, having missed the playoffs by only a game last year behind a rookie QB in Sam Bradford.  Now, instead of making a leap forward with a maturing team, the Rams have taken a quantum leap backwards.  Both sides of the ball have been pathetic, with the offense mustering an NFL-worst 9.8 points per game, and the defense allowing a 3^rd-worst 27.4 points per game.  While Bradford hasn’t progressed much, much of the blame can fall on his receivers, a group which may be the weakest in the NFL.  On defense, the Rams have been killed by injuries, as they have lost their three top corners.  The combination of injuries and insufficient talent has doomed them this year.

 

Prediction: 0.1% chance of making playoffs.  The Rams are pretty much doomed this year, as injuries have ravaged the defense and the offense is sputtering, but at least there may be hope for a slight revival in coming weeks.  They made a great value trade for Brandon Lloyd, bolstering their receiving corps in an effort to improve QB Sam Bradford’s confidence by getting him a guy who would actually play for other teams.  While they are not going to make the playoffs, the offense should become more dangerous, and with games against inexperienced teams like Arizona, Cleveland, Seattle, and Cincinnati, the Rams are bound to find a few wins by season’s end.  I’ll leave the 0.1% chance because they do still play in the NFC West and I’m not completely sold on Alex Smith leading the 49ers.

 

Indianapolis Colts (0-6, 4^th in AFC South)

 

Ladies and gentlemen, your clubhouse leader for Andrew Luck (sorry, Miami).  As everyone knows, the Colts’ playoff chances were decimated by Peyton Manning’s neck surgery.  But what this year has proven is that he may well be the most valuable player in the NFL.  When Tom Brady missed the 2008 season with a torn ACL, he was adequately replaced by Matt Cassel.  In Indy, there has been no such luck with Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter, even with Painter showing flashes of life recently.  The offense has been abysmal, currently sitting next to last in the league with 284.7 yards per game, despite a veteran O-line, running back, and receiving corps.  The defense has been pretty bad too, allowing 27.2 points per game despite still having DE’s Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney.

 

Projection: 0% chance of making the playoffs.  Unlike Saint Louis, there is literally no way I can see the Colts making the playoffs barring a return by Peyton Manning next week, which just is not happening.  Making matters worse, they face a very tough schedule from here on out.  Regardless of whether Manning comes back, I expect them to get a win or two, but a 2-14 season sounds pretty likely, a far cry from the glory days of Manning.  Hopefully he comes back fully healthy next year.