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The 2012 regular season is officially over. Congrats to the teams that are still in contention. For most of us however, we will be sitting at home like our teams and watching the playoffs stress free. So what went wrong? What went right? What do you want your teams to do this offseason in the draft and free agency? New York Giants Despite winning the superbowl last year, very few people picked them for the division and rightfully so. The team is talented but flawed, and very inconsistent. They had the division almost wrapped up several weeks ago and proceeded to lay eggs against Washington, Baltimore and Atlanta, ruining their chances. They finish with a winning record, second in the division but with defeated hopes at a repeat. It's pretty disappointing, but hard to feel so bad with the recent success that's gone our way in the last year. What went wrong -Our Offense began to stagnate halfway through. Eli was forcing passes to Cruz that just weren't there. Our O-line fell apart due to injury. Nicks was hurt. Brown broke his leg. -Defense was getting by on turnovers for a while. They dried up, and got exposed. -D line couldn't get pressure, Tuck looks done -Linebackers cannot cover tight ends -Secondary cannot stay healthy, Webster fell off a cliff -Nicks couldn't get healthy -Team is still talented as hell, but only seems to get on the same page half the time. What went right -The Hynocerous -Martellus Bennett dropped some passes but overall was an excellent pickup. -David Wilson owns. Rueben Randle looks like he could become a good WR. Jerry Reese is still good at drafting. -Stevie Brown was a nice surprise -Prince came into his own -Gilbride's playcalling as a whole was better this year. The Giants just couldn't execute. -Strahan kept his sack record. Thanks, Favre! -Still won 9 games in a hard schedule. The future The Giants have a lot of money wrapped up in declining vets. We owe Cruz a big contract, and I anticipate lots of cuts of bigger names. Osi is likely gone. I wouldn't be surprised if we drop Terrell Thomas after 3 years with the same knee blowout. Webster doesn't deserve to be starting. Rolle is getting annoying. The team isn't going to overhaul, but it's going to need bigger action taken during free agency, something Jerry Reese hasn't done much of. The team needs CBs, LBs, DEs, and O-line. The holes on defense are big enough that Reese isn't going to be able to plug them with a small Free Agent like Keith Rivers or trust everything to draft picks. I don't expect all our issues to be solved (we haven't had good linebacking for years) but we need more action this year than normal. I have faith in Reese's drafting. The coaching is okay. Fewell could have made more adjustments as our Zone coverage was getting eaten late in the year, but it could have been the injuries. Gilbride is fine, there probably isn't anyone better that we could hire in either place right now.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 05:13 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 21:25 |
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The Pittsburgh Steelers This can be seen as something of a transitional year for the Steelers. The old-guard is getting to the twilight of their careers, but their replacements are not quite at the level to replace them yet. This season was in trouble from the beginning, and it was hard not to see this coming. What went wrong -Injuries. Too many big names got hurt. More importantly, they rush their guys back in before they are healthy. -QB Depth. Lose Ben, Lose the Game -Consistency. Our best players cannot seem to be trusted to perform at their best every play. -O-line. Ben is not invincible any more. He needs more protection What went right -Dwyer/Redman at running back -Heath Miller's offensive contributions -The relative efficiency of the Secondary without Harrison or Polamalu -Overall defense still plays well despite injuries The future The O-line needs work. Hopefully a healthy DeCastro will help with that. We also need a competent 2nd string QB because Batch and Leftwich cannot be relied on, and Ben cannot be trusted to play a 16 game schedule. There also needs to be a serious revision of our culture. We have to stop pushing injured players before they are ready. We lost more games rushing Ben back to health than letting him heal would have cost us. Same with Troy. Heath Miller is frankly too important to rush back, let him heal. A lot of fat needs to be cut from our offense. Mendenhall and Wallace are great, but have not shown a lot of consistency. It would be better to let them go and use that money in more important areas.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 05:23 |
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The New Orleans Saints Can't say I'm surprised. 7-9 isn't too bad, all things considered. What went wrong - Ahahaha bounties what the gently caress Saints. Literally interim interim headcoach into Interim head coach. Thanks for coming back, Payton. - Defense. If you can call it that. In the same way the 2011 Saints had a historically great offense, the 2012 saints had a historically bad defense - Drew Brees. I want his man babies but he cost us a lot of games with his usual int throwing shenanigans - Drops. While Brees giftwrapped a few games to opponents, a lot more games were lost on the team's strength (its offense) loving up and dropping 5 passes a game and killing good, high probability of scoring drives. Really bad, dumb drops probably cost the team a winning record and an outside shot at playoffs. What went right - Sean Payton got signed up this week - Drew Brees didn't die - We won 7 games somehow so a few times the defense wasn't atrocious and the offense was its old good self The Future Man I don't even know. Drew's on the downside of his career and it doesn't look like the defense is going to be anything resembling a strength this decade. The team's in cap hell for awhile and it looks like everyone in the division is going to get progressively better. The future is a short window to ride out the rest of Brees' contract and look for some success there. I'd say look towards fixing the defense, but the team's got no money to spend, and has horrible sense in defensive drafting. I suppose it's not likely that the defense could be worse next year, and with Payton back, the team might go back to scoring 40 every other game. That and a bit of luck and the team's still a contender for the next handful of years. Two Tone Shoes fucked around with this message at Dec 31, 2012 around 05:39 |
| # ? Dec 31, 2012 05:37 |
