5 NFL Teams Already Out Of Contention For 2014 Season

[Bonecrusher#31]

5 NFL Teams Already Out Of Contention For 2014 Season


Every NFL team has a chance. That’s why they say, “any given Sunday, or Thursday, or Monday, or Saturday, if it’s late in the season.” (We really need a pithier cliché.)

The thing is, every team really doesn’t have a chance. Some teams are obviously terrible. We know they’re terrible. They weren’t very good last season, and nothing meaningful happened to change that. Or maybe they were okay last season, but all the players that made them okay have since moved on. Either way, they’re terrible now. They may still steal a few wins along the way. But come December, they’ll be playing for pride and draft picks.

Here are five NFL teams that are basically already out of contention for the 2014 season.

1. Buffalo Bills

Ah, Buffalo. You almost have to feel bad for them. The team hasn’t made the playoffs this century, yet the fans want it so bad they can taste it. And every year they’re just not even close. Quarterback EJ Manuel may take a step forward in his sophomore season. But now he has to rely on Sammy Watkins, a rookie receiver (albeit a promising one), and Mike Williams, a Tampa transplant looking to put a disappointing 2013 behind him. The ground game is solid, but without a passing threat, teams can key on C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson out of the backfield. Basically Manuel has to produce, but he’s just not there yet.

2. Houston Texans

What better way to turn your team into a playoff contender than to bring in Ryan Fitzpatrick? Okay, there are a lot of better ways. The defense will be stout with Jadeveon Clowney joining J.J. Watt and Brian Cushing. But they’ll need their offense to put up some points. And that’s not going to happen with mostly average talent learning a new system. Arian Foster, or course, is a stud. And a happy Andre Johnson would produce if he got the ball. But he’ll probably just be a locker room distraction (if he’s there at all), especially once Fitzpatrick starts throwing the ball to opposing defenders.


3. Jacksonville Jaguars

They got their man. And quarterback Blake Bortles, third pick in the draft, should be raring to go… come 2015. He may play in 2014 too, especially if (when?) projected starter Chad Henne can’t produce, but don’t expect miracles. Even the best quarterbacks need a supporting cast, which just doesn’t exist in Jacksonville. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew is gone, replaced by Toby Gerhart. Wide receiver Justin Blackmon is out for the season, leaving Cecil Shorts and a couple of rookies. (Geez, I just fell asleep typing that last sentence.) With this cast, would it really matter if Bortles or Henne were under center? The defense will be better this season, though they could hardly be worse.


4. Oakland Raiders

The Texans dumped Matt Schaub for Ryan Fitzpatrick. So, of course, the Oakland Raiders saw an opportunity to, um, get better? It wouldn’t be an offseason if the Raiders didn’t do something confusing. They could also go with rookie Derek Carr, which wouldn’t be an upgrade. The rest of the roster is improved, with free agents and rookies offering upgrades at many positions. Running back Maurice Jones-Drew will push the oft-injured Darren McFadden. Lineman Justin Tuck and LeMarr Woodley will bolster a weak defensive front. Linebacker Khalil Mack will be a force behind them. But many, many questions remain, like: just how will all this fit together? The Raiders may have turned the corner from last season’s disaster, but only just barely. There’s a lot of sorting out to do.


5. Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys could put a third grader under center and surround him with a bunch of farm animals, and they’d still be projected to go 9-7 with a shot at the NFC East title. They’re a little better than that, at least on offense. The Cowboys success this season rests on Tony Romo’s back. He’s recovering from his second back surgery in as many years, and will be limited in training camp. How will he fare come opening day? The Cowboys offense is stacked — Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray, Jason Witten — but it won’t much matter if Brandon Weeden’s getting them the ball. The defense was terrible last season, and only got worse. Jason Hatcher is now a Redskin, and DeMarcus Ware a Bronco. Defensive motor Sean Lee will be a spectator as he recovers from a torn ACL.

 

[Midswat]

Don't get the third grader and farm animal comment. But agree with the rest.

Jason just needs more time to rebuild this thing!

 

[jeebus]

Don't get the third grader and farm animal comment. But agree with the rest.

I think it means that no matter how bad we are the fan boys will assume a winning record

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

That is pretty dumb to lump us in with those wrecks, though. Mostly, none but maybe Buffalo has a QB.

 

[Midswat]

I believe the assumption is Romo will have his back amputated this year and we'll have to roll with Weeden.

 

[ZeroClub]

After 3 consecutive 8-8 seasons, it is sort of stupid to predict that the Cowboys will be extremely good or extremely bad this year. If Garrett has proven nothing else, he's certainly shown that he knows how to keep a bus rolling in the middle lane.

 

[UVAwahoos]

This is 100% correct.

1) our schedule this season is way more challenging than the 8-8 runs.
2) the defense, as stated, went from bad to worse. Even perfect Romo (like Denver last season) won't matter much.
3) the team doesn't listen to the coaches. It's like 1996 again without the talent.

I love it. I just want this team to go 5-11 or 6-10 so we as fans can know once and for all if Jerry is serious or not. If he brings back ginger or brings in some other puppet like Norv, it'll be time to kinda let this whole thing go. If we blow and then he redeems himself again by bringing in a respectable coach, then I'll keep caring at least a little bit. I love Romo and his story but it'll be hard to give a shit once he's gone. Ware was my next favorite player and I'm sure witten's days are numbered. It's hard to care about a crazy jackass like Dez.

 

[dbair1967]

I wish there was a a "dislike" so I could use it on Wahoo

 

[ZeroClub]

For what it is worth - As tough as the Cowboys' schedule is this year, it isn't all that different from any other team's in the NFC East.

