Just For Fun Awards (Team)
The ’99 Rams Award
NFL Most Surprising Team of the Year
Winner: San Francisco 49ers
Runner-up: Arizona Cardinals
Third Place: Denver Broncos
Comments: It has to be the Niners. I know they had Jim Harbaugh taking over as head coach but they were coming off a year in which they went 6-10 in a horrible division. They had posted 7 losing seasons over the previous 8 years and zero winning seasons during that stretch (8-8 in 2009). They went 13-3 and lost in OT in the NFC title game. That’s a turnaround.
I had the Cardinals ranked as the worst team in the NFL going into the season and they ended up going 8-8, winning 7 of their final 9 games.
The Broncos were certainly surprising. They looked dead in the water after a 1-4 start and ended up winning the division and reaching the divisional round of the playoffs. However, it’s not like they went 14-2 or something. They went 8-8 in a crappy division and then shocked an old, worn down, beat up Steelers team at home in the high altitude. They also went 4-0 in overtime games and won 3 other games by 4 points or less.
The ’87 Giants Award
NFL Most Disappointing Team of the Year
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Runner-up: San Diego Chargers
Third Place: Indianapolis Colts
Comments: The Eagles have to win this one because of the whole “Dream Team” thing. They were the champions of the offseason but they went just 8-8 during the only season that counts.
The Chargers are almost annual contenders for this award. Plenty of talent and experience; a crappy division; an elite QB. That should at least be good enough for a playoff bid, but the Chargers went 8-8.
The Colts get third place for 2 reasons. First off, we didn’t know Peyton Manning was going to miss time until the season was just days away, and we still thought he’d be ready to go at some point when the season got underway. The Colts were expected to contend for the title as always, so going 2-14 should certainly be considered a disappointment. Second, the Colts went from perennial contenders to doormats without Manning. It really looked like they were headed for 0-16 until they somehow won 2 of their last 3 games. One player’s absence should never cause that kind of collapse.
The ’86 Patriots Award
NFL Most Overachieving Team of the Year
Winner: Denver Broncos
Runner-up: Houston Texans
Third Place: New York Giants
Comments: Clearly it’s the Broncos. They advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs with a roster that was not exactly talent laden. In addition, they managed to record 9 wins (including the playoffs) despite really not playing very well in the majority of those games.
The Texans are runner-up because of all the injuries they overcame to win the division and reach the divisional round of the playoffs. Their story has already been covered in this blog entry.
Having the Giants mentioned for this award is a bit controversial. My reasoning is that while the Giants clearly had a lot of aspects that made them capable of winning a title (the pass rush, a clutch QB, good coaching, some very difficult to contain receivers), they also had some obvious holes (pass coverage, pass protection). They had a rather ordinary regular season and were just a few plays away from being eliminated against Dallas in week 14, yet they somehow managed to get in the tournament and make another title run.
The ’87 49ers Award
Most Underachieving Team of the Year
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Runner-up: Dallas Cowboys
Third Place: Green Bay Packers
Comments: It didn’t work out for the Eagles, but it’s hard to go back and say that the front office simply acquired “too much talent.” The Eagles had as much talent as any team in the NFL, if not the most talent in the game. They had a roster stocked with pro bowlers, yet they finished the season 8-8.
Dallas is another team loaded with talent. As usual, they did not play up to their potential. In addition, they hurt themselves over and over again, giving away games that they should have won. They had no business finishing 8-8 this season. They could easily have gone 12-4, and they should have at least been 10-6.
The Packers are mentioned here because they were the best team throughout the season, going 15-1, and had the #1 seed in the NFC, yet they didn’t even reach the conference championship. They outscored opponents by 201 points during the regular season and went 8-0 at home, and then they somehow lost decisively in their first playoff game, at home, to a team that went 9-7 and had a -6 point differential.
The ’07 Patriots Award
NFL Best Regular Season Team of the Year
Winner: Green Bay Packers
Runner-up: New Orleans Saints
Third Place: New England Patriots
Comments: As stated above, the Packers were the best team in the NFL throughout the regular season. New Orleans had the best point differential in the NFL, but they also had some bad losses, while the Packers only had 1 all year. The Patriots were flawed but they still went 13-3 and outscored opponents by 171 points.
The ’76 Buccaneers Award
NFL Worst Team of the Year
Winner: St. Louis Rams
Runner-up: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Third Place: Indianapolis Colts
Comments: The Rams were just a very bad football team this season. They went 2-14 with a ridiculous -214 scoring differential. The Bucs had 2 more wins than the Colts, but they completely quit on the season, losing their final 10 games. They gave up a league worst 494 points and were outscored by 207 points on the year. The Colts finished 2-14 and had a -187 scoring differential, but they did win 2 of their final 3 games.