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The Kansas City Chiefs I'm so tempted to write everything, nothing, and it's hopeless but I'll give it an actual shot. Other Chiefs guys can come in later and add things or disagree with me. This is a franchise that's probably not at rock bottom in a Lions under Millen sense, but things aren't good. What went wrong: -The Quarterbacks. Matt Cassel was apparently saving up interceptions the last couple of years to unleash them all this year. Brady Quinn couldn't move the offense at all but was arguably better just since he didn't turn the ball over at such an alarming rate. Ricky Stanzi either annoyed the living poo poo out of coaches or more likely just looked absolutely awful in practice. -Injuries on the offensive line: The line was a bright spot early in the season, by the end of the season they were on their third string LT, had Lilja playing center which he'd never done before, and had some guy the Cardinals cut giving them snaps. -Stanford Routt: Signed to replace Brandon Carr, was pretty horrible, missed a curfew and was cut from the team -Coaching: I like Romeo (while thinking he should absolutely be fired), but he's a hell of an example of overly conservative decision making. The team was 2-12 before he would even think about going for fourth and shorts deep in opponents territory. Brian Daboll had almost nothing to work with after a certain point in the season but he was pretty awful too What went right: -Jamaal Charles still owns -Run Blocking, especially on the right side. Eric Winston had his quibbles with fans but performed well on the field -Dontarie Poe was not the disaster we all expected. Not that he was dominating but there's enough there to be cautiously excited. Justin Houston looks like he's going to be something special. The future: Lots of big decisions coming up for KC. Romeo is almost surely gone, Scott Pioli may or may not be gone. I have to believe this will be his last chance to hire a coach if he sticks around, and he'd better find one he works well with. At the least we'll probably have a new coaching staff up top (HC, OC, DC). The quarterback position needs to be addressed top to bottom, maybe you keep Quinn if you either draft a starter or find one in free agency, but you obviously look for an upgrade. Cassel's done in this town and if Stanzi couldn't get PT this year he never will. My tentative expectation if Pioli stays is that they will find a journeyman to start and try to develop a draft pick. Dwayne Bowe and Brandon Albert are the biggest free agents, speculation is that Bowe will be allowed to walk if Pioli's still around. I'd expect Albert to be locked up to a long term deal or franchised. Glenn Dorsey will probably be gone and Tyson Jackson is a likely cut because he's been stealing lots of money from the team for a while now, so defensive ends will probably be considered a need. If Bowe leaves there are no wide receivers worth anything currently on the team, it's a position of need either way. They'll probably look for a #2 corner as well since the Routt experiment obviously didn't work. LBs are solid, the O Line is good enough if Albert comes back. Shaun Draugn appears to be a capable backup but I'd imagine they'll take a look at backup RBs too since no one believes Charles is a workhorse type back (probably correctly). I'll stop for now, but this should be a somewhat decent overview. e: Glenn Dorsey, not Ken. He's been disappointing overall but I'm sure he plays a better DE than Ken does. Grittybeard fucked around with this message at Dec 31, 2012 around 06:00 |
| # ? Dec 31, 2012 05:57 |
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Carolina Panthers We're climbing out of a really bad place. Both 2011 and 2012 were rebuilding years, and while we weren't expecting much last year, some of us had a little more hopes for this year. The beginning of the season was absolutely abysmal, but towards the end we started to find our footing and play decently, even though there was a sense of too little too late. What Went Wrong - The easiest answer is Ron Rivera's coaching. Seeing the Panthers punt on 4th and 1, when Newton can make a run like that in his sleep says a lot about Rivera's too conservative playcalling and that he has no business coaching this team. - The complacency with the players and the coaching staff. We start to cool our heels when we're ahead and it has led to us losing so many games even with a lead in the 4th Quarter. It's redundant to say that the Panthers constantly need to be planning their next move, since that's what all football teams should be doing, but when you aren't prepared for the opponents repeatedly attempting and succeeding with an early 4th quarter comeback, you're in trouble. What Went Right - Regardless of wins, Cam had the season of his life and still managed play well in most cases against the opposing teams. - To my surprise, the defense really stepped up this year, with Greg Hardy, Charles Johnson, and newcomer Luke Kuelchy being absolutely dominant players. The Future Apprehensive, mostly. The Panthers' performance in the last couple of weeks might save Rivera's job, but I'm hoping that the organization will recognize that there are fundamental problems with Rivera that can't be solved as the season goes on. However, I'm really not expecting much. CPFortest fucked around with this message at Dec 31, 2012 around 06:11 |
| # ? Dec 31, 2012 06:05 |
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The Bears: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d98KJNnOoak e: For actual content. What went wrong -The offensive line is terrible and Cutler may die. -The Bears had difficulty scoring all year, especially when the defense went from insane to merely very good. -Not enough Corey Wootton (I am a Northwestern homer and have dumb, unrealistic expectations about Corey Wootton). -Devin Hester is no longer able to Devin Hester people. What went right -The Bears had an insane defense and started the season scoring at an unprecedented rate. Though they inevitably came back down to earth, they were still the strongest unit on the field. -Charles Tillman strips balls -Tim Jennings is the new Interceptor -Brandon Marshall was beyond my expectations, and it is really weird to have a Pro Bowl wide receiver on the team. -Forte is still an excellent back, although his role in the passing game was diminished. -I really like Alshon Jeffrey, even though he was hurt and pushed off every Green Bay cornerback. -The Bears won ten games and missed the playoffs because the Green Bay Packers are dumb chokeheads. The Future Uncertain. A lot of people, including possibly Emery, want Lovie out. He has one year on his contract. The defense is old and Urlacher may not be back. Cutler could die at any moment he steps on a football field. The main priority is to fix the offensive line by any means. With Cutler, Forte, Marshall, Bennett, and Jeffrey, the skill positions seem fine on offense, but the Bears will not win anything without having at least a replacement level line. Cutler will become a free agent after next season, so his contract status could become a problem if nothing gets done before the season. The defense also needs reinforcement from younger players, and Melton should be re-signed. The Bears should be on the outskirts of the playoff picture next year, barring a catastrophic injury meltdown or everyone on the defense getting super old at the same time, but it is also time to start thinking about the future, which looks pretty dire after next year. R.D. Mangles fucked around with this message at Dec 31, 2012 around 06:55 |
