NFL Season Review Part 2

This is the second piece in my two part NFL 2013-14 season review, in this piece I will be covering the NFC teams.
NFC East Washington Redskins, Record 3-13
A step back season in every sense of the word for but in truth a slight drop off was probably expected with RG3 coming off a late season ACL tear and with a team that didnt have the talent level to hope to retain the division title. The struggles RG3 showed throughout the season will be a cause for concern but time will tell if its just rust after such a long layoff. Despite these struggles though the Skins did field a top ten offence but for all the yardage they gained it was only good for an average of 20.9 points per game which ranks 23rd in the league. With new head coach Jay Gruden being hailed as an offensive genius the emphasis will very much be improving on the defensive side of the ball.

Grade CNew York Giants, Record 7-9

A top ten defence was held back by an offence which seemed to give the ball away at every turn, rather shockingly two time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning led the league in interceptions and it wasnt even close since he threw six more interceptions than anyone else. In all likelihood though this is just a blip as far as Mannings career despite being occasionally sloppy with the football hes not typically this turnover prone. This coming season may be a rebuilding season though in New York, this is very much a team which is in the middle of a transformation due to numerous key players leaving in recent years.

Grade C+ Dallas Cowboys, Record 8-8

Yet another mediocre season in Dallas and yet again a pitifully poor defence this time though this was a historically bad defence, even with this the Cowboys came within one game of the playoffs and perhaps if quarterback Tony Romo hadnt been injured they would have won. Demarco Murray and Dez Bryant lived up to the hype of being two of the best young players at their position and with Terrence Williams having an impressive rookie campaign the offence looks set but unless this defence radically improves then this team will go nowhere. Keeping Sean Lee and Bruce Carter fit at linebacker would certainly go a long way towards helping this cause but it looks like this season will be make or break this Dallas team.

Grade B NFC West St Louis Rams, Record 7-9

This is a team that is on the rise and will be a dark horse to do well next year, littered with high draft choices throughout the team and will have the number 2 and 8 overall picks this coming year if key players can stay clear of injuries then the sky is the limit for this team. Statistically this was very much an average team being 15th in defence and 30th in offence, young players such as Alec Ogletree and Robert Quinn had unbelievable seasons though and others like Zac Stacey and Tavon Austin improved dramatically as the season went on. Next season will come down to the health of Sam Bradford as far as the Rams are concerned the chronically injured QB has all the skills necessary to propel this team to stardom but unless he can stay on the field it matters not.

Grade B Arizona Cardinals, Record 10-6

A surprisingly good season from the Cardinals to the point where at the end of the season a lot of analysts were making the case that if they were in the AFC rather than the NFC they would be one of the top three teams. A team which relied on a top 6 defence as well as an offence which was on the verge of being in the top ten managed to get the best out of QB Carson Palmer when many people had assumed his best days were behind him. This is a veteran laden team which despite having a few kinks could very easily be a contender next year.

Grade B + San Francisco 49ers, Record 12-4

Despite a great record at 12-4 which would be good enough to win most divisions the 49ers were unlucky enough to be in a division with the Seattle Seahawks and coming into the season the expectations in the Bay Area were to win the Super Bowl which didnt happen so in some ways the season is a disappointment. Some analysts think that San Francisco are still a better team than Seattle even though they were the Super Bowl winners. A top five defence and top three rushing offence helped mask a surprisingly poor passing attack good for only 30th in the league despite Colin Kaepernick being a big name QB. A Super Bowl victory will again be the expectations coming into next year.

Grade B + Seattle Seahawks, Record 13-3

A great season from start to finish propelled by one of the best defences in the history of the NFL and what makes it even more remarkable is that there were several injuries to this defence yet they carried on like nothing had changed. Although their offence was only ranked 18th, on an average points per game basis the offence fared much better having an overall ranking of 8th and with their historically good defence often as little as 17 points would be enough to win the game. One other thing that cant be overlooked is the phenomenal home record at Qwest field having only been beaten once in two years, the only question that remains is how many Super Bowls can this team win together?