The ’91 49ers Award
NFL Best Non-Playoff Team of the Year
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Runner-up: Dallas Cowboys
Third Place: San Diego Chargers
Comments: This award discussion is made up entirely of underachievers. That wouldn’t be the case every year, it just so happens that this year the top 3 non-playoff teams performed below their capabilities. All 3 teams went 8-8 and outscored their opponents on the season. All 3 teams were very talented.
The Chargers would have made the playoffs if Phillip Rivers hadn’t inexplicably dropped that snap late in the game against the Chiefs. Actually, the Chargers could easily have had double digit victories. As previously stated, the Cowboys should have been at least 10-6. And the Eagles simply did not play up to their potential, as they had perhaps the most talented team in the NFL, but we saw glimpses of what should have been during their 4 game win streak to end the season.
The ’10 Seahawks Award
NFL Worst Playoff Team of the Year
Winner: Denver Broncos
Runner-up: Cincinnati Bengals
Third Place: Atlanta Falcons
Comments: I’m sorry for those of you who have a crush on Tim Tebow, but this one isn’t all that debatable. The Tebows were 8-8 during the regular season and that was the best possible scenario. They could easily have gone 4-12 or even worse. They had a -81 scoring differential during the regular season. The playoff team with the next worst scoring differential was the Giants at -6. Think about that. They pulled out an overtime win over a crippled Pittsburgh team at home in the mile high air, and then got sexually assaulted by the Patriots in the next round, losing 45-10.
The Bengals were probably this year’s “best bad team.” If that sounds harsh, consider that they went 0-8 against playoff teams (including their loss to Houston in the playoffs). They were soundly beaten by the Texans in the WC round, 31-10.
The Falcons were a good team in 2011 but that’s it. They avoided having too many bad losses but they really didn’t have any impressive wins to speak of. They looked completely outmanned against the Giants in the WC round, losing by the embarrassing score of 24-2.
The ’07 Giants Award
NFL Luckiest Team of the Year
Winner: Denver Broncos
Runner-up: New York Giants
Third Place: New England Patriots
Comments: Again, my apologies to Tebow worshipers, but there’s not much room for debate here. 8 of Denver’s 9 wins (including the playoffs) were by 7 points or less, including 4 in OT.
Having the Giants here is controversial because they dealt with their fair share of injuries. Plus, they’ve now made 2 shocking title runs in the last 5 years, so it’s not just luck; they’re obviously good at turning things around and going on stretches where they simply refuse to lose. However, they have still benefited from some very good breaks in both championship seasons.
The 2007 Giants were lucky but that shouldn’t really be part of the discussion here. This year you have to put at least some of the blame on the Cowboys for blowing that game against New York. Yes, the Giants made the late game drives and the big defensive and special teams plays, but they didn’t do anything to cause the incomplete pass from Tony Romo to Miles Austin, and had that pass been completed the Giants wouldn’t have gone to the playoffs.
The Giants didn’t crawl inside Kyle Williams’ mind and force him like a zombie to play force field with a bouncing punt for no apparent reason. They didn’t do anything to cause Rob Gronkowski to suffer a high ankle sprain in the AFC title game. It would be a stretch to argue that the Giants were in control of the Pats having 12 men on the field to wipe out that crucial fumble recovery in the Super Bowl.
Most reasonable people will admit that whether a team recovers or loses a ball fumbled in the open field comes down almost entirely to luck. Twice in the Super Bowl a Giants ball carrier allowed a fumble to get far away from him, and both times the Giants happened to recover.
Finally, while the Giants defense has to get some credit for the Tom Brady to Wes Welker incompletion late in the game, it’s really not that different from the Roger Staubach to Jackie Smith incompletion in Super Bowl XIII, and nobody ever chalks that play up to good defense.
And if you think I’m hating on the Giants, consider that I have New England in third place. The Pats deserve some credit for hanging on against the Ravens, but that was one of the all-time luck-outs. I still haven’t quite figured out what exactly happened on the Lee Evans play. Sterling Moore should get a ton of credit for making that play, but the Pats basically gave up the game winning score and somehow survived it because the receiver (in my opinion) was turning to celebrate rather than protecting the ball. Then the Pats dodged overtime because a good kicker flat out gagged. It’s only 1 game, but the Patriots were more than a little fortunate to win it.
The ’99 Cowboys Award
NFL Most Snake-Bitten Team of the Year
Winner: Chicago Bears
Runner-up: Houston Texans
Third Place: (Tie) Pittsburgh Steelers/Oakland Raiders/Kansas City Chiefs
Comments: A lot of this has been covered. I don’t recall seeing a team have its season destroyed in quite the same fashion as the Bears did this season. In week 11, the Bears beat San Diego 31-20 for their 5th win in a row to improve to 7-3 on the year. At that point they looked to be as much of a contender as any NFC team other than Green Bay. However, late in that game against SD, Chicago’s bratty but talented QB Jay Cutler suffered a fluke arm injury and it turned out that he would miss the rest of the season.