| # ? Dec 31, 2012 06:38 |
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R.D. Mangles posted:The Bears: My Facebook feed is chock-full of "FIRE LOVIE" idiots and I'm starting to worry that the higher-ups in the Bears organization will listen to it.  What Went Wrong -Offensive line is still one of the worst in football -Only have one legitimate receiver on the team in Brandon Marshall -Bafflingly stupid offensive playcalling at times -Lots and lots of injuries What Went Right -Defense, especially in the way of turnovers -Finally have one legitimate receiver on the team in Brandon Marshall The Future Now that Jerry Angelo is finally gone, maybe the Bears can figure out how to draft players they need, instead of just grabbing project defensive linemen in order to keep the "monsters of the midway" reputation. They need to focus on offense, big time. Get Cutler some targets that can actually run routes and catch, and get some players to buy Cutler more than 2 seconds in the pocket on every play.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 06:58 |
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Can I post here yet or do I have to wait until the Texans lose on Saturday
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:05 |
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Intruder posted:Can I post here yet or do I have to wait until the Texans lose on Saturday Behold, folks, the whiniest post.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:09 |
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Two Tone Shoes posted:Behold, folks, the whiniest post. I should have more confidence in my team that lost 3 of it's final 4 by more than 10 points each game
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:10 |
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The Texans just didn't want a bye so they can all hang out and play one more game this year. They did it on purpose and will nuke the remaining teams in the NFL, god have mercy on our souls.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:11 |
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Intruder posted:I should have more confidence in my team that lost 3 of it's final 4 by more than 10 points each game No, but you shouldn't come whining in the thread explicitly for teams that didn't make the playoffs because you're a big baby about it. There's like 10 other threads on this forum to talk about how much you hate the Texans, this is the one that's about other bad teams.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:12 |
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The biggest disservice in that game is that between two likable teams one of them has to lose.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:12 |
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Two Tone Shoes posted:No, but you shouldn't come whining in the thread explicitly for teams that didn't make the playoffs because you're a big baby about it. There's like 10 other threads on this forum to talk about how much you hate the Texans, this is the one that's about other bad teams. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings Also the Texans are a bad team, at least now e: If Giants fans can talk about a decade of failure I can talk about the 2013 offseason 
Intruder fucked around with this message at Dec 31, 2012 around 07:16 |
| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:13 |
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Intruder posted:I'm sorry I hurt your feelings Hurt my feelings, okay man. It has nothing to do with the fact that you apparently can't read or just couldn't help but say the Texans can't win in every thread possible. edit-- The Giants fans couldn't talk about a decade of failure, the one that did got completely railed for it.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:16 |
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The Cleveland Football Browns What went well - Our D-Line is great with good depth too (Winn, Rubin, Taylor, Sheard, Rucker is a good top five) - Josh Gordon is our best receiver since Braylon's freak year - Greg Little is less of a shithead - TRich is awesome when healthy - Sheldon Brown was not the worst cornerback in the NFL - Offensive Line slowly got it together. Should be excellent next year. - Montario Hardesty finally showed some potential - Dick Jauron is a great DC What went wrong - Right side of the O-line was real bad a lot of the time. Run blocking in general was bad, but those fuckers couldn't pass block for most of the year. - Pat Shurmur's strategy of battling and progressing. - Pat Shurmur's playcalling hierarchy - LB injuries/BS suspensions. - S Injuries - Pat Shurmur in general What remains to be decided - Weeden looked like a starter one week and Colt's backup other weeks. - Is there a QB controversy to start next year? - Is Chris Gocong a starting caliber LB? - What will happen to Craig Robertson and James Michael-Johnson The Future - Look for defense with the first rounder this year. We need a CB2, LB of some type, and a pass rusher. - Who the hell knows who the coach will be - Who the hell knows who the GM will be - TRich will hopefully be a fixture for years to come. - Our lines will both gain experience. - The receiving corps has some good potential for once - Our defense is solid as is and can only improve right now. Really, this wasn't a bad season by Browns standards. Most of the fixes are things that will get better with time or temporary to begin with. I'm really not super pessimistic. ....Now watch us hire Pioli and O'Brien
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:26 |
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Intruder posted:Can I post here yet or do I have to wait until the Texans lose on Saturday Yes, you have to wait, ya jerk.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:29 |
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When the Texans win the Super Bowl everyone paste Intruder's post so he will be shamed for lack of faith
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:30 |
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Neodoomium posted:Yes, you have to wait, ya jerk. Ok I'll wait [Space reserved for Saturday evening] Kiwi Bigtree posted:When the Texans win the Super Bowl everyone paste Intruder's post so he will be shamed for lack of faith I'll gladly eat every crow (It'll make up for all the "daddy why are you so sad" I heard today)
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:30 |
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I better wake up to an unemployed chanyrd skynyrd tomorrow.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:36 |