Each of the NFC East teams have to play Seattle, the 49ers, Indy, ...

The difference is that the Cowboys have New Orleans and Chicago as compared to:

Carolina and Green Bay for the Eagles
Minnesota and Tampa Bay for Washington
Lions and Cardinals for the Giants

I think the Eagles have it a little tougher than the Cowboys. Some are predicting strong seasons for Tampa Bay and Arizona, so it could turn out that the Cowboys' schedule isn't much tougher than Washington's or New York's. Besides, we are only talking two games out of a 16 game schedule so it isn't as if any of the schedules are radically easier or more difficult than any other.

It'll probably be another nauseatingly close divisional race ...

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

Yeah, I'm sure that like always seems to happen, the schedule won't turn out to be what it looks like now.

I have a feeling that San Fran and Seattle are due for a downturn and those teams won't be the juggernauts they have been. Plus I think this division is still going to suck.

Totally down for UVA's plan, though. The Gingerbus is always going to be stuck in the mud. Let's get this stupid experiment over with ASAP and either start to go somewhere or totally give up if Jerry hires another stooge.

 

[UVAwahoos]

Even if some of those teams have a down year, I can't think of a single one with equal or worse coaching. Plus, they all have young talent. I doubt Chi, SF, NO, Seattle, or AZ will be bad at all. They don't have the franchise structure to sink like us.

As long as Foles sustains his play, Philly should be ok in our division. Giants and Skins will blow per usual.

The absolute WORST thing that could happen is us sneaking in during a bad NFC East year and then getting inevitably destroyed by a good team. That would probably be enough to continue this ginger saga for another 5 years.

Would be hilarious to watch Ginger and Wade Wilson combine forces to groom a QB of the future though. They could really inspire that young man by sharing personal nfl success stories of how to hold a clipboard in the most comfortable manner.

 

[UVAwahoos]

The way I see it, we will lose 6 games on that schedule cleanly with no problem. Just need to herp derp through 3 others to get ginger canned. I think we can do it.

 

[bbgun]

I love it. I just want this team to go 5-11 or 6-10 so we as fans can know once and for all if Jerry is serious or not. If he brings back ginger or brings in some other puppet like Norv, it'll be time to kinda let this whole thing go. If we blow and then he redeems himself again by bringing in a respectable coach

we've done the coach carousel thing before. won't work without a real GM.

 

[ZeroClub]

UVA, I think your absolute WORSE scenario is not so unlikely. In fact, my guess is that it will either happen or that it will almost happen.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

Even if some of those teams have a down year, I can't think of a single one with equal or worse coaching.

No doubt about that.

The way I see it, we will lose 6 games on that schedule cleanly with no problem. Just need to herp derp through 3 others to get ginger canned. I think we can do it.

Somehow I just expect the worst to happen. Red Pecker has already had nine lives to be around this long, thanks mostly to Romo. Wouldn't be surprised if that continues.

One wild card for me, what if we get a bad injury. For all the bitching about our injuries last year, they were mostly scrubs. Losing a .195 hitter on the D-line for another .195 hitter off the street looks like you're piling up the injuries but doesn't really matter much. What if Tyron blows a knee or Witten or Dez are out for the year. Or of course Romo.

But then Jerry would probably use that as an excuse to keep his boy. :suicide

 

[UVAwahoos]

True. The writing is probably on the wall and we're all just in denial. I've had so many great memories with this team that it's hard to not care. Hell, 2006 and 2007 were more fun than even 1995 for me. It was great to see the emergence of Romo and the resurrection by Parcells.

That excitement is all but gone now. I can't even look at Ginger. I don't buy into a single thing he says and I know for sure the players don't either.

To contrast BB's point, I do think that '07 proves we can do it with Jerry as GM. The main factor is following Seattle, NO and SF's lead. You need a good coach and the rest can definitely fall into place.

The absolute worst place to be as a team in any league is sub .500

Nothing good happens in that sports friend zone.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

I don't buy that it's absolutely impossible to win with Jerry, either. Still think a Gruden or someone with the right personality can manage to not piss off and alienate Jerry but still know WTF he's doing when it comes to coaching the team.

 

[Doomsday]

I don't buy that it's absolutely impossible to win with Jerry, either. Still think a Gruden or someone with the right personality can manage to not piss off and alienate Jerry but still know WTF he's doing when it comes to coaching the team.

I agree, it's all about chemistry between the coach, his staff and the players.

 

[bbgun]

To contrast BB's point, I do think that '07 proves we can do it with Jerry as GM. The main factor is following Seattle, NO and SF's lead. You need a good coach and the rest can definitely fall into place.

Well we lost because we ultimately didn't have enough good players. The Giants' d-linemen beat up on us and everyone else that post-season. And those linemen weren't drafted by their owner but rather a real GM. Phony GM Jerry and his scouts can only get us so far.

 

[ZeroClub]

It occurs to me that Jerry/Garrett are now doing what I wanted the team to do about 4-5 years ago.

Back then I believed that even though both sides of the ball were suspect, it would be better to concentrate on building the offense first (esp,. a major rebuild of the OL using premium parts) than to make half-assed efforts to fix both sides of the ball simultaneously. It seemed to me that developing a potentially powerful offense (capable of quality pass protection, run blocking, etc.) would take the team farther than would a slightly improved offense and defense.

So I gotta say, I'm interested to see what happens ... especially if that OL comes together.

I'm not expecting playoff success, but a more entertaining regular season would be an improvement.