NFL Teams That Could Mimic Panthers’ Rapid Rise

These NFL Teams Could Mimic Panthers’ Rapid Rise

Mark Maske
The Washington Post
Saturday, February 13, 2016

http://www.vnews.com/sports/21028931-95/these-nfl-teams-could-mimic-panthers-rapid-rise

The Carolina Panthers’ Super Bowl defeat last Sunday left their season ending on a decidedly sour note.

But that loss to the Denver Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., didn’t change the fact that the Panthers accomplished far more during the just-completed NFL season than just about anyone would have thought possible.

They were coming off a 7-8-1 season in 2014 and they managed to go 15-1 during the regular season despite losing their No. 1 wide receiver, Kelvin Benjamin, to a season-ending knee injury suffered during training camp. They were one victory away from joining the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the ‘85 Chicago Bears as only the third Super Bowl champion ever to have an 18-1 season.

So now the question becomes: Which teams league-wide have a chance to become the Panthers of next season?

It is unlikely, of course, that a team coming off a losing season will produce a league MVP, as the Panthers did with quarterback Cam Newton, and threaten to carve out a place in history as an all-time great. But here’s a look at which teams that were .500 or below this season might have the best chances to be legitimate contenders next season, ranked in order of probability:

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders made huge strides in coach Jack Del Rio’s first season to go 7-9. Few NFL teams have a better young quarterback-receiver combination than the Raiders have with Derek Carr and Amari Cooper.

They were stuck in a very difficult division this season, with the AFC West having both the Super Bowl champs in the Broncos and another playoff team in the Kansas City Chiefs. But Denver faces some offseason challenges and continued improvement by the Raiders next season could have them in the thick of the AFC playoff mix even while owner Mark Davis continues to search for a long-term home for the franchise.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens fully expected to be a top Super Bowl contender this season. Instead, things unraveled completely and they went 5-11. Perhaps worst of all, quarterback Joe Flacco suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a late-November game, threatening to extend the miseries of this season into next season.

But if Flacco can work his way back into the lineup for the bulk of the 2016 season and play at something resembling his customary level, the Ravens should find a way to return to their winning ways. General Manager Ozzie Newsome and Coach John Harbaugh are too good and the franchise has been too consistently successful to believe otherwise.

The Ravens lamented this season’s injuries. But they are unlikely to make the mistake internally of believing that was the main problem. This season’s Ravens played poorly even before the list of injuries became overwhelming. Issues on the roster need to be addressed, and Newsome undoubtedly will do so. The decision by wide receiver Steve Smith to play another season certainly helps.

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams are yet to have even a .500 season with Jeff Fisher as their coach. He managed to accompany the team to Los Angeles. Now he and the franchise’s front office need to find a quarterback, whether by keeping Foles and coaxing better play out of him or by another means, and give the Rams’ new city an improved on-field product.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys’ chances of repeating as NFC East champions dissipated with the early-season injuries to quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant. Their late-season chance to reassemble their broken season ended when Romo re-injured his left clavicle.

Romo will be back, and the Cowboys automatically are a contender in such a weak division as long as he’s playing. He is among the league’s most indispensable players. But it’s clear that the time has arrived for the Cowboys to get serious about having a better backup and a successor in place. It appeared at one point that might mean signing Johnny Manziel, but his most recent off-field issues perhaps diminish the chances of that. It might mean giving Robert Griffin III his next career chance.

The signing of defensive end Greg Hardy did not work out, and the Cowboys have sent signals that they might move on and not re-sign him. No consistently dependable runner to replace DeMarco Murray emerged this season. There clearly are roster problems to be addressed. But it’s all relative in the NFC East, and Romo’s presence alone should be enough to repair some of what ailed the team this season.

Indianapolis Colts

A Super Bowl-or-bust season went decidedly bust. General manager Ryan Grigson went out and signed a group of veteran free agents last offseason to attempt to help young quarterback Andrew Luck reach a Super Bowl. It didn’t work. The Colts tumbled out of the playoffs and Luck struggled with injuries and disappointing on-field results.

It’s all about Luck. If his issues this season were related solely to injuries and the weakness of the team around him, then all should be well. Luck will get back to being an ascending quarterback and the Colts will return to top-contender status. But Luck must demonstrate that’s the case, that there were not deeper issues contributing to his decline in play.

Owner Jim Irsay stuck with Chuck Pagano as his coach and Grigson as his GM, confidently proclaiming that was best for the organization. That decision by Irsay surprised many in and around the sport. Irsay can only hope it turns out as well for him as owner Jerry Richardson’s decision to keep Ron Rivera as his coach in Carolina did for the Panthers.

New York Giants

The Giants were close to being a decent team this season. They weren’t, thanks to their consistent inability to hold fourth-quarter leads and win close games.

General manager Jerry Reese kept his job while Tom Coughlin exited as the team’s coach after a dozen seasons and two Super Bowl triumphs. Reese must repair a defense that lost Coughlin’s confidence and dictated how he coached late in games.

The promotion of Ben McAdoo from offensive coordinator to head coach is an attempt to build on the work McAdoo has done with quarterback Eli Manning in implementing a West Coast offensive system. But unless Reese gives McAdoo a better defense, it won’t matter.

Detroit Lions

Bob Quinn, the team’s new general manager, stuck with Jim Caldwell as the Lions’ coach, as owner Martha Firestone Ford seemed to favor. The Lions played better in the second half of the season after a sluggish start but failed to get back to the playoffs.

Wide receiver Calvin Johnson appears poised to retire. It would be a loss for the sport and a loss for a city that once saw another Lions mainstay, running back Barry Sanders, walk away from the team at a relatively young age, never to return. Johnson is not the player he was, but he remained very productive this season.

Still, Johnson is not an irreplaceable player at this point in his career. The Lions would have increased salary cap flexibility if Johnson indeed retires, and Quinn could accelerate the process of giving Caldwell a team capable of getting back to the playoffs.

Buffalo Bills

The offseason is not off to a particularly promising start with running back LeSean McCoy facing legal issues after his alleged involvement in a nightclub altercation in Philadelphia with off-duty police officers. That raises the possibility not only of legal problems for McCoy but also of a potential suspension by the NFL under its personal conduct policy.

Expectations for this season were raised after the Bills hired Rex Ryan as their coach and traded for McCoy. Ryan’s first Bills team did not deliver. But this season did produce the emergence of Tyrod Taylor as a viable starter at quarterback.

If Ryan can get the defense to be dominant and if McCoy remains available to help Taylor on offense, the Bills can improve in Ryan’s second season.

Miami Dolphins

Hiring Adam Gase as their coach was the right move for the Dolphins. If he can get more out of Ryan Tannehill at quarterback, things will be headed in the proper direction.

The Dolphins need Ndamukong Suh to be the dominant defensive player that they signed him to be. It’s not all about Tannehill and Suh, of course. But they must be the team’s best players if the Dolphins are going to make the sort of leap forward they hoped to make this season after signing Suh to his mega-deal in free agency.