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Intruder posted:Ok I'll wait Look it's good that you'll wait, but just in an attempt to explain the reactions you got. I understand the annoyance about being told not to complain about your perhaps obviously flawed team that happened to win some games in most threads but this one is very specifically about teams that will play no more games this year. Complain in other threads for a week, if you're right you can come back here and complain to your heart's content. Right now it comes off as being patronizing even if that isn't your intent. e: Silly little words elude me at times. Grittybeard fucked around with this message at Dec 31, 2012 around 08:19 |
| # ? Dec 31, 2012 07:59 |
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Maybe I should have clarified in the OP: talk about your team once your team is officially eliminated for the year. Current playoff teams need not apply yet.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 08:03 |
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Intruder posted:I'm sorry I hurt your feelings Hi Kawalimus
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 08:20 |
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TheGreyGhost posted:....Now watch us hire Pioli and O'Brien O'Brien would probably be a better hire than McDaniels or Saban or most of the other currently rumored Cleveland targets. I mean gently caress, I get Haslam being disgusted by Shurmur's limp-dicked bullshit, but unless everything reported about their coaching/GM plans is entirely fabricated then none of the replacements seem any good at all.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 08:40 |
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Fire Diehl into the sun. Fire Bradshaw into the sun. Fire Osi into the sun. Give Tuck one more chance to get healthy. Find a linebacker, somewhere, anywhere. I love how in preseason all the beat guys said it was when not if for Herzlich to take over MLB. That one game Blackburn was out he looked totally overmatched. Decent special teamer, glad he beat cancer but WTF. Rivers had exactly one good half of football in a Giants uniform. He looked good too, till he got hurt. Fire Webster into the sun. I never realized his much Aaron Ross meant to this team, and Ross was terrible. The Giants secondary and linebackers are god awful and there is no rescue coming. It's dogshit the whole way down. Cruz needs to get paid. Nicks needs to get paid. Somehow Barden is like the #2 WR in salary, despite needing to be fired into the sun. Hixon is mediocre, sun. Randell looks like a player. Giants are set to fall off a cliff as they're getting old and expensive at key positions meanwhile any rookie with promise needs to ride the bench till he knows his place or some garbage. Well, another Tom Coughlin sawn dive off the 10' platform into a pool with no water in it. I can't wait to see how many ways they find to choke and gag their way through meaningful games down the stretch to wind up a bubble playoff team after a good start. I think '10 might of been worse due to having such a huge lead in the Eagles game, but this year was right up there with the Coughlin choke job classics.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 09:12 |
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I'm very glad I won't ever have to watch the 2012 Saints again live. The whole season was hosed. The shame and disappointment I felt sitting in the Superdome watching the Chiefs. The agony that was the second Falcons game, the 0 TD 5 INT game. The Cowboys fans that wouldn't stop talking about Sean Payton. Our defense. 2012 was awesome. 2013 will be better.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 10:43 |
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The Bears What went right: -Brandon loving Marshall. People doubted that he was already the best wide receiver before even stepping on the field for the Bears. He broke the yardage record in like 12 games. -Jeffery looks to be an excellent #2 outside receiver despite missing so much time to injuries. -Henry Melton is a...pro bowler? I don't understand. -Peppers is still a beast. -Lovie is still a good coach, goddamnit What went wrong (here we go): -Mother loving Kellen Davis is not only a supposed extra blocker, but more importantly expected to catch wide open passes. HE DID NEITHER -Devin Hester, get the gently caress off this team. You are bad at returning and legendary bad at being a receiver. Golden Tate is Megatron Rice compared to you. -The offensive line! Oh, where the hell do I start. Bookended by two league worst tackles in Webb and Carimi, the interior filled with undrafted rookies AND Carimi. We need depth, we need starters, put loving Earl Bennett in there next year or something. -Tice, why it take you 14 games to get over what Bennett has done to you? The guy had been our best middle-field guy for the past 2 years, why are Kellen Davis and Devin Hester getting these passes??? -Run Michael Bush in short yardage and goal-line carries. How the gently caress do I have multiple situations recorded in boxscores telling me the Bears were in the redzone and never played Bush when he was healthy, arrrrrrrrgh -We need loving depth. I don't mean quality depth, I mean "Yes, I played this position at some point in my high school career at least." -I hope drafting a special team gunner in the third round was worth it, Emery.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 11:09 |
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Dallas Cowboys I think what hurts the most, what really stabs me right in the heart, is that Romo is going to take all the blame yet again. I'm not saying he shouldn't be held responsible for 3 picks, because that's entirely on his shoulders. But all the injuries, terrible O-Line play all year, bad tackling, injuries, penalties (penalty) together won't take away what 99% of the Cowboys fanbase is feeling right now. I still hold a torch for Romo, but christ if this loss didn't go in the worst way possible. 8-8, 3rd in the NFC East, garbage position in the draft and still a lot of holes to fill. We simply cannot ignore the O-line and put one together with spares and glue. We need interior linemen so that Demarcus Ware/Anthony Spencer aren't the only threats. We need to do all of this NOW before our key players simply become too old. The Dallas Cowboys need to fix things fast, and I just don't know if Jerry Jones is capable of helping them do that. If there's a silver lining, and there is one believe it or not, it's that the Cowboys have found a decent-sized talent pool of backups should the need arise. The defense didn't get destroyed by the Redskins today, and somehow they managed to hang in there with a field full of 3rd stringers. That's impressive to me, all things considered. There might be a gold nugget under all that dirt, and I guess we've got an offseason to find it. Overall, this season fell shy of my expectations. Despite everyone's pessimism that the Cowboys were an 8-8 team before the season even began, I predicted them going 10-6 and winning the division. The saddest part of this season is that it was easily doable. Get that field goal against the Ravens, keep Dez's fingertips inside the endzone for that last second TD against the Giants, and today's game may not have mattered. Sigh...time to get my heart ready for another disappointment. 