Grade A+ NFC North Minnesota Vikings, Record 5-10

Quarterback problems plagued this team all season long preventing them from gaining any momentum in the long run. Adrian Peterson yet again proved why he will someday be enshrined in the hall of fame coming 5th in rushing and there were other bright spots along the offence, Matt Kalil proved why he was the first offensive tackle taken in last years draft and Cordarrele Paterson showed he has the ability to be a game changing receiver. Having the second worst defence in the league didnt help matters though and this will be a defence which will be in transition next year but the main hope for the Vikings will be to find a quarterback in which they can build their team around at long last.

Grade C Detroit Lions, Record 7-9

Perhaps the biggest underachievers in the league last year this team has all the makings to be Super Bowl winners, a dynamic high-scoring offence and an at times great defence with playmakers all over on both sides of the ball. A penchant for turning the ball over and allowing big plays ended up being this teams downfall but the brass in the Motor City hope that new head coach Jim Caldwell will be able to get the most out of this talented bunch. There are numerous game changing players through this team and anything less than the playoffs and perhaps a division title will be considered a disappointment for Detroit next season.

Grade F Chicago Bears, Record 8-8

A change in ethos for this particular Chicago team, for decades this franchise has relied on a great defence with an offence which was often pitiful but this season the Bears offence was steamrolling past people and it was an aging defence which held them back. The majority of the defences problem has been an inability to get younger at key spots and instead relying on tried and tested players whose bodies are starting to break down. Luckily though for Bears fans this offence is more than capable of papering over the cracks and it will just be a case of hoping the defence could even be average and if this is the case then look for the Bears to go far next season.

Grade B Green Bay Packers, Record 8-7-1

Winning their division was a remarkable achievement for the Milwaukee based team especially when considering that All Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers was injured for a lengthy spell of the season although one must consider them lucky that the other teams within the division capitulated late in the season. On the plus side several young players stepped up and made their mark this season, Eddie Lacy in particular had a great season scoring 11 touchdowns in total and Jordy Nelson finally showed he can be a number one receiver gaining an impressive 1300 yards and thats with his quarterback injured for a portion of the season. Assuming Aaron Rodgers is healthy next season then this squad will rightly go in as one of the Super Bowl favourites.

Grade B + NFC South Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Record 4-12

Tumultuous would be the word that springs to mind when thinking of Tampa Bays season, the teams starting quarterback Josh Freeman ended up clashing with head coach Greg Schiano and this ended up causing both of them their job with Freeman being released in the middle of the season and Schiano being fired at the end of the season. With this trouble going on there was no way this team could get momentum going and with rookie quarterback Mike Glennon coming in he had your usual rookie problems despite showing potential. This teams defence wasnt all that bad and it is very much a young team so management will be hoping that with a more laid back coach coming in perhaps a big bounce back is not out of the question.

Grade C Atlanta Falcons, Record 4-12

Another contender for the biggest underachievers of the season, the Falcons were many analysts choice to win the NFC and some had them going to win the Super Bowl and with an explosive offence with Matt Ryan at the helm throwing to the likes of Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez this seemed like a smart choice. Sadly for Georgia natives though injuries on the offence caused it to misfire and an even poorer defence than what was expected laid rest to any hopes of winning the Super Bowl even with that said though 4-12 is a poor season for an obviously talented team. The only positives to be took from this season is that a high draft pick will come of it and the Falcons should go back to being contenders next year assuming everyone is fit and healthy.

Grade F New Orleans Saints, Record 11-5

A great season in many ways for the Saints, the offence hummed along as it has done ranking 4th overall in offence and 2nd in passing but the biggest surprise perhaps of the season and the reason that made the Saints Super Bowl contenders was the 4th ranked defence. New defensive coordinator Rob Ryan would have hoped for an immediate uptick in fortunes when he took over but to jump from being last in the league in total defence to 4th is quite remarkable. With this and the return of Drew Brees the Saints will quite rightly go into next season with every reason to think they could be lifting the Lombardi trophy at the end of the season.

Grade A Carolina Panthers, Record 12-4

A hugely successful season for the Panthers and if truth be told they were unlucky not to go further in the playoffs. Cam Newton dispelled myths about his level of play by turning in a successful season despite not having a tremendous amount to work with, it was Carolinas defence however that really made the Panthers such a dangerous team to play. Most other years Carolinas defence would have easily finished top of the league but in a year with a historically good defence in Seattles the Panthers were second. The question is whether this team can reach these heights again since from the looks of it Cam Newton will have less weapons to throw to this season.

Grade A