Three teams could make run at 0-16

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Ahh yes. This feels good. Happy Friday bitches.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8...ke-run-at-0-16

Three teams could make run at 0-16by Peter Schrager
Peter Schrager is a frequent contributor for FOXSports.com. You can e-mail him at PeterSchrager@gmail.com



Updated: July 31, 2008, 3:18 PM EST 200 comments add this RSS blog email print Say what you want about David Tyree's heroic fourth-quarter Super Bowl helmet grab, Antonio Cromartie's 108-yard interception return for a touchdown, or any of Adrian Peterson's spell-binding touchdown runs, but no single play from the 2007 season was more exciting than Cleo Lemon's 64-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Camarillo.

Fantasy Football
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Create A League Today!That overtime pass-and-catch in Week 15 ensured that the 2007 Dolphins -- as woeful a team as the NFL has seen in over a decade -- would not join the 1976 Buccaneers as the only winless/tieless team in modern NFL history.

From the get-go, the Dolphins season was doomed. It started with head coach Cam Cameron getting unceremoniously booed at the team-hosted/fan-attended draft party, then saw their starting quarterback knocked out for the year with concussions, their starting running back sidelined with a season-ending knee injury, and their top wideout traded away mid-season for next to nothing.

Along the way, their big off-season acquisition on defense was spotted "jumping" another player on a Vegas casino surveillance camera, three players were arrested, and various reserves were flat-out released. Adding insult to injury, Wes Welker, a do-everything glue guy and fan favorite traded in the offseason for a pair of non-first-round picks, went on to tie for the league lead in receptions for the AFC East-rival Patriots.

The Dolphins were a miraculous 64-yard touchdown pass from a non-drafted quarterback to a non-drafted receiver away from becoming an eyesore in NFL history. They barely escaped eternal infamy.


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So, are there any teams that may go winless this season?

Well, it's not likely. But if I had to put my money on three possibilities, here are the leading contenders:


Rebuilding: Kansas City Chiefs
Though Carl Peterson's Chiefs have won seven or more games in four of the last five seasons and have been to the playoffs twice since 2003, the truth was inevitable after last year's disastrous 4-12 campaign: It was time to rebuild.

Fortunately for Chiefs fans, K.C. started the process off with a bang in April, downright cleaning up at the draft, earning rare unanimous rave reviews from the pundits for their haul of 12 legitimate NFL prospects. With top pick Glenn Dorsey agreeing to a deal on Saturday, every one of the Chiefs' 2008 selections has signed a contract. Both Dorsey and 15th overall selection Branden Albert could be starting right away, and second-round pick Brandon Flowers and fourth-round selection Will Franklin might as well.

Long term, a widely praised draft class in which multiple picks will start right away is obviously fantastic news. Short term, having to rely on various rookies at key spots on the field is seldom a good thing even if the 2007 Giants did exactly that en route to a Super Bowl victory.

Rest assured, though, the 2008 Chiefs are not the 2007 Giants. There's no Strahan or Pierce on this squad.

Kansas City's roster reeks of youth and inexperience; you can practically smell the diapers. Though veterans Tony Gonzalez and Donnie Edwards will still demand locker room poise and professionalism, and Larry Johnson is a former Pro Bowl running back -- the offensive and defensive lines are simply too untested to give Kansas City much of a shot at anything this season. And then there's that defensive backfield. Oh boy. Coach Herm Edwards, a former defensive back, himself, may not sleep with the cornerback foursome of Flowers-Surtain-Breckenridge-Patterson trying to shut down AFC passing games.

The Chiefs have a long history of winning football. Last year was undoubtedly a low point. Though I may be wrong, I think Chiefs fans are in for an ever lower one in '08.

Schrager Projection: 4-12.


The Clean Slate: Atlanta Falcons
Few have ever suffered a worse 18 months than what the Falcons fans endured recently. After what was a well-regarded draft and the signing of a top-notch, "offensive mastermind" coach from the college ranks, several pundits tabbed the Falcons as the AFC South favorites in the spring of '07.

