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…)
Running reactions to the fantasy football ramifications of NFL Free Agency, by whatever Zoneblitz staffer happens to get there first.
April 16
This New York Jets team sure is making itself interesting. Chris Johnson signed a two-year deal with Rex Ryan’s club on Wednesday, finding about as good of a home as he could’ve as a 1B-type running back when it comes to his fantasy prospects. Sure, putting him as the No. 1 in, say, Arizona, might’ve been more desirable strictly speaking in terms of overall carries. But Johnson’s 1A is Chris Ivory, who isn’t happy if he isn’t hurt. When the two are on the field together, Johnson will get enough work to make him dangerous, and viable as a weekly flex play in 12-team leagues. And when CJ2K has to carry the load when Ivory’s on the shelf, he’s a must-start RB2, if not RB1.
– Anthony
April 2
So DeSean Jackson has signed with Washington. Normally I hate the Redskins’ big-time, big-name free agent signings, but this one may be an exception. Jackson himself will probably continue to be a boom-or-bust wide receiver for fantasy purposes. RGIII will take some shots throughout every game, hitting some and missing some. But what he does is open things up for Pierre Garcon and Jordan Reed. He also knocks guys like Leonard Hankerson, Josh Morgan and Aldrick Robinson, who might have been each a notch too high on the WR ranks, down into a likely more appropriate spot in the pecking order. So Robert Griffin better start looking like the 2012 version rather than the 2013 one. The team is starting to erase any legit reasons for him to struggle a year removed from buckling up his knee. – Andy
In a potentially under-the-radar signing, Kenny Britt re-joined Jeff Fisher by signing with the Rams. Britt is supremely talented, though it’s been three years since he put up nearly 800 yards and nine TDs with Tennessee. He’s also a head case. A change of scenery should at least give him a shot to regain his 2010 form. He’s a big potential complement to Tavon Austin, at 6-3 and 215 pounds. While the Rams will probably add another wideout in the draft, I like Britt as a last round pick or a $1 auction guy who could be a great asset but who you wouldn’t miss if he happens to be the first guy you cut when someone better shows up. – Andy
March 27
We took a few days off. But there’s been news over the last few days too. Most recently the announcement this afternoon that Knowshon Moreno has signed with Miami. Adam Schefter broke the news on Twitter. And I think the guy who ends up looking best over this news is Montee Ball. He may still cede some carries to Ronnie Hillman, but Hillman spent more time pondering his night life vices the last few weeks of the 2013 season than he did actually seeing the field. Ball becomes the likely bell cow in Denver. As for Miami, I like Moreno better than Lamar Miller and I like Miller more than I like Daniel Thomas. But I’d rather not have to rely on any of the three. – Andy (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…)
Just a year after nearly going to the Super Bowl, the Atlanta Falcons were one of the favorites to again make a deep run in the playoffs. Instead, Atlanta is picking sixth in the NFL draft after one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory.
Was it injuries that set the Falcons astray? Or is this an aging team with salary cap issues on a downward slide? Two bloggers shared their thoughts on what went wrong in 2013 and what the team has to do to fix things in 2014. Here’s what Ben Sullivan, editor of Blogging Dirty, and Aaron Freeman, founder of FalcFans.com have to say.
Zoneblitz: A year off the NFC Championship game the Falcons took a huge step back in 2013. How would you assess the season and where it went wrong?
Sullivan: In one word, awful. The Falcons struggled on all three phases of the game, including special teams. The team is built around the offense, but injuries and poor offensive line play left them with a stagnant offense. I think the success they had recently left them with some blinders on when it came to the holes in the team. Sometimes you need a kick in the teeth to really take a harsh look at your own house, and last year was just that for them.
Freeman: It was a combination of injuries and other factors. Simply put three of the team’s top 5 players: Julio Jones, Roddy White and Sean Weatherspoon missed a lot of time. And the Falcons did not respond well to it. Backups and newcomers like Steven Jackson and Osi Umenyiora didn’t step up or contribute to the levels expected. (more…)
lost six games by eight or fewer points with two of them coming in overtime.
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