No Groundhog Day: Five teams that won’t repeat poor starts
Article By cbrown.tsn on 18th May, 2010
A sluggish start to an NFL season can seriously damage any team's playoff hopes. As spring practices continue this week, here is a look at five teams that look destined to start faster than they did in 2009:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2009: Started 0-7, finished 3-13.
Josh Freeman should be more comfortable in his second season with the Bucs. Why they will start faster: Four of their first six are at home, including games against the Browns, Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger and Rams. With a year under his belt, quarterback Josh Freeman will be better. And the front office gave Freeman more help at wide receiver, drafting Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams, trading for Reggie Brown and signing Mark Bradley. At least one starter should emerge from that bunch, and maybe the competition will inspire Michael Clayton to play up to his capability.
On defense, the Buccaneers expect immediate impact from rookie defense tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price and free-agent safety Sean Jones should help the secondary.
Second-year coach Raheem Morris is better prepared to handle the job than last season, when he fired his offensive coordinator in preseason and then his defensive coordinator during the season. The defense improved after Morris took over as the coordinator, and he will maintain that role in '10.
Are the Bucs a playoff team? No. But starting 0-7 is out of the question. If that happens, Morris soon would be out of a job.
Kansas City Chiefs 2009: Started 0-5, finished 4-12
Why they will start faster: Check their difficult early schedule, and you might want to argue. Four of their first five games are against teams that finished at least .500 last season. However, the Chiefs have upgraded their talent and the coaching staff also improved with the additions of Charlie Weis (offensive coordinator) and Romeo Crennel (defensive coordinator). During a recent telephone interview, quarterback Matt...
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2009: Started 0-7, finished 3-13.
Josh Freeman should be more comfortable in his second season with the Bucs. Why they will start faster: Four of their first six are at home, including games against the Browns, Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger and Rams. With a year under his belt, quarterback Josh Freeman will be better. And the front office gave Freeman more help at wide receiver, drafting Arrelious Benn and Mike Williams, trading for Reggie Brown and signing Mark Bradley. At least one starter should emerge from that bunch, and maybe the competition will inspire Michael Clayton to play up to his capability.
On defense, the Buccaneers expect immediate impact from rookie defense tackles Gerald McCoy and Brian Price and free-agent safety Sean Jones should help the secondary.
Second-year coach Raheem Morris is better prepared to handle the job than last season, when he fired his offensive coordinator in preseason and then his defensive coordinator during the season. The defense improved after Morris took over as the coordinator, and he will maintain that role in '10.
Are the Bucs a playoff team? No. But starting 0-7 is out of the question. If that happens, Morris soon would be out of a job.
Kansas City Chiefs 2009: Started 0-5, finished 4-12
Why they will start faster: Check their difficult early schedule, and you might want to argue. Four of their first five games are against teams that finished at least .500 last season. However, the Chiefs have upgraded their talent and the coaching staff also improved with the additions of Charlie Weis (offensive coordinator) and Romeo Crennel (defensive coordinator). During a recent telephone interview, quarterback Matt...
Read Complete Article at Latest Sporting News Articles for NFL
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