All Disappointing Team

Eighteen NFL teams have played eight games so far, with the other fourteen due to reach the halfway point of the season this weekend. Because of the unevenness of the schedule there is no real midpoint of the football season, so I will just call the next two weeks the middle of the year. I’m going to be looking at everything that has happened so far and at everything yet to come in an attempt to figure out what is real and what is just the result of a small sample of games.

This week I’m going to be focusing my attention on players. I’m not going to do a midseason rundown of awards. That is boring, and stupid, and pointless. Instead I’ll take a look at players who are performing below expectations and at players who have come out of nowhere to have successful seasons. Today I will start by filling out a starting lineup of the most disappointing players of the season so far.

To make this roster I gave myself a couple criteria. First of all, I’m not going to include suspended players. Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy, and Josh Gordon have all been disappointments this year, but I want to judge players based on their performance on the field, not their absence from it. Similarly, I won’t punish players for being injured. I’m not going to populate this team with Calvin Johnson and AJ Green. Finally, I’m going to try to focus on players who have proven themselves in the NFL. It is disappointing when a player like Geno Smith or Mark Barron fails to take the next step, but it isn’t as surprising as when a good player takes a serious step backwards.

Offense

QB: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Picking a quarterback for this team is a challenge. There are lots of reasonable options, but no one really jumps off the page. Anyone I select will have his merits, and many I leave off are no doubt disappointing their fans at some level. Jay Cutler would make a lot of sense, though I don’t think he is playing any worse than his division foe Matthew Stafford, who is skating through the worst season of his career thanks to a surprisingly good defense and some good luck in tight games. There are a bevy of quarterbacks who haven’t managed to take the next step, but I would prefer to go with someone more established, someone who has suffered a noticeable dip in performance.

Ryan isn’t the perfect choice, but he’s as close as I’m going to come. Much of his trouble has stemmed from the lack of talent around him. Besides Julio Jones, there is no one on Atlanta’s team playing at a particularly impressive level. Ryan no longer has the safety blanket of Tony Gonzalez, and Roddy White is no longer a viable number two option as a receiver. But two years ago I would have counted Ryan among the ten best quarterbacks in the game, possibly even the top five. His performance over the last season and a half does not even touch that category.

Ryan is still a very talented and very intelligent quarterback and he will bounce back, much as Philip Rivers has done over the past two years. But I don’t think that will happen this season, not while he is still playing with these teammates and this coach. Atlanta still has hope of making the playoffs thanks to the ineptitude of the rest of their division, but I think the chances are just as good that they end up drafting in the top ten again.

RB: Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers

There are definitely backs in the league who have had worse seasons than Lacy. Doug Martin, Toby Gerhart, and Zac Stacy were supposed to be feature backs, and all three have disappeared off the face of the Earth. Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice are probably the two biggest disappointments, but I said I wouldn’t list them. I’m going with Lacy here because he had extremely high expectations coming into the season, and so far he has done very little to justify the hype.

After a stellar first season in which he won Offensive Rookie of the Year, Lacy was expected to be the force that pushed the Packers offense into truly elite territory. And while Green Bay’s offense has been very good this year, it has been almost entirely on the back of Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson. Five times this season he has failed to reach 50 rushing yards, and only once has he made it over 100. The offensive line isn’t opening holes for him like it did last year, but he isn’t the tackle shedding beast he used to be. He showed some signs of being this player on Sunday against New Orleans, but he will need more than a couple good games to make up for his performance so far.

WR: Percy Harvin, Seattle Seahawks/New York Jets; Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings; Torrey Smith, Baltimore Ravens

I covered Harvin at length when he was traded a couple weeks ago, and I don’t have much more to say. He is a very talented player who has shown flashes of brilliance when given the opportunity, but Seattle never could figure out how to use him. The Jets didn’t look much better in his first game with them, but there is still time for them to figure things out.

Joining Harvin on our team is a player who replaced him in Minnesota. Patterson has a similar skillset to Harvin, just with additional size and even less ability to function in a standard offense. He came into the league as raw as any receiving prospect ever has, but by the end of his rookie season it looked like the Vikings had figured him out. In his first game this year he had over 100 yards rushing on three carries, and it looked like he would be a dynamic part of their offense going forward. But over the next six weeks he seemed to disappear from their gameplan, unable to create separation on the outside and too heavily guarded to contribute on screens or running plays. He showed some flashes of life against Tampa Bay, and it looks like Teddy Bridgewater is starting to trust him to make plays on back shoulder throws and jump balls. I expect Patterson will perform significantly better over the second half of the season, but I’ve been wrong about him before.