Then came the downward spiral.

Michael Vick and the dog fighting, the unpopular waiving of Grady Jackson, the DeAngelo Hall meltdown in the Carolina game, the Leftwich signing, the quarterback musical chairs, and finally -- the cherry on the manure sundae -- the infamous late night Bobby Petrino introductory press conference in Fayetteville, Ark.

Sure enough, the 2008 Falcons are green from top to bottom. There's a first-year general manager, a first-year head coach, and, in Matt Ryan, an eventual first-year starting quarterback. Most of the key veterans that anchored the 2006 and 2007 Falcon squads are no longer with the team. Warrick Dunn? Gone. Former Pro-Bowler Alge Crumpler? Gone. Former Pro Bowler Rod Coleman? Gone. Wayne Gandy? Him, too. Leftwich? Yep. Marcus Wilkins, Lewis Sanders, and Jamin Elliot were all given their walking papers, too. Hall, the flamboyant corner, was shown the door as well, sent to Oakland in an off-season deal.

What's left? Well, longtime Falcon Keith Brooking, up-and-coming receiver Roddy White, free-agent pickup Michael Turner, and a whole bunch of young faces. Ryan should be starting by mid-season, and fellow first-year guys Sam Baker and Curtis Lofton may very well be starting even sooner.

Gone is the stigma of a team in ruins. That funeral parlor odor that the Falcons had toward the end of last season is a thing of the past. Insert the scent of a baby's nursery, instead.

Yes, there's hope, excitement, and pride in Flowery Branch this summer. No one's doubting that.

Atlanta may just need to survive its very worst season yet to enjoy the good times on the horizon.

Schrager Projection: 2-14.


Here We Go Again: Miami Dolphins
Breathe easy, Dolphins fans. History's kinda/sorta on your side. The last three teams to finish with 1-15 records all bounced back by winning at least five games the following year. In the case of the '97 Jets, New York rebounded from a 1-15 campaign to win nine games and finish in second place in the AFC East. The '02 Carolina Panthers won seven games after a disastrous season and were playing in the Super Bowl by '03. San Diego followed its forgettable 2000 season (The Moses Moreno Era, folks) with five wins in '01 and the Chargers were a .500 ball club in '02.

That said, the 2008 Miami Dolphins are in no way a shoo-in for five wins; they'll be fortunate to pull off such a feat. Aside from a bare-bones roster that's got more questions than an SAT, there's a new front office, new coaching staff and new offensive and defensive systems to install and master.

For the first time in 11 years, neither Jason Taylor nor Zach Thomas will be a part of the Dolphins squad. The AP noted this week that more than 30 new players are in Dolphins camp this summer. How faceless is this squad? Billboards around South Florida boast the slogan "A New Beginning" and feature the faces of the team's coach, GM and VP of football operations. Yep, three middle-aged white men. Your 2008 Dolphins, folks!

The team's most recognizable player -- running back Ronnie Brown -- is coming off a season-ending knee injury. Who knows what he'll be behind a relatively unproven offensive line and a mixed bag of quarterbacks? Other notable players -- Jake Long and Ted Ginn Jr. -- are likely still too young to be elite players this season.

It should be another long year for Dolphins fans. Once they get to know all the new faces, they'll have to deal with the losses. Again.

Of course, there is a bright side. Greg Camarillo's still on the roster.

Schrager Projection: 2-14.

[SBK]

Well, we play both those teams so.......

Print em!!

[Buck]

Originally Posted by Mr Flopnuts

Updated: July 31, 2008, 3:18 PM EST 200 comments add this RSS blog email print Say what you want about David Tyree's heroic fourth-quarter Super Bowl helmet grab, Antonio Cromartie's 108-yard interception return for a touchdown, or any of Adrian Peterson's spell-binding touchdown runs, but no single play from the 2007 season was more exciting than Cleo Lemon's 64-yard, game-winning touchdown pass to Greg Camarillo.