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 11:51 |
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Shurmur is gone. May the Browns stop being the Browns, but not by the means used previously. Let's have Ohio teams winning the division and wildcard next year.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 14:40 |
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Jacksonville Jaguars The most irrelevant football team. After eight years of staunch mediocrity under the reign of Weaver/Smith/Del Rio, one sold the team and the other was fired last season. We had reason to hope -- An owner who might actually spend money! A coach who might give a poo poo about his team and not completely mishandle the QB position time and time again! A GM who...well, still the same GM who got us stuck with Blaine Gabbert. Cue The Great Mustachio who promptly hired Mularkey (and allowed him to bring along Bratkowski) to "coach" us into another season of abject failure. What Went Wrong - Quarterbacks. I feel a little bad saying so -- for personal reasons -- but Gabbert just will not be a good NFL QB. Henne isn't statistically much better, if he is at all, but he still should have been named the starter when Gabbert started physically falling apart at the seams (rather than sending the guy out week after week only to get injured again on the first sack, Mularkey). Still, neither of them are actually bad enough to mandate the new GM reach for a QB prospect in the draft. Henne will almost certainly be the starter heading into 2013 preseason, for better or worse. - Running backs. We had a glimpse this season of what the team's rushing attack will be like post-MJD, and it's not pretty. MJD himself sat out the entire preseason in an attempt to coax a beefy new contract out of Khan, to no avail, and then was promptly sidelined a few games into the season with a foot injury...on which he's only now decided to have surgery. The expectation is that he'll be cut by the team this offseason but given all the impending front office/possible coaching shake-ups, there's no telling right now. Beyond MJD, the Jags tried a veritable stable of various backs and not a single one actually proved particularly good enough to be considered long-term prospects (and half of them wound up injured as well). - Defense. The one thing, besides MJD, that actually went right in 2011 was one of their biggest overall weaknesses in 2012. So many games that should have been won, only for the defense to jump up their own asses and die in the 4th quarter (see - 2nd game vs Texans). Mel Tucker, at least, is probably gone after that mess. - Coaching. Mularkey? Really, Khan? Really? What Went Right - Receiving options. Holy poo poo, we actually maybe have a couple of these now. Shorts and Blackmon, particularly once Henne stepped in to replace Gabbert, aren't actually all that bad with a QB who can sometimes get them the ball. Robinson was a complete waste of a FA sign but this position isn't nearly as dire as it has been recently and I wouldn't necessarily expect the team to go after the big-ticket receiving FAs this offseason as a result. There are other holes that are just enormous that need to be addressed first. - ...No games blacked out? I can't even say whether or not this is true considering I don't live in Jacksonville anymore. The Future GM Smith just got fired today -- so that will hopefully wipe the slate clean of any Weaver remnants -- and it's possible the entire coaching staff will be gutted under whoever Khan picks up to fill his spot. Gamble from SF and some guy from Arizona and another guy from GB have been named as possible candidates here and as long as none of them even so much as glance at a QB in the first 2-3 rounds of the 2013 draft, we'll probably be okay. On the other hand, the rumor mill is strong that Khan is going to pursue Tebow in the offseason, if for absolutely no other reason than to fill the stadium every gameday with his staunchest supporters. The guy's from that area. Did you know that? Did you?! (Please shut up, Jacksonville local news.) Everyone points to the offense as atrocious -- and it is, without a doubt, one of the worst in the league mostly by virtue of having poo poo at both QB and RB -- but the defense is almost as bad and desperately needs to be addressed this off-season.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 15:10 |
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This season had so many things go wrong for the Saints. The bounty announcements in March, Drew holding out until the very end, Payton getting suspended for a year and playing coach tilt-a-whirl, losing two draft picks, Toon on IR before the season started, the defense blowing goats, starting 0-4, Ingram not doing a whole lot (for the most part), the WRs developing stone hands, et cetera, et cetera. I will say that there was a glimmer of hope when they came back and made it 5-5, but then it all collapsed. Realistically, they can't just cut everyone on defense and start fresh, but man, if there ever was a "once in a decade dump everyone" clause, now would be the time to use it. My hope is that Drew calms down and doesn't try to force throws, we try to use our RBs better, the WRs learn to hang onto the ball, and the defense at least resembles a NFL caliber one. I think we have a third place schedule next year and draft around 15. No idea how we'll draft, but it really needs to be defense heavy. Pick up a ton of young hungry UDFAs and see how they work on defense. It's not like it can get much worse than having the worst defense of all time.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 15:10 |
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Febreeze posted:The 2012 regular season is officially over. Congrats to the teams that are still in contention. For most of us however, we will be sitting at home like our teams and watching the playoffs stress free. So what went wrong? What went right? What do you want your teams to do this offseason in the draft and free agency? Step number 1 if at all possible is definitely draft a cover LB or CB. I like Boley, but he isn't very talented and doesn't have the pure drive that Blackburn has (who also isn't tremendously talented but gives more than 100% and has come up big when needed most in a ton of games including the superbowl). If we can get a LB that would be priority, and we can run that three safety look that we had some success with this year. Webster Has To Go. I also think we need a new DE. Osi is SOOOO done and out of steam and Tuck looks to be losing gas. Maybe we move Tuck inside, draft a new outside guy and let him and JPP tee off while Joseph and Tuck keep the inside strong? (Tuck is very strong and while he didn't have a great season he did get good pressure. He isn't fast however, so putting him outside makes me cringe thinking about another decade of RG3). I'm actually pretty happy about the future, we very recently won a bowl and had an up and down season that ended on at least a decent note. Nicks will hopefully be healthy next season, and with the resurgence of Hixon and the development of Randle, our wideouts are in a good position. I'm a little worried about this whole three back thing that's eventually going to happen next year, especially since Bradshaw just can't stay healthy. Not saying he is bad, but David Wilson is quickly becoming what our offense needs. If Brown's injury hasn't hampered him post rehab, I don't really see where Bradshaw fits in outside of the screen game. Finally, I like Gilbride better this year, last year's play-calling gets a pass since it won us the trophy, but we basically abandoned the run and no one could stop us. Too often our offense has been too simple, predictable and one dimensional. Our screen game almost disappeared, he DIDN'T run his infamous draw plays (which if executed correctly would make Wilson into an absolute nightmare for defenses), and we barely ran any counters or misdirections. Bennett is not a fast TE but I kept seeing these long post routes being thrown his way. He is much better being a check down/possession receiver much like Witten or Heath Miller. Once Nicks is back to as close to 100% as he can get our play-calling will be much smoother since we can incorporate a lot more vertical and sideline throws which is a place Eli is phenomenal in. Quick throws to the outside is not only very comfortable for him, but keeps these blitz packages that tend to fluster him in check. Drop some draw plays with Wilson in there? That's a handful!
