I can’t remember a time when 25% of the NFL teams are so blatantly inferior to the rest of the league. Historically, there has always been a handful of teams during a season that are laughable to the point where any victory is viewed as an upset. But now you’ve got 8 teams (Redskins, Raiders, Titans, Chiefs, Browns, Buccaneers, Rams and Lions) that are clearly apart from the rest in terms of futility. What do you think is/are the reasons that so many teams are so bad in 2009? Discuss.
its alot of things from bad coaching to losing players to free agency. Actually parity is not the norm there were teams in the 80s and 90s that were always superior to other teams.
I'd add the panthers to that list as well. In the Browns case, it's horrible play calling, not enough good players at the skill positions (who do you double cover on this team?), bad QB play, horrible tackling, bad positioning on defense (a safety out of position led to at least 2 of the long Packer TD's yesterday), but our special teams unit rocks. Zastudil for the pro-bowl. The thing is, one of these horrible horrible teams is still only going to pick 8th or 9th in the draft.
you know, back in the early 90's, the modern age of free agency began. for many years, the league had created 'parity' where most everyone was on a fairly even playing field from week to week and year to year. However, the last few years have not shown us parity at the bottom OR the top. 16-0 patriots? 0-16 lions? the same teams winning year after year like the eagles, pats, steelers, colts, and giants? i don't think parity really exists right now in the nfl and it may get a LOT worse if the cba doesn't get worked out.
yep, the nfl would become just like mlb and it would be the same 10 or 15 teams that win all the time. if there was no salary cap in the nfl, i would become a very casual fan overnight. i would only watch a couple of games a month just to enjoy the sport. all of the excitement of the league though would be out of it for me.
I've still got my passion, but it's the time of the year when I just don't give a crap anymore. Keeps my blood pressure down.
You can also throw in the effect of those ridiculous salaries that make teams put players out there a lot earlier to learn their position. In a team sport like this, it can be brutal. Also add in that the NFL is so comfortable with their fan base that you see a lot of vets being squeezed out before their time on nothing but a money saving move. Besides, some of these losses come from a small # of plays that make team's records look a lot worse which can be directly linked to that inexperience.
crapty management.........how can a team who constantly drafts in the top ten be so damn crapty i dont get it
chris collinsworth did a radio interview this week and he made a really good point. In today's salary cap age, teams end up dumping a bunch of their best players in order to prepare themselves to rebuild for the future with young talent and get their salary cap in good shape. he thinks it's creating a lot of the disparity that we're seeing.
Good points. But Omen hit the topic that just confounds me. Example, you need look no further than the Detroit Lions. Good FO + great HC makes a great organization, aka, the Steelers (IMO).
sorry i couldnt put it better but look to the steelers and eagles and pats just to name a few.......they drop old players dont over pay except where they have too and draft really very well all this is good management along with good coaching even if they changed the rules to something else some of the teams struggling now would some how find a way to stay crapty and suck it up in the league
Yep. Lions first come to mind and unfortunately the Chiefs are building a weak foundation with ill-advised draft picks and a rook HC who also wants to be OC. A recipe for future futility. Pats, Steelers and Eagles sum up the good.
I think it might have something to do with the fact that when a team starts losing (like the lions do quite frequently) instead of working with what you have...building on the skills people do have and letting the coach actually work with the team, they just fire the coach bring in new people, draft, grab free agents etc etc and then they have to start over. Generally in sport when teams actually have time to play consistently with each other AS A TEAM instead of bringing in new coaches and players the team will improve. This is not always the case but scrapping everything and starting over every year practically is never the answer. This just guarentees your team will be out of sync for a long time. Look at the Patriots...Tom Brady and Wes Welker...they connect for some reason...why don't know but theyve had a few years to get used to each others styles and build up some sort of cohesive trust. Then you look at the lions...I dont even want to count how many quarterbacks they have gone through in the last freaking 6 years. I have hopes for Stafford lets just hope he doesnt completely fall to the lions curse of injuries lol
It is weird this year to see the teams that arent that great that used to be unstopable, and to see some of the teams everybody thought they could walk right over and it turns out that they are now a force to be recken with. Who really thought the Cinci could come out like they did. Everyone knew the saints would be pretty good this year but I dont know if anybody figured this far in they would be undefeated. Giants everyone thought was going to be huge, but when they played a team with talent they crumbled and now it seems they are in quicksand unable to grab that branch, hopefully they will reamerge. Lions were looking like they were improving but I guess it was just a glimmer. Raiders one moment look great and the next they look like the lions could beat them. Every week I second guess myself about who might win, this year anything could happen......
yeah but the cincy was what one game away from the SB just a couple of yrs ago....anf they really havent changed much HC QB WR are still there with a few moves here and there so the potential is still there i wouldnt count the Gmen out they play in a tough division NO i dont think will go undefeated they got to play NE and ATL twice still and look it what MIles A has done he has been there with the DC for what 4-5 yrs and many fans discounted him (includeing me) and he just breaks out bc him and TR have been playing togather all this time and it has finally paid off
they were one game away from the AFC divisional playoffs against the Indianapolis Colts on the road. Then they would've been one game away from facing the Denver Broncos on the road. Then they would've been a game away from facing the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. EDIT: and why the crap am i still wearing this ugly avatar?