First of all it was a Returned Field Goal, Secondly, it was 109 Yards

[rambleonthruthefog]

this is the crap i wake up to on msn. i'm so tired of this crap. it is so fancy to say KC is gonna blow beyond belief. F em all. i can't take it. i wish the season would start so we can get to provin to everyone that were a good football team getting better.

[KCrockaholic]

Originally Posted by BuckinKaeding

First of all it was a Returned Field Goal, Secondly, it was 109 Yards

haha, well im sure you would know...but your correct, it was 109. his foot landed just inches from being out of the endzone, that whole game was awesome...considering the record AP set that night as well.

[CosmicPal]

Originally Posted by rambleonthruthefog

this is the crap i wake up to on msn. i'm so tired of this crap. it is so fancy to say KC is gonna blow beyond belief. F em all. i can't take it. i wish the season would start so we can get to provin to everyone that were a good football team getting better.

They all say that because it's so easy to peg a team as losers 'cause the fact of the matter is- experience does win you more games in the NFL.

Every year, there's some team that is rebuilding and they all conclude that team will be struggling. It's the easiest thing to say and quite often, they are right.

However, what I do like hearing is how a lot of them agree that we had a stellar draft and that this team could very well be something special in a couple of years.

[MVChiefFan]

I am as confident that we will NOT go 0-16 as I am that we will make the playoffs. Neither will happen.

[beavis]

I think another sucky season would be the best thing for this team. We need another solid draft next year to get where we want to go.

[rambleonthruthefog]

Originally Posted by beavis

I think another sucky season would be the best thing for this team. We need another solid draft next year to get where we want to go.

oh bite me. we need/want wins this season. continue building through draft. you still get to draft next season. even if you win games this season.

[teedubya]

Originally Posted by rambleonthruthefog

this is the crap i wake up to on msn. i'm so tired of this crap. it is so fancy to say KC is gonna blow beyond belief. F em all. i can't take it. i wish the season would start so we can get to provin to everyone that were a good football team getting better.

HEY EVERYONE... we have a fancy pants NOOB!

[HC_Chief]

4-12 is better than what I predict.

[rambleonthruthefog]

Originally Posted by Ari Chi3fs

HEY EVERYONE... we have a fancy pants NOOB!

its only been bout 2 mnths, but i try to call out these f*gg*t azz posts bout my beloved chiefs as much as possible.

we don't need a crappy losing season. period.

[BigVE]

Originally Posted by rambleonthruthefog

its only been bout 2 mnths, but i try to call out these f*gg*t azz posts bout my beloved chiefs as much as possible.

we don't need a crappy losing season. period.

So do you honestly think that the Chiefs fans on this board who live and die by the Chiefs (so to speak) and have been here through thick and thin are LESS loyal or LESSER fans because they dont wear the homer-glasses that YOU do? Wishing your team is better isn't worth much. Hoping your team is better than it really is isn't worth much either. We will have a top 10 draft pick next year, suck on that. That doesn't mean THIS team wont be improving during the process but that's what it is, a process, and a future high draft position is a part of the process this team still needs in order to be legit. Period. I will cuss 'em and cheer 'em all the way.

[Sure-Oz]

we'll start 4-1 and proceed to lose the rest

[rambleonthruthefog]

Originally Posted by BigVE

So do you honestly think that the Chiefs fans on this board who live and die by the Chiefs (so to speak) and have been here through thick and thin are LESS loyal or LESSER fans because they dont wear the homer-glasses that YOU do? Wishing your team is better isn't worth much. Hoping your team is better than it really is isn't worth much either. We will have a top 10 draft pick next year, suck on that. That doesn't mean THIS team wont be improving during the process but that's what it is, a process, and a future high draft position is a part of the process this team still needs in order to be legit. Period. I will cuss 'em and cheer 'em all the way.

who said anything bout any of that. all i said is posts saying, we suck, i hope we lose so we get a top 5 or 10 pick. this team needs to lose this year, there is no way we win more than 4 games, etc. etc. are for f*gg*ts/losers/chumps, etc. etc. if you are one of these people, so be it. I am not. i will call em' like i see em' though.