Is it Time for These NFL Teams to Panic?

The NFL season is a fourth of the way done and some teams end result may already be decided. Should fans of the following teams have cause for concern? Here’s what I think about these teams’ rocky starts.

New England Patriots: Prior to the season, the Patriots were looked at by many with the real possibility of going 16-0. However, after week 4, they are sitting at a measly 2-2 record. The main problem for this team seems to be the defense, as opposing teams have been able to drive down the field without much difficulty. They have let every quarterback they’ve faced this year throw for over 300 yards on them, something they only let happen three times all of last season. Others blame the bad start on the loss of Julian Edelman, the Pats’ most reliable receiver last year on the super bowl winning team. So does this mean it’s time to Panic in Foxborough? This one is easy… no.  A 40 year old Tom Brady has shown little sign of slowing down. Additionally, Edelman has been replaced with the likes of Brandon Cooks, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and most importantly, a healthy Rob Gronkowski. Gronk, who is recognized as the best tight end in the NFL when healthy, is starting relatively slow, but is showing signs of his pure talents in the first four weeks. The defense should turn it around, at least a little bit, but either way that shouldn’t matter. Tom Brady and the Patriots will win the only way they know how, by putting points on the board. Look for the Patriots to lose at most 2 or 3 more games for the rest of the year, which should be enough to give them to win the division for the 9th straight year. The Pats will have a tough road matchup versus a talented Bucs team in week 5, but look for Brady and Gronk to have a big game.

New York Giants: Coming into the NFL season, the Giants were ranked high by many and were expected to contend for the top spot of the NFC East. NFL.com had the Giants Ranked 7th on their week 1 power rankings, but nobody expected them to drop to 0-4. They have even been outplayed by their stadium mate, the Jets, who lack talent in just about every position. I’m just gonna go out and say it, New York, it is time to panic. Since the NFL merger, only one team has made the playoffs after starting 0-4. The Giants offense looks horrible and the defense is inconsistent. The huge acquisition of Brandon Marshall appears to have done nothing as he has seen more than 50 years only one time so far. The NFC East has not looked as strong as predicted, but everybody looks better than the Giants. Eli Manning has been very sloppy and their star receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., has not been able to consistently show up. The disfunction on this team through the first couple of weeks is alarming and they cannot seem to find a solution. In the past two weeks, this team has shown flashes and the potential to turn it around, though unfortunately it may be too little too late for the New York Giants. They will look for their first win against a struggling 0-4 Los Angeles Chargers in week 5.

Los Angeles Chargers: Yet another disappointing season for the Chargers appears to be in the books. Whatever bad luck the team had in San Diego, it appears they brought it with them to LA. Coming into the season the Chargers were looked at positively by many analysts. The team had several big players back from injuries like their star pass catcher, Keenan Allen. Their past couple of first round draft picks appear to breaking out as real stars. Melvin Gordon and Joey Bosa both looked extremely impressive last year and both look to build to their progression.  In 2016, the Chargers lost 7 games by a touchdown or less, the most in the league. With a healthy roster many of those close games could have flopped the other way leaving the Chargers with a winning record. Sadly, the LA Chargers are off to a horrid 0-4 start and have lost 3 of those games by a field goal or less. Unfortunately, the Chargers are arguably in the most competitive division in football with the Broncos, Raiders, and Chiefs, making their playoff hopes slim. To make matters worse they play in a tiny soccer stadium and it seems more fans for the opposing team show up than Charger fans. I would say there is hope for the Chargers next year, but it seems to be the same story every year for this sad squad. They have the talent to be a playoff team, but question marks and injuries continue to surround this team. At this point it is more of a realization for the Chargers than a panic, as this team’s playoffs hopes have just about sailed. The Chargers play the the Giants next week to determine which team has the tremendous shame of starting the season 0-5.

Written by Casey Spilka