Rocky's Football Corner #6

by Rick Rockwell

How is it with eleven games to play in the National Football League (NFL) season that some teams already seem to be playing out the string? Mathematically, even the winless teams could go on a winning streak and become playoff bound.

Not likely.

And those teams know that too, despite whatever rhetoric the coaches may be feeding them right now. The four winless teams in the league are all good examples.

First, there’s the Detroit Lions, the worst team in the league. This team has been self-destructing for years. Bringing in new coaches hasn’t worked. Bringing in new quarterbacks hasn’t worked. The Lions may actually win this week, but they’ll be hard pressed to win three games this season. The solution: stop grasping for straws and let one system set in long enough to work. But that won’t be this year.

Then there’s the underachieving Oakland Raiders. Watching them last week, it was obvious players were quitting mid-play. This team is filled with stars, but they have no chemistry. They don’t like management. Poor Art Shell came back to coaching to deal with this band of losers. They may not win more than two games this year. Solution: give Shell more power and let him clean house. But forget this season.

Another team that will be lucky to win three games is the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs actually have great potential, but the front office and coach Jon Gruden are likely regretting the move to let backup quarterback Brian Griese shuffle off to Chicago. When quarterback Chris Simms was lost for the year due to the hits that ultimately caused him to lose his spleen, the Bucs’ season was over. Most experts knew Simms was not ready to fly without a strong backup. In relief last week, rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski looked sharp. But he isn’t sharp enough yet to lift the Bucs who have a rough schedule. Rebuild and wait until next year.

The Tennesee Titans are also winless and likely to stay that way for at least a few more weeks. Like some of the teams on this list, the Titans have trouble in the management ranks. They had salary cap problems and have been rebuilding for far too long after letting the core of their team go through free agency. Through various management problems, they lost two good quarterbacks this year. They are left with a great rookie hope in quarterback Vince Young, but he is raw. They almost shocked the Colts last week, but this team likely has no more than three or four wins in it for the year. Let Young learn the offense and look toward next year for a marked improvement.

Finally, there’s the Miami Dolphins. No, the Dolphins are not winless. But they are a major disappointment. For a team expected to challenge for the division lead, they have collapsed. Could it be due to rushing quarterback Daunte Culpepper back too early from a knee injury? Culpepper is out, with various injuries now, and inconsistent Joey Harrington has the quarterback reins. The way they look now, the Dolphins will be lucky to win three more games all season. I must admit, I’m as guilty as any for predicting the Dolphins would do well this year. They truly are hexed, not just by me, but by all the armchair quarterbacks who thought they would cruise to a playoff berth. Shows what we know.

(If you are interested in this column, why not check out last week's too?)

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