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 15:13 |
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The Buffalo Bills Final record: 6-10, 4th-place AFC East, 8th-overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft What went right: C.J. Spiller - He emerged as a running back worth the 9th-overall pick, showing vastly improved confidence, vision, strength, and patience to go with his good hands and electrifying speed. He accounted for many of our biggest plays. Franchise backs are rare in this era, but Spiller may just be one of them. The Draft - Stephon Gilmore put in an excellent rookie campaign, and Cordy Glenn may have been just as good at left tackle. WR T.J. Graham showed flashes and LB Nigel Bradham stole a starting job on the outside and deserves to keep it. Leodis McKelvin - He not only elevated his already excellent return game, but also became a competent(if not especially good) corner. He has dramatically increased his value and is probably set to receive a pretty lucrative contract in free agency. What went wrong: The Defense - Dave Wannstedt, once upon a time, ran some pretty good defenses. However, it became painfully clear uncomfortably quickly that he had not changed his scheme in the past decade, and his scheme proved woefully inadequate for coping with modern NFL offenses. Worse, he never reacted to this, and was never forced to react: he stuck with his scheme as his defense gave up points and yards by the truckload. Personnel utilization - The most egregious victim of the coaching staff's roster mismanagement was C.J. Spiller, who routinely saw criminally few touches in key games. However, that was only the most obvious blunder. Donald Jones was once again thrust into the #2 receiver role, and once again proved inadequate. Tashard Choice got touches. Kelvin Sheppard started at ILB and Chris Kelsay began the season ahead of Kyle Moore on the depth chart. We ran screens to slow WRs(*cough*Jones*cough*) and TEs. We traded a 7th-round pick for Tarvaris Jackson and paid him to watch football from his couch while Fitzpatrick muddled to a disappointing season and Tyler Thigpen remained employed as a back-up quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick - On the strength of a 5-2 start and a September that earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Month, Fitz earned a lucrative, but reasonable, contract last year. He promptly turned into a pumpkin. Many had hoped it was a result of a rib injury(myself included). While the rib injury was real, the Fitzpatrick who had led thrilling comeback victories against the Raiders and Patriots proved to be a mirage. Perhaps appropriately, he shattered the illusion swiftly, by throwing an ugly interception that was returned for a touchdown in the very first game against the Jets. It helped seal their victory before the first quarter was even over. Fitzpatrick would go on to throw 16 over the course of the season. He never again showed an ability to lead the team back or even really accomplish much at all by the strength of his arm. Chan Gailey - I suppose, in hindsight, it ended a year ago, when the 5-2 Bills were blown out at home by the Jets. What followed was a crushing string of losses and a team that spiraled out of control, lost and confused. I don't think they ever recovered. Chan Gailey may have righted himself over the course of the off-season, but, he valued loyalty and friendship over ability. Given the chance to fix the defense, he promoted Wannstedt and promptly fled back to the offensive planning room. After the defense had the equivalent of a nuclear meltdown over the course of two games(blowing a 14 point lead against the Patriots en route to a 52-28 rout and surrendering a second consecutive 50+ point game the following week in San Francisco), Chan Gailey crushed all speculation that Wannstedt was in danger, saying he wouldn't be fired. The defense never improved. When Gailey's play-calling (rightly) came under attack, largely for underutilizing C.J. Spiller, he offered little defense, but refused to relinquish play-calling duties or even make alterations to his scheme to get C.J. more touches. Ultimately, I don't think Gailey had the strength or confidence to admit mistakes. He was unwilling to blame anyone for the team's failings, thus dooming himself to failure.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 17:12 |
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers Every season you don't make the playoffs is a disappointing season, but this is basically about where I thought the Bucs would finish this year, between 6-10 and 9-7. While I think 9-7 was certainly possible and 8-8 should have happened (loving Eagles), 7-9 isn't a disaster. And it is certainly something to build off unlike last year's collapse. What went right: - The Bucs scored more points this season than any Bucs team in history. - Tampa Bay had the number one run defense in the league. - Doug Martin looks fantastic with 1454 rushing yards and 1970 yards from scrimmage. - The Bucs led the league in tackles for loss with 95 - The Bucs barely missed on two receivers have 1,000 yds receiving with Mike Williams falling four yards shy. Williams and Vincent Jackson combined for 135 catches, 2,380 yds and 17 touchdowns. They also combined for 41 plays of 20 yards or more. - Lavonte David is a fantastic linebacker and may end up being the steal of the draft. - Josh Freeman set some team passing records including yards, touchdown passes and passes over 20 yards. - Discipline. The team was 29th in penalties last year and 14th this year. - Never quit. Unlike last year where the team quit nearly every game over the back stretch there was only one game this year you could say the team quit. - Almost every game was close. The Bucs only lost 2 games by more than 7 points and were in most games until the end. They led in 15 games this year. - Greg Schiano and Mike Sullivan. Schiano's influence was visible throughout with the core fundamentals being excellent. The Bucs couldn't tackle for poo poo last year and this year I can't remember yelling at my screen more than two or three times about missed tackles. They were also in excellent shape and played as well in the second as the first half. Sully in his first year gave us our most explosive and most successful offense ever. If Bad Josh hadn't re-emerged it would have been even better. What went wrong: - Secondary, secondary, secondary. Though the Bucs managed to miss being the worst pass defense ever in the history of football by a whopping 38 yards, they were still abysmal. - Injuries on the O-line. Both pro bowl guards went down for the season early and the line was in disarray as unqualified doofuses had to be shifted around in order to keep some semblance of cohesion. - Lack of pressure. Only 27 sacks all season this despite constant blitzing. - 3-5 at home - Blew three games where they had a double digit lead. - General lack of depth. The difference between starters and replacement players is much starker than it should be leading to a collapsing house of cards whenever a starter goes down (as a few are bound to do for every team every season). - Mark Barron, our top draft pick was mostly invisible and contributed to our pass defense being terrible by blowing coverages. The man hits like a truck on fire, unfortunately its usually after the receiver has caught the ball for a 26 yard gain. -Bad Josh. When he's bad, he's the loving worst. Bad Josh finished the season with 7 of the back 8 games having a QB rating under 80 and throwing 9 TD and 12 INT in that span. Also a season 54.8 completion percentage. More frustrating was that the 5 games before Bad Josh was reborn he'd gone for 13 TD, 1 INT and a QB rating of 114. - Bill Sheridan and Ron Cooper - gently caress Bill Sheridan. His scheme with constant stunts and blitzes contributed to our pass d getting burned over and over and over and over all season regardless of the level of talent in the secondary. Ron Cooper didn't have much to work with, but what he had he worked with very poorly. The Future - The future depends on our ability to fix our secondary, stay healthy and Josh Freeman's ability to develop some motherfucking consistency. We have a very talented team with a strong core of both offensive and defensive players. The offensive core of Jackson, Williams, Martin, Joseph, Nicks and Penn is supremely talented and a good building block for success. The defensive core of McCoy, Bennett, David, Foster and Clayborne while not as talented as the offensive group, and prone to injury is also a good group to build around and support. Team needs - Cornerbacks, at least 2 of them. (high priority) - Right Tackle - Trueblood is a failure and the rotating cast of goofballs isn't going to cut it. (high priority) - Pass rushing defensive end (medium priority) - Slot receiver (Tiquan isn't cutting it) (medium priority) - Tight end (Clark is probably going to retire I imagine) (low priority) - A backup quarterback who will push Josh, not Dan Orlovsky (not a priority) - Center - Zuttah is mediocre (not a priority)
