Early Season Struggles

Parity in the NFL has always led to surprising starts, good or bad, for teams around the league. Usually it is a combination of injury, free agency, and entitlement that will change a team's fortunes from one season to the next. The prime example of that team this year is the New Orleans Saints. The Rams were not supposed to be great, but their offense was supposed to be much more potent than it has been so far. The Bears and Chargers are also victims of the three contributing factors that have caused early season problems.

The Saints are maybe the most disappointing because of the continued hype surrounding Reggie Bush and the media loving the post-Katrina renaissance of the Saints. But the Saints problems are hardly surprising. This is a team that always had to outscore it's opponent to win. The early season struggles are a continuation of what happened to the Saints against the Bears in last year's NFC Championship. Their offense struggled and their defense cannot stop anyone.

One factor that is highly overlooked with the Saints is the fact that they have lost their top two receivers and proven stars over the past two years. Donte Stallworth played last season in Philadelphia and Joe Horn left to join Atlanta this year. The Saints found a gem in Marques Colston but the only other legitimate threat added to the offense was the oft-injured Eric Johnson. While Johnson figures to be a solid target while healthy, there are no guarantees he will finish the season. The addition of David Patten was a waste of resources given Patten's inability to produce since leaving the Patriots.

Coupled with their anemic defense, the Saints now have a less fearsome offense. The loss of Joe Horn will be even more apparent with the loss of Deuce McAllister for the remainder of the season. Without experience at receiver or running back, the Saints will continue to struggle all season. That being said, last season was no fluke. Drew Brees was a good investment and Reggie Bush has playmaking capability. But the Saints will need to use this year to mature and need to add some defensive help before they make another Super Bowl run.

Their opponents in the NFC Championship game are similarly struggling on offense but luckily have a top notch defense to lean on. But injuries are taking their toll on the Bears with Tommie Harris and Lance Briggs ailing. The Bears' offensive woes have been placed almost entirely on Rex Grossman, resulting in his benching. But in reality, they have missed the presence of Thomas Jones. Cedric Benson has shown flashes of being capable but has also showed why he was not able to claim sole possession of the starting job last year. Also, Bernard Berrian, Mushin Muhammad, and Desmond Clark have dropped passes and stopped running on routes which have contributed to Grossman's poor numbers. Last week against the Cowboys, one of Grossman's interceptions was caused by Muhammad stopping short during his route.

So the ineffective running game has put more pressure on Grossman to make plays. No question, Grossman has been utterly unable to produce when necessary. This in turn has put more pressure on the defense to create turnovers and make plays. They have done that to a limit, holding LaDainian Tomlinson to under 50 yards rushing and Larry Johnson to similarly low numbers. But the Cowboys exploited Adam Archuletta and Marion Barber III found gaping holes and broke tackles in the running game. Although it was probably necessary to let him go, the Bears seem to miss the presence of Tank Johnson on the line of scrimmage. Last season the offense did enough to make the defense look better. This season, opposing teams are getting more opportunities on offense and the defense can only hold for so long because inevitably teams will score. One last word about the Bears, Devin Hester has not really fit into the regular offense as hoped. Although he has one return for a touchdown already, he also fumbled three times in the loss to the Cowboys, eliminating him as a threat in the game.

The Chargers seem to be more bothered by the coaching change and a sense of deserving a place in the NFL elite. The Chargers have found out quickly that they will not be given free yards after playing three tough defenses in Chicago, New England, and Green Bay. Look for them to bounce back and win their division. The Rams are more of an injury story. Losing Orlando Pace and Steven Jackson spells trouble for a bad team in a mediocre division. The Giants, Eagles, and Bengals all could be better than they are but are consistently inconsistent teams so their records are not surprising. Both the Giants and Eagles responded to two early losses with impressive wins against undefeated opponents. The Bengals should have won last week but reverted to the Bungles by fumbling away their opportunity to beat the Seahawks. Remember when they messed up the extra point against Denver last season? That one play, in a preview of what would happen to Tony Romo, effectively ended their chance at a Wild Card spot.