The Tennessee Titans missed the playoffs with a 7-9 record, but that result could easily have been flipped. The Titans lost six games by eight or fewer points with two of them coming in overtime.
The sub-.500 season cost Mike Munchak his job, however, and the Titans are a team in transition. Ken Whisenhunt has arrived in town and brought with him Ray Horton as his defensive coordinator. And the team already has been active on the free agent market. But one of the big questions remains whether or not Jake Locker is the QB of the future.
Can Locker and Whisenhunt take this team to the next level? Or will 2014 be Locker’s last in town before the new coach brings in his own guy? And just how far is this team from making a playoff push?
Joshua Huffman, editor of Titan Sized, shared his thoughts. Here’s what he had to say:
Zoneblitz: Tennessee went 7-9, but lost two overtime games and six by eight or fewer points. What’s your assessment of the season? (more…)
Aaron Rodgers was hurt, the Chicago Bears were hemorrhaging, the Vikings were a mess and Detroit was in first placein the NFC North at 6-3 with seven games left in the 2013 season. Then the wheels fell off. A team that looked like it had the chance to make a decent run in the playoffs lost six of seven to close the season, losing out on the division title and the post-season, and costing Jim Schwartz his job.
So what happened? And how can a team that has stockpiled as much talent as the Lions have finally break through and take the next step? Zac Snyder, editor of SideLion Report, shares his thoughts on where Detroit stands and where the team can go from here.
Zoneblitz: About midway through 2013 Detroit looked like it had the inside track on the NFC North. Then the Lions collapsed. What happened and how would you assess the season? (more…)
Three of the earliest free agent defections Tuesday afternoon were left tackles and they all could have ramifications on the fantasy prospects of several new teammates.
The big signing was in Arizona, where the Cardinals signed Jared Veldheer. Veldheer isn’t well known, having played for some of the more inept Oakland Raiders teams in recent years. But he was ranked among the top players at his position – this SB Nation list had him second, but personally I like him better than Branden Albert, the guy they ranked first.
Anyway, after years of struggling along the offensive line, Arizona is expected to pair Veldheer with Jonathan Cooper, the first-round rookie in 2013 who missed the season with a broken leg. If Cooper recovers, Arizona could suddenly have the makings of an average to above average line.
It’s hard to see the Cardinals turning the entirety of its run game over to Andre Ellington in 2014. But the rookie did surprise in 2013 with 1,023 total yards rushing and receiving and four TDs last year. His prospects go up with two-fifths of an offensive line coming together, even if he does share time with someone like Stepfan Taylor or a draft pick. (more…)
Buffalo has not been to the playoffs since 1999 and has lost double-digit games the last five seasons. But 2013 may have provided a bit of a turning point.
The team added head coach Doug Marrone, athletically gifted QB EJ Manuel and stud middle linebacker Kiko Alonso to a roster that already included the likes of C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson, Steve Johnson, Jairus Byrd, Mario Williams and a handful of other solid players.
Just how much progress was made is hard to assess, given that Manuel and Spiller, among others, missed significant time or effectiveness with injuries. But there is at least some optimism that the core may be more in place than it has been in awhile.
So, how close are the Bills to ending that playoff drought? Matt Warren, senior editor of Buffalo Rumblings, shared his thoughts.
Zoneblitz: In 2013 Buffalo was 6-10 for the third straight year and fourth of the last five. What is your assessment of the season compared with the previous couple? (more…)
Another of the NFL’s most disappointing teams in 2012 was the Minnesota Vikings, who dropped to 5-10-1 after going to the playoffs as a wild card in 2012.
Adrian Peterson’s 2,000 yard 2012 season propelled that postseason run, but for everything that went right that season, more went wrong in 2013. Christian Ponder regressed, losing his job twice and ensuring he would be lucky to see the field regularly in 2014. And the defense was a mess, ranking last in the league in points allowed and second to last in yardage allowed.
The miserable season cost Leslie Frazier his job and certainly has General Manager Rick Spielman on notice that a repeat performance won’t be tolerable. But this team does have weapons, particularly on the offense, where Cordarrelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph join Peterson as toys with which new offensive coordinator Norv Turner can tinker.
So what will this team look like in 2014? Much depends on what management can do at the quarterback position, says Jon Merckle, senior blogger with The Viking Age. He shared some thoughts with Zoneblitz.
Zoneblitz: After making the playoffs in 2012, the Vikings fell apart in 2013, going 5-10-1. What went wrong and is this team’s talent level closer to the 2012 or 2013 season? (more…)
Ten games into the 2012 season, Tampa Bay was 6-4 and riding a four game win streak into playoff contention under the leadership of Josh Freeman.
The Bucs lost five of six to close out the season, but Freeman looked good enough at times that year to convince some that he really was coming together as the future franchise QB.
Not so much in 2013.
Tampa got off to a disastrous 0-8 start and four games in, Freeman was benched and ultimately released. The 4-12 season was the team’s second in three years and it led to the dismissal of Greg Schiano as coach.
So where do the Bucs go from here? Leo Howell, editor of the Pewter Plank, stopped by Zoneblitz.com to share his thoughts on what Tampa has going heading into 2014.
Here’s what he had to say.
Zoneblitz: After an at least semi-promising 2012 season, the wheels fell off in 2013. The Bucs would seem to have way too much talent to start 0-8 and go 4-12.What went wrong?
Howell: Poor coaching was really the main issue, as it spread to other areas of the team. The coaching staff ran a horrible offensive scheme, which limited the players. The coaching staff couldn’t develop Josh Freeman, ran him out of town (either intentionally or unintentionally). And eventually, the decisions of the coaching staff drove the team past the point of being a contender, and as you said, the wheels fell off. Soul-crushing losses to start the season against the Jets and Saints set the tone for an incredibly disappointing season. (more…)
lost six games by eight or fewer points with two of them coming in overtime.
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