Torrey Smith led the Ravens in receptions and receiving yards last year, and even with the addition of Steve Smith most people expected him to remain their primary receiving threat. It took only one week to realize that Steve Smith was now their primary receiver, and only a couple more to start to wonder if Torrey Smith was even part of their offense anymore. Flacco has tried forcing the ball to him more in recent weeks, and it has not gone well. Five of Flacco’s seven interceptions this season have happened on passes targeted towards Torrey Smith, and he still hasn’t connected on a pass of more than 40 yards to his best deep threat. Torrey Smith is by nature a limited receiver, and he only needs a couple of catches for his numbers to become tolerable. It also doesn’t hurt that he leads the NFL in pass interference penalties drawn. Even though the production isn’t there, Torrey Smith will remain a significant part of Baltimore’s offense.

TE: Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers

Expectations were high for the 49ers passing game coming into the season. Davis and Michael Crabtree were still the heart of their passing game, but they looked to have real depth this year with Anquan Boldin, Stevie Johnson, and Brandon Lloyd on the outside. Those last three have all lived up to expectations, but the two at the top have held them back. Of the two, Davis has definitely been the most disappointing. Injuries have hampered him some, but that doesn’t explain his sudden inability to catch passes that hit him in the hands. He’ll get better as he gets healthy, but more importantly he needs to cut down on the mistakes that are killing the 49ers offense.

OT: Riley Reiff, Detroit Lions; Matt Kalil, Minnesota Vikings

What a neat coincidence. The two tackles on our all disappointment team were the two tackles taken in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Reiff was the second of the two selected, going number 23 to Detroit. He didn’t do much his rookie year, but last season he played at an above average level on one of the better lines in the league. So far this year their line has been an utter train wreck, allowing Matthew Stafford to be sacked more times through eight games than he was all of last season. There have been problems across the line, and even if Reiff picks up his level of play Detroit’s offense will continue to struggle.

Reiff has been a disappointment this year. Kalil has been far and away the worst left tackle in the league. His incompetence is staggering and perplexing, particularly for a player who earned a well deserved Pro Bowl berth his rookie year. He slumped some last season, but this year is on another level entirely. He is slow getting out of his stance, he loses balance and is beaten inside several times a game, and he has absolutely no control when he gets his hands on opposing pass rushers. Early in the season I had hopes that it was just a cold streak, but after eight games I am starting to wonder if we are dealing with someone who will never again be a capable NFL starter.

OG: Andy Levitre, Tennessee Titans; Alex Boone, San Francisco 49ers

Levitre is the highest paid player on Tennessee’s roster, and right now he may also be the worst. Signed to a six year $48 million dollar contract after leaving Buffalo in 2013, he was expected to be the anchor of the line the Titans were planning to build around. No one on that line has been playing up to expectations, but Levitre is far and away the most disappointing. He likely would have been benched for first round pick Taylor Lewan had the loss of Michael Roos not forced Lewan into the starting lineup at left tackle. The Titans are stuck with Levitre for now, but at the end of the season they may have to consider letting him go. They would save only $2 million on their cap next year if they did so, but at this point it is hard to say that Levitre is worth that.

It’s a bit unfair, but I’m bringing Boone into this team as a scapegoat. San Francisco’s offensive line has been a major disappointment this season. Injuries to Anthony Davis and Daniel Kilgore have hurt, but their full time starters haven’t been playing at their normal high level. Boone is performing no worse than Joe Staley or Mike Iupati, but I’m throwing him under the bus for the summer holdout that cost him training camp and the first game of the season. He is still a good player, and as he rounds into form he will play his way off this team, but for now he is the most disappointing player on a unit that has been a serious disappointment this season.

C: Eric Wood, Buffalo Bills

Center is a relatively stable position in the NFL, and it is hard to find anyone to fit this position on our team. I decided to go with Wood, a center playing at an average level for a team that hoped to get more than that. Buffalo’s success this season has stemmed primarily from their defense and some extraordinary luck, and right now there isn’t much about their offense to like besides Sammy Watkins. With question marks at three of the five positions, Wood will need to step up his game if the Bills are going to field a high quality line.

Defense

DE: Robert Quinn, St Louis Rams; Charles Johnson, Carolina Panthers

Quinn was the best defensive player in the NFL last year, and there was every expectation he would be just as dominant this year. A noted football expert even wrote prior to the season “I expect him to make a serious run at the single season sack record.” Everyone thought the Rams had the best pass rush in the league coming into the season, yet somehow they are currently last in the league in team sacks with six, of which Quinn is responsible for three. All three have come over the past two weeks, suggesting he is starting to pick it up. He will be back to his normal dominant self down the stretch, but that doesn’t negate how wretched he has been so far.

In fairness, the most disappointing defensive end in the league is probably Johnson’s teammate Greg Hardy, who has missed all but the first game of the season due to suspension for domestic violence. In his absence their incredible defensive line has fallen to pieces, and Johnson has failed miserably in his effort to pick up the slack. Johnson was likely going to be released after the season no matter what due to his contract, but with the way he’s playing the Panthers won’t even have any regrets cut him loose.

