I know, I know. It's only week 2 and it's early and blah blah whatever. Through 2 weeks of the season I feel comfortable enough to say that the following teams are out of it. These team has shown some horrible flaw that tells me, they aren't making the playoffs or if they are it will be some giant fluke and they'll get destroyed in the first round. So let's take a look at our animated corpses shall we...
New York Giants
Few teams have ever had such an incompetent running game. Through 2 games the Giants have carried the ball 33 times for 73 yards. That's 2.2 YPC! That's insane, even bad teams can get 3 yards a carry. David Wilson is the leading rusher with 14 carries for 36 yards and he's already got 2 fumbles. Ouch. The team is also dead last in defense as they're giving up 38.5 points per game. while allowing 747 yards of offense against them. This team is just bad. The only positive for this team is they play in a god awful division and 8-8 might be able to get you the crown. I'm saying dead though.
Washington Redskins
Another NFC East team. This team has just been brutal to watch this season. RG3 doesn't look like he's 100% and the defense is just beyond awful. If it wasn't for how terrible the Giants defense is, they would have the worst defense in the league. They've allowed over 1000 yards of offense in just 2 games. 2 GAMES!!! How does that even happen? This team also can't score on offense. Don't be fooled, most of the points they do score come in garbage time. Green Bay was up 38-7 and just quit trying. What I don't get about this team, is why are you sending RG3 out there when he's clearly not fully healed and risk him further when Kirk Cousins is sitting on the bench and he can win you games. This seems like a perfect time to sit RG3 and let the guy fully heal.
Philadelphia Eagles
3 out of 4 NFC East teams. That must mean that Dallas is winning the division... I don't know. All 4 of the teams suck, Dallas just hasn't looked as bad as the other teams. The Eagles haven't been brutal by any stretch but they have some fundamental flaws that are going to hurt them in the long run. For starters, their defense isn't very good. Their time of possession against San Diego was less than 20 minutes. So you have a mediocre defense and you're going to force them to be on the field constantly. They might score 30 a game but they could also allow 30 a game. Plus, Vick's health is a constant concern. He could get injured and start playing poorly again. I see them falling off as the season progresses.
New York Jets
Their only victory was kind of a fluke. The offense is just awful. I think Geno Smith is doing better than Mark Sanchez would be but that's not saying much. They can't run, their best offensive option left the team. I just don't see how they can win more than 3-5 games this year.
Cleveland Browns
The offense is the issue here. The defense has played some really good football through the first two games. Trent Richardson isn't getting the job done on the ground, Weeden just isn't going to work out as an NFL calibur QB and the offensive line has really struggled. The Baltimore game is what this season is going to look like. I foresee a lot of games where they hold the team to 17 pts. and can't manage more than 10. This team has no shot of a playoff spot.
Author's Note: This was written before the Richardson trade went down yesterday. It doesn't really change the outcome of their Walking Dead status. They're going to probably win 3-5 games at best.
Pittsburgh Steelers
I thought the Bengals played a pretty poor game last night and I also never thought for a second that the Steelers were a threat to win the game. Bill Simmons linked to this article in Pittsburgh Magazine about how Todd Haley is ruining the offense. Past that, they don't have a running back, they don't have a deep threat and the secondary isn't very good. They're 0-2 right now and they haven't played what I would call amazing teams. I think the Bengals are winning the North but they haven't been what I would call good through 2 games.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Need I say more? I think Chad Henne makes them a better team. But I think Henne makes them a 4-12 team instead of a 1-15 team. Their offense is bad on an epic level. Fun fact, the team is currently on pace to score 88 points this season. It's really just sad that a team could actually be this bad.
Carolina Panthers
Ron Rivera is just a bad coach. Kicking a field goal instead of going for it on 4th down probably cost the team the game. Cam Newton hasn't been good so far this season. The running game has been okay and and the defense has been okay. This team just doesn't win close games and I think you're looking at another losing season.
Oakland Raiders
Come on... do I even need to write anything here? I think not.
That's quite a list for it only being Week 2 of the season. There are just some bad bad teams out there. I will update this list periodically when more teams join the ranks of the NFL Walking Dead
Though old, the secondary is actually doing pretty well for the Steelers. Taylor, Clark and Polamalu all have had good games so far. The problem is deeper than Haley. Let me show you what the problem is:
ReplyDeleteSteelers quality players:
1. Ben Roethlisberger
2. Heath Miller
3. Troy Polamalu
4. Ryan Clark
5. Ike Taylor
6. Brett Keisel
7. Lawrence Timmons(questionable)
8. Lamarr Woodley(questionable)
9. Maurkice Pouncey(oft-injured)
The problem is that the first six were all drafted by Cowher. The only decent players that Tomlin drafted, he drafted back in 2007 when he was brand new and didn't know what he was doing. He drafted both Timmons and Woodley that year. He got lucky. Pouncey was drafted in 2010, but was injured prior to the Super Bowl vs. Green Bay and hasn't been able to stay on the field since. In other words, the Steelers can't draft worth crap anymore and aren't getting the pro bowl players like they used to be. If the season keeps going like this the rest of the way, I don't care about Haley, I want Tomlin's head. Get a whole new regime in there. New coaches(other than lebeau), new trainers, new scouts, etc.
Both my Dad and I have actually begun to wonder whether the Steelers only won the Super Bowl against the Cardinals because Tomlin still had so many of Cowher's veterans.
Oh, and if I seem a bit whiney it's because I'm not used to the Steelers being a team on a Walking Dead list two games into the season. Sigh...