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 18:19 |
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What Went Wrong - Bad, bad coaching on both sides - Team quit on coaching staff a few games in, 2011 Bucs-style - Bad QB play - OL injuries - Significant regression of secondary ability What Went Right - Jamaal Charles looks great - Justin Houston, Dontari Poe, Tyson Jackson developed quite a bit My Dream Offseason 1. Fire Pioli, replace with Marc Ross or any decent cap guy that can coexist with 2. Andy Reid. 3. Install Reid's horizontal offense with 4. Geno Smith at the helm. 5. More 1-gap hybrid looks from the defense. 6. RESIGN BOWE AND ALBERT. 7. Draft Kenny Vaccarro.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 18:49 |
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Shinjobi posted:Dallas Cowboys They aren't really the only threats, though. Jason Hatcher had a great year; PFF's fourth overall 3-4 defensive end with a +22.4 grade and a second best pass rushing productivity of 7.8 (would have been first if JJ Watt wasn't a loving monster). Jay Ratliff managed to end with the season with a pass rushing productivity of 6.8. While it's lower than he usually gets (eleventh best this year for defensive tackles), it did come in spite of the groin injury he still had during those snaps. He can still be very effective. Tyrone Crawford might already be the replacement they need at five-technique. He clocked in run stop percentage of 9.5, although in relatively few snaps (sixth best overall). The only time he was a liability all season long was when he went against Evan Mathis, elite run blocking guard. Oddly enough, his best game was against equally elite guard Carl Nicks. He has flashed some formidable talent at times this year. It's a stretch to say this will translate over several snaps, but he has been a quality part of the rotation. I'm excited to see what happens as he bulks up his slender frame. Now, they should address five-technique and one-technique (which Ratiff plays), but it might only have to come through depth, which would be much easier to do. Marcus Spears is forever below average, and Kenyon Coleman probably will retire. Sean Lissemore has been somewhat of a disappoint this year as he was incredibly effective in less snaps last season. However, this might be due to him playing a lot more one-technique than three-technique; I'm not sure. They still need some guys, but there is reason to expect that it won't be near as dire as it might seem. Offensive line also isn't that dire of a unit, in my opinion. Nate Livings was an above average guard all season long, putting in some strong work in the running game. Tyron Smith has had a rough transition but got better over the course of the season. Phil Costa had a straight up dominant game for the one game he fully played, which I had not even thought was possible. Ryan Cook holds back the scheme due to his limited athleticism (struggles to reach the second level from what I've seen), but he has been at least average all year long, which is actually an improvement over last year. I'd be fine with rolling with him until a better option arises; a better option that might already be Costa, as weird as that sounds. Right tackle might end out alright. Jeremy Parnell has played well in rotation. While his technique still needs some improvement, he flashes some real physical talent. When Parnell has a lapse in his technique, he can compensate thanks to that. Doug Free, on the other hand, struggles when that happens. Free's technique has been off for a while now. He has shown the capability to play the position right; hell, he was an elite left tackle in 2010. However, he has gone through multiple blocking schemes and position changes. It's quite possible that an offseason can do absolute wonders for him. Don't under-estimate how difficult it can be for a lineman to go through those changes. Free is especially reliant on his technique; he doesn't have the physical talent Smith and Parnell have. However, because Parnell has come on well, Free could simply be cut without any real loss. There is some real reason to expect that right tackle can get significantly better next season. Right guard definitely needs to be addressed, though. Look at this PFF grading chart of Mackenzy Berdeneau. It's easily one of the strangest I've seen; serious ups and downs, to say the least. Obviously, you never want to see him as more than an emergency center. Some early games can king of be explained away with him still recovering from an offseason surgery. While it's possible that he could ease into it with some more coaching, I'm not near as confident with him as I am with the combination of Free and Parnell. There has got to at least be some competition. This is easily the biggest hole on the team. Derrick Dockery should be cut as soon as possible. David Arkin hasn't been active all season, and I have no idea what to think of him. Berdeneau would be fine as a developmental guy and backup, but going in with him as a starter is a risk you can't take due to the closing window of the key players. Wide receiver, running back, and inside linebacker are definitely some positions I could see addressed in terms of depth. Dwyane Harris has made a big impact, but he still has a lot to work on with his route running. Cole Beasely doesn't really inspire confidence in me. Kevin Ogletree sucks and will not stop blowing routes. I think they're pretty confident in the development of these guys though, and it could work out fine. DeMarco Murray has unfortunately had some injuries. I won't be that mad if they retain Felix Jones due to his pass protection skills, but considering the guy has gone through so many injuries, I doubt he can be relied on, even as a backup. There's also the unfortunate reality that he can't see a hole worth a drat. Phillip Tanner sucks hard in pass protection currently. Lance Dunbar has some talent but isn't a guy I would feel confident with as that coveted Murray backup. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they drafted someone in the third or fourth round. Ernie Sims thankfully provides something as a coverage linebacker, but I never want to see him try to shed a block in the run game ever again. Dan Connor could probably get cut without anyone noticing. If you remember, they would have drafted Michael Brockers (defensive end) and Bobby Wagner (inside linebacker) if they didn't trade up for Morris Claiborne. Wagner owns hard and totally would have helped this season. Rob Ryan can do a ton scheme wise with a guy like Wagner. One of the aspects of Ryan's coordinating I've liked the most is how he can really get talented players involved in areas that suit their strengths. He isn't one to fit a square peg into a round hole, essentially. I could see them going after another guy like Wagner if the opportunity arises. Dallas' ability to assemble a draft board has seriously impressed me over these last couple of years. If there is one thing Jason Garret can do well, it's acquire players. Safety is an interesting situation on this team right now. Gerald Sensabaugh and Barry Church both struggle turning and running with wide receivers, but they both were playing well in the scheme Ryan had early in the season. I'd be extremely interested to see what Ryan could put together if they drafted someone that could play man coverage responsibilities. Somebody like Kenny Vaccaro could be right there for the taking in the first round. These guys are difficult to find, but this draft is anomalously loaded with them on the front end. It would open up the scheme immensely. Sensabaugh is getting older, has had some lingering injuries, and has also had some lingering concussion and dizziness problems. Church has the makings of a fine strong safety if he recovers back to the form he displayed earlier. This could be a great time to go get a safety. Anyway, there really are not that many holes in this team. I'm pretty optimistic about next season, honestly. Of course, this offseason is very important, but given the track record under Garret, I'm actually pretty confident that they'll make at least some of the right moves. Right guard is the number one hole here. One-technique and five-technique might require a starter, but they might require only some strong depth. Running back depth also needs to be addressed. However, after those positions, the team looks pretty strong overall. Hell, right guard is the only position without a solution that inspires any amount of confidence, and it's possible that Berdeneau could become more consistent with the offseason. There are a lot of good things going on with Dallas, and although this season showed growing pains of dramatic proportions, next year could really be something else.