DT: Clinton McDonald, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Lamarr Houston, Chicago Bears

A pair of offseason free agents man the middle of our defense. McDonald was brought in from Seattle in order to bolster the heart of Tampa Bay’s defense, a unit peppered with phenomenal athletes who can occasionally be pushed around by more physical blockers. So far McDonald has done nothing to help their defense, and their unit has struggled even as Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David have remained two of the best players in the NFL. He is just one of several defenders who have struggled since leaving Seattle, and at this point I think it is fair to wonder how much the talent around him enhanced the appearance of his performance.

There is a common saying in the NFL: never celebrate a player’s injury. This is reasonable, considering that one injury can cost these players their careers and millions of dollars. But there is also an addendum to that statement that is usually not mentioned: unless the player injures themselves doing something profoundly stupid. Houston did that this weekend, tearing his ACL celebrating a sack late in a blowout loss. That alone wouldn’t be enough for him to make this list, but it isn’t as if he was playing up to expectations prior to his injury. Chicago’s thin defensive front will miss him the rest of the season, but not as much as we would have expected prior to the season. For now, he leaves us with only this.

LB: Derrick Morgan, Tennessee Titans; Brian Cushing, Houston Texans; Vontaze Burfict, Cincinnati Bengals

Morgan has flashed potential for years as a defensive end. The talent is undeniable, and many people hoped that he would be able to put it together as he transitioned to a 3-4 outside linebacker this season. That simply hasn’t happened, as he has managed only one sack through the first eight games. Morgan is now in his fifth year in the league, and it is time to start wondering whether his immense talent will ever turn into quality production.

Over the past two years the Texans defense has had two main modes: dominant and vulnerable. The difference between these always seemed to be the presence of Cushing, a talented linebacker who suffered serious leg injuries in 2012 and 2013. The past few years have shown that it is very possible to come back from leg troubles at full speed, but the sort of repeated and varied injuries Cushing suffered produced plenty of doubt about what sort of player he would be upon his return. So far it looks like the worst fears have been realized. We will have to keep an eye on him as the season goes on, but I think there is a good chance he will never again be anything close to the player he was prior to his injuries.

Burfict has actually been playing perfectly fine so far this year, even if he hasn’t been at the same Pro Bowl level he was last season. He makes this list not because of his play but because of other issues he has had. Throughout his time at Arizona State Burfict was considered a talented headcase, good for at least one personal foul a game. He seemed to have cleaned this up since arriving in Cincinnati, but things have taken a turn this year. He has drawn multiple personal fouls and been caught on video trying to twist the ankles of Cam Newton and Greg Olsen after taking them to the ground. He is a very talented player, but he needs to clean this shit up if he wants to have a sustained NFL career.

CB: Joe Haden, Cleveland Browns; Cortez Allen, Pittsburgh Steelers

Two AFC North cornerbacks on this one, though two coming from very different places. Haden came into the season with a well deserved reputation as one of the best cover guys in the game, and with a massive new contract he was expected to lead a Browns defense ready to take the next step. So far this season the Browns have done much better than expected, but none of that credit goes to their defense. They have been borderline terrible on that side of the ball this season, and a large part of that falls on the shoulders of their supposed best player. Haden has been exposed in coverage repeatedly through the season. He is still a very talented player capable of performing at a high level, but he needs to step it up if they want their early season success to last.

The other disappointing cornerback is another who received a long term deal prior to the season. After a couple up and down seasons, the Steelers signed Allen to a 5 year deal worth $26 million. So far this season, he has been one of the worst cornerbacks in the league. Every team that faces the Steelers targets his side of the field throughout the game, and he likely would have been benched had the injury to Ike Taylor not left them perilously thin on the outside. Allen suffered similar struggles early last season before bouncing back down the stretch, and the Steelers have to hope he is capable of doing so again. If he isn’t, they just wasted a lot of money.

S: Matt Elam, Baltimore Ravens; Jairus Byrd, New Orleans Saints 

I struggled for a while before deciding to put Elam on this list. Elam had a solid rookie season last year, even though he did nothing to suggest he would be a superstar in the league. But at the very least the Ravens had to believe they’d found a player to fill that spot in their defense for the next few years. Instead, Elam has been steadily phased out of their defense as the season has gone along, playing only a third of their defensive snaps two weeks ago. That is not what you want from last year’s first round pick. He is still listed as the starter and will get plenty of opportunities to earn back a primary role, but if he fails to do so the Ravens will be looking at a wasted first round selection.

I know I said I wouldn’t penalize players for being injured, but Byrd belonged on this list before he suffered a season ending meniscus tear. He was supposed to be the piece that put the improving Saints defense into elite company. Instead, he epitomized its utter collapse. He took terrible angles against the run and the pass, and the defense has probably improved since losing their highest paid player. There is nothing he can do to salvage this season, but fortunately he has at least two more before the Saints can even consider trying to offload his massive contract.