The Washington Redskins returned to prominence in the 2012 NFL season, with the electrifying arrival of rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III. For those of us long-suffering ‘Skins fans, RG3 was the oasis in the desert, lifting a moribund franchise to a 10-6 record and the NFC East title. Now, after an offseason of recovery from a torn ACL, we ask if the ‘Skins can do it all over again and this time add a playoff run.
The AFC West is on hard times. This division has not sent a team to the Super Bowl since 2002, the longest drought of any quartet in the NFL. The failure of the Denver Broncos to cash in a #1 seed in last year’s playoffs was attributed, at least in part, to the soft schedule they had played in compiling their 13-3 record—a none-too-subtle indictment of the division. And judging on early numbers posted in the betting markets, expectations aren’t high in 2013.
The Kansas City Chiefs endured the worst 2012 season imaginable. The on-field performance was a disaster, as a team that TheSportsNotebook’s NFL analysis felt had dark-horse playoff potential ended up 2-14 and picking first in this past April’s NFL draft. And the season ended in tragedy, when linebacker Jovan Belcher shot his girlfriend and then himself. The Chiefs now look to move forward in 2013.
The San Diego Chargers have bottomed out. The six-year period of decline where they fired Marty Schottenheimer for his failure to get to the Super Bowl have predictably ended with a franchise that can no longer even make the playoffs, and a regime change. Mike McCoy is the new head coach entrusted with clearing out the manure left by former GM A.J. Smith and his puppet coach Norv Turner, and McCoy is going to need time.
It’s very difficult to find anything good to say about the Oakland Raiders. They haven’t made the playoffs since their run to the AFC title back in 2002. They haven’t even had a winning season in that timeframe. The 2012 season was their first under head coach Dennis Allen, and the 4-12 campaign did nothing to convince anyone that better days are ahead.
The Denver Broncos rolled to a 13-3 record and the top seed in the AFC in 2012, but the lasting memory of their season is Baltimore Ravens’ receiver Jacoby Jones getting behind free safety Rahim Moore at the end of regulation in their second-round playoff game for the touchdown that forced overtime, and ultimately the Broncos’ elimination.
The issue for this season’s NFL analysis is whether that game was just a fluke, or if it exposed some deeper flaws in the Denver team.
…t it’s easy to under why Las Vegas has structured the betting odds on winning the NFC North in such a way that you can basically take the field against the Packers. Green Bay’s price for winning the division is 5-7. Meanwhile, Chicago is 18-5, Detroit clocks in at 4-1 and Minnesota is a 10-1 shot. If you bet equal amounts on all three teams and one of them takes down the leader, you turn a profit.
Adrian Peterson delivered a season for the ages in 2012, rushing for nearly 2,100 yards, lifting the Minnesota Vikings into the playoffs and winning the MVP award. No one doubts Peterson’s greatness, but repeating a season like that is going to be next to impossible. Therefore, the focus of TheSportsNotebook’s NFL analysis will be whether A.P.’s mates can help the team make it back to the postseason.
The Detroit Lions have become quite familiar with being a disaster area. The fate of their football team has become synonymous with that of their local municipal government—bankrupt. Even so, last year’s 4-12 performance ranks pretty high on the list of disappointments. Detroit entered the 2012 season with great expectations and finished it as a great big flop.
Marc Trestman is the new head coach and after years of a defensive orientation under Smith, the new-look Bears may be more about offense. The retirement of middle linebacker Brian Urlacher stands to further the trend.
After a run of two seasons where they won the Super Bowl (2010) and then finished 15-1 in the regular season (2011), the Green Bay Packers slipped a bit in the 2012 season. They still won 11 games, the NFC North and a first-round playoff game. The lingering memory though, is a postseason beatdown in San Francisco and the question for our NFL analysis is whether the Packers are still Super Bowl-caliber in 2013.
The AFC South isn’t going to be at the top of anyone’s list as the best division in the NFL, and it might have a hard time even making the list based on who’s most interesting. The general perception is that two of the division’s four teams—Tennessee and Jacksonville—can be ruled out of the world of competitive football before the season even starts.