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 19:33 |
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ForbiddenWonder posted:I better wake up to an unemployed chanyrd skynyrd tomorrow. \  /
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 19:33 |
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2012 Chicago Bears What Went Right -The aging defense, which everyone thought would be middle-of-the-pack at best, was fantastic. Peanut Tillman in particular played at an all-pro level. Some of the young guys showed they were more than faces in the crowd (Melton, Wooton, Conte) -Brandon Marshall is already the greatest receiver in Bears history and it is not close -They went 10-6... What Went Wrong ...but only after squandering a 7-1 start, becoming only the second team in history to go 7-1 and fail to make the postseason -The offense got worse. And it was already pretty bad. -With the exception of Lance Louis, every offensive lineman was bad. The tackles couldn't handle speed off the edge, and the interior never got a push -Tice was in over his head as an OC, but it's hard to be creative when you cannot block. -Holy poo poo Kellen Davis get the hell away from the Bears -Devin Hester might be through -Forte played ok, but not for the money the Bears paid him -No secondary options beyond Marshall -Toub probably had his worst season, but ST as a whole was still ok. -Missed the playoffs for the fifth time in six years. Offseason and Beyond -Well they already fired Lovie and are looking for a new coach. So that will take care of Tice! -Go into full rebuild mode. The offense is at that stage, anyways, and the defense is getting older. While the defense might hold up for another one or two years, I am not sure it'd be capable once the offense is unfucked. I highly doubt a new coach would want to keep Marinelli and the existing defensive system. A lot of the defensive veterans have value and could net draft picks if the Bears go in that direction. The Bears have a *lot* of needs (youth on defense, especially at corner and LB, and pretty much every offensive position outside of QB/RB/WR). -Emery needs to draft well the next few seasons -Find a coach that can implement a big boy offense. It's pretty much all on you now, Phil. Good luck!
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| # ? Dec 31, 2012 19:35 |
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xeria posted:Jacksonville Jaguars Haven't had any games blacked out since 2009, and that was during the deepest lows of the recession. Jags games have the best average and highest overall total attendance of the Florida NFL teams. This is really more sad for Tampa and Miami than it is uplifting for Jacksonville, given the wide differences in metro area population. Adding to xeria's post.... Jacksonville Jaguars What Went Right -Mike Mularkey was terrible right from the start, raising the chances that he will be removed sooner rather than later. It might seem like this would belong in the "What Went Wrong" section, but Mularkey is so bad that after Gene Smith saved him from being fired as the OC in Atlanta, our old OC took over his job in Atlanta for one year and is now being interviewed for HC jobs. Yep. -NY Jets/Tebow antics this year mean that now Tebow gets booed more lustily when appearing on TV in sports bars than President Obama (which is remarkable around here, at least), so the vocal minority of mouthbreathers locally that want him on the Jags are getting drowned out by people who actually buy tickets to games. What Went Wrong -Someone gave Laurent Robinson a little kids' toy helmet instead of a real one, so he got 4 concussions this year and might never play again. Another FA "splash" perpetrated at the hands of the now-departed Smith. -We selected a punter in the third round of the draft this year, and he had 2 consecutive punts taken to the house by the Titans in the last game of the year. Not a good look. The Future -Looks like we will get a real GM for next year instead of a guy who's picture should be on the Wikipedia entry for "The Peter Principle". -With the 2nd overall pick in next year's draft (as well as the 1st pick in the 2nd round), the presumably competent GM that takes over should be able to add some talent to the woeful roster through the draft. This probably means a DE with the 2nd overall pick, and talent at one of the dire positions on the offensive side with the 33rd overall pick. -Jaguars will continue to have better home attendance than other teams in Florida, because there is not much else to do in Jacksonville than watch a football game after skipping church on a Sunday. The incredible lease that the Jaguars signed with the city for Whatever-we-call-the-Gator-Bowl-now Stadium should keep the team here for several more years, with the worst case scenario being that the team moves to London once the penalties on the lease are lessened enough that it will make sense.
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| # ? Jan 1, 2013 02:15 |
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| # ? May 25, 2013 21:25 |
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araeris posted:-We selected a punter in the third round of the draft this year, and he had 2 consecutive punts taken to the house by the Titans in the last game of the year. Not a good look. So aside from two breakdowns on Special Teams he was pretty good for the year, all things considered.
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| # ? Jan 1, 2013 02:28 |
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