Chicago would lose their next 5 games, but it wasn’t just Cutler’s injury that did them in. Two weeks later, star RB Matt Forte—who had been the best running back in the NFL this season up to that point—went down early in the game against Kansas City and would miss the final 4 games of the year. Leading receiver Johnny Knox missed the last 2 games, and WR Earl Bennett missed 5 games over the course of the year. Making matters worse, special teams standout Sam Hurd was arrested on felony drug trafficking chargers in December and had to be cut by the team. In a fitting way to end a brutal season, LB Brian Urlacher—the face of the franchise—suffered a knee injury late in the final game of the year.
The Texans finally broke through and reached the playoffs this season, but they did it in spite of the fact that their injury luck was as rotten as ever. All-Pro wideout Andre Johnson had his season ruined by hamstring injuries that caused him to miss 9 full games and hampered his play when he was on the field. Injuries limited All-Pro RB Arian Foster to 1 game and 10 carries through the first 3 weeks of the season. Star pass rusher Mario Williams recorded his 5th sack early in the team’s 5th game. Unfortunately, Williams suffered a torn pectoral muscle on the play and was done for the year.
QB Matt Schaub suffered a freak foot injury during the first half of the team’s 10th game. Schaub stayed in the game until the Texans had the win in hand, but it was eventually determined that he would need surgery and would miss the remainder of the season. The Texans started backup Matt Leinart in their next game, but the lefty QB suffered a season ending shoulder injury during the first half, and Houston would have to rely on the inexperienced TJ Yates for the rest of the year.
You had to feel for the Raiders. After being a laughing stock for over a decade, the Raiders got back to decency in 2010, and they looked to be on the verge of taking the next step in 2011. The Raiders were 4-2 after 6 games. However, Jason Campbell went down to a season ending injury early in their 6th game, and that injury put the Raiders into a mood of desperation.
That desperate mood led the Raiders to give up a slew of future picks in order to bring Carson Palmer on as Campbell’s replacement. That move will likely continue to haunt Oakland in the years to come. A week after losing Campbell, RB Darrin McFadden went down early in a game against KC that the Raiders would eventually lose 28-0. McFadden’s injury didn’t seem that serious, but he would not play again in 2011.
FB Marcel Reese also missed 6 games due to injury. In addition, the Raiders were hurt by injuries on the defensive line and in the secondary.
The Steelers overcame terrible injury luck throughout the regular season to finish 12-4. However, the injuries eventually caught up to Pittsburgh and ended their chances of winning a title. As always, the Steelers offensive line was hammered by injuries throughout the year. WR Emmanuel Saunders also missed 5 games during the season due to injuries and a family death.
This season the defense was also hampered by constant health problems. LB James Farrior missed 2 games; LB James Harrison missed 5 games; LB LaMarr Woodley missed 6 games; DE Brett Keisel missed 2 games; DT Casey Hampton missed 3 games; and DE Aaron Smith missed the entire season.
In week 14 Big Ben Roethlisberger suffered a high ankle sprain in the first half of a game against Cleveland. Though Big Ben would return in the second half and would only miss one game, he was clearly not the same after the injury (56.5% completion pct, 3 TD’s, and 4 picks in 3 games after injury).
RB Rashard Mendenhall (928 yards and 9 TD’s in 15 games) blew out his knee early in the final game of the season and was obviously not available for the playoffs. The Steelers would also be without safety Ryan Clark in the game against Denver due to a health condition that made it unsafe for him to play in high altitude.
The Chiefs didn’t have the volume of injuries that other teams suffered through, but they were dealt 3 injuries that were so devastating they just had to be included in this award. The worst part for the Chiefs was that the first two injuries came so early. Early in the opening game of the year the Chiefs lost their best defensive player—strong safety Eric Berry—for the season before he could register a single statistic. Running back Jamaal Charles (1935 total yards and 8 total TD’s in 2010) had been less than 100% going into the season and hadn’t been much of a factor in KC’s 41-7 loss to the Bills in week 1. He gained 27 yards on his first 2 carries in week 2. Unfortunately, they would be his last 2 carries of the season, as he tore his ACL.
The Chiefs would go on to lose that game 48-3 to Detroit. It looked like the Chiefs were dead just 2 weeks into the year. Amazingly, the KC would rally from an 0-3 start and wouldn’t be eliminated until an overtime loss in week 16. In reality, however, Kansas City’s hopes of a truly remarkable turnaround season came to an end when QB Matt Cassel was lost for the season in week 10. The Chiefs simply didn’t have a capable backup quarterback.
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