Roman529
Moon Runner / The 3 AM Crew
I read this article regarding five NFL teams who appear to be heading backwards. Miami was listed as #2 on his list. I totally disagree with where this guy is coming from. :shakeno: DISCUSS.
http://sports.aol.com/nfl/story/_a/major-improvement-unlikely-for-un-fab/20070508172509990001
Major Improvement Unlikely for Un-Fab Five
Roots of Teams' Underachievement Not Addressed
By IRA MILLER
AOL
Sports Commentary
The goal of every team is to get better between January and September. No one wants to go to training camp thinking their team is worse than it was the year before. But that goal frequently is not achieved.
Heading in Wrong Direction
Retirements, coaching changes, free agency moves, even offseason injuries all impact rosters. Here are five teams that went into the last season thinking they were championship contenders, failed to reach even a conference championship game, and now appear to have backslid since the Indianapolis Colts won the Lombardi Trophy:
5. Jacksonville
With a strong defense, Jacksonville needs an offensive upgrade to return to the playoffs after falling from a 12-4 record in 2005 to 8-8 in 2006. But the offseason signings of wide receiver Dennis Northcutt and tight end Jermaine Wiggins hardly seem like significant moves.
Further, there remains uncertainty over the future of quarterback Byron Leftwich , who reportedly wanted out of Jacksonville, missed 15 of the last 21 regular-season games due to injuries, and has skipped much of the team’s offseason program. He’s entering the final year of his contract.
4. Kansas City
With a defensive-minded coach, Herman Edwards , now in charge, the Chiefs landed squarely in the middle of the league on defense last year, ranking 16th. That was a big step up from 25th in 2005 and 31st in 2004.
But since the season ended, the Chiefs’ best pass rusher, Jared Allen , was suspended for four games, and leading rusher Larry Johnson has been making noises about how he’s unhappy with his contract. The signing of linebacker Donnie Edwards will help on defense, but Will Shields’ retirement takes another key blocker away from the offensive line, long a team strength.
3. N.Y. Giants
The Giants have been hurt by Eli Manning’s failure to develop so far into the quarterback envisioned when he was signed following a 2004 draft-day trade. Now, the Giants need to replace a lot of offense around him because of Tiki Barber’s retirement, and none of the offseason veteran acquisitions rank as headliner names.
New York is not exactly in a rebuilding mode just yet, but defensive end Michael Strahan will turn 36 during the season, and in two of the last three years injuries limited him to a half-year. A sudden uptick from Manning would make it all look much better, of course, but he consistently has averaged more than an interception a game through his career.
2. Miami
As a first-year coach replacing the martinet, Nick Saban , new boss Cam Cameron will get a grace period. He’ll need it. The Dolphins still don’t know whether Daunte Culpepper will be healthy enough to approach his early career form with Minnesota , but they passed on a first-round quarterback in the draft, choosing a specialist, Ted Ginn, Jr., over Brady Quinn.
Miami’s defense has shown some age, and one result was that the Dolphins ranked next-to-last in making interceptions last year. Nonetheless, for some reason most of the team’s significant off-season additions were on offense, with the notable exception of former Steelers’ linebacker Joey Porter. But Porter appears to be well on the downside of his career, and he doesn’t figure to help the Dolphins as much as they think he will.
1. Atlanta
The Falcons’ franchise might be undergoing something of a makeover with the switch from Jim Mora to Bobby Petrino as coach. Atlanta now wants bigger linemen for its revamped offense, for example, and it has gotten rid of the safety net, Matt Schaub, as a backup to quarterback Michael Vick . ........
Ira Miller is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the NFL for three decades and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. He is the national columnist for The Sports Xchange and his blog can be viewed at www.mysportspage.com.
http://sports.aol.com/nfl/story/_a/major-improvement-unlikely-for-un-fab/20070508172509990001
Major Improvement Unlikely for Un-Fab Five
Roots of Teams' Underachievement Not Addressed
By IRA MILLER
AOL
Sports Commentary
The goal of every team is to get better between January and September. No one wants to go to training camp thinking their team is worse than it was the year before. But that goal frequently is not achieved.
Heading in Wrong Direction
Retirements, coaching changes, free agency moves, even offseason injuries all impact rosters. Here are five teams that went into the last season thinking they were championship contenders, failed to reach even a conference championship game, and now appear to have backslid since the Indianapolis Colts won the Lombardi Trophy:
5. Jacksonville
With a strong defense, Jacksonville needs an offensive upgrade to return to the playoffs after falling from a 12-4 record in 2005 to 8-8 in 2006. But the offseason signings of wide receiver Dennis Northcutt and tight end Jermaine Wiggins hardly seem like significant moves.
Further, there remains uncertainty over the future of quarterback Byron Leftwich , who reportedly wanted out of Jacksonville, missed 15 of the last 21 regular-season games due to injuries, and has skipped much of the team’s offseason program. He’s entering the final year of his contract.
4. Kansas City
With a defensive-minded coach, Herman Edwards , now in charge, the Chiefs landed squarely in the middle of the league on defense last year, ranking 16th. That was a big step up from 25th in 2005 and 31st in 2004.
But since the season ended, the Chiefs’ best pass rusher, Jared Allen , was suspended for four games, and leading rusher Larry Johnson has been making noises about how he’s unhappy with his contract. The signing of linebacker Donnie Edwards will help on defense, but Will Shields’ retirement takes another key blocker away from the offensive line, long a team strength.
3. N.Y. Giants
The Giants have been hurt by Eli Manning’s failure to develop so far into the quarterback envisioned when he was signed following a 2004 draft-day trade. Now, the Giants need to replace a lot of offense around him because of Tiki Barber’s retirement, and none of the offseason veteran acquisitions rank as headliner names.
New York is not exactly in a rebuilding mode just yet, but defensive end Michael Strahan will turn 36 during the season, and in two of the last three years injuries limited him to a half-year. A sudden uptick from Manning would make it all look much better, of course, but he consistently has averaged more than an interception a game through his career.
2. Miami
As a first-year coach replacing the martinet, Nick Saban , new boss Cam Cameron will get a grace period. He’ll need it. The Dolphins still don’t know whether Daunte Culpepper will be healthy enough to approach his early career form with Minnesota , but they passed on a first-round quarterback in the draft, choosing a specialist, Ted Ginn, Jr., over Brady Quinn.
Miami’s defense has shown some age, and one result was that the Dolphins ranked next-to-last in making interceptions last year. Nonetheless, for some reason most of the team’s significant off-season additions were on offense, with the notable exception of former Steelers’ linebacker Joey Porter. But Porter appears to be well on the downside of his career, and he doesn’t figure to help the Dolphins as much as they think he will.
1. Atlanta
The Falcons’ franchise might be undergoing something of a makeover with the switch from Jim Mora to Bobby Petrino as coach. Atlanta now wants bigger linemen for its revamped offense, for example, and it has gotten rid of the safety net, Matt Schaub, as a backup to quarterback Michael Vick . ........
Ira Miller is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the NFL for three decades and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. He is the national columnist for The Sports Xchange and his blog can be viewed at www.mysportspage.com.
