Some players, coaches and teams are still living the NFL dream, entering the final weekend of the regular season with postseason hopes aflame.
Others would prefer lighting a match to the whole thing.
For those underachievers whose past four months were more bitter than sweet, the end cannot come soon enough.
Before we get consumed with the play-offs, we have singled out a handful of particularly notable failures from the 2016 season, starting with the biggest coaching disappointment, Rex Ryan, who did not even make it to the final weekend. His dismissal came short of two full seasons with the long-time doormat Buffalo Bills who, ironically, are poised to finish with back-to-back .500 records for the first time in 16 years.
Despite the appearance that the team were getting better, Ryan could not get out of his own way. His star-studded defence suffered strange lapses, blamed on too-complex scheming. His game-management skills were questioned. And his blustery, boastful personality did not play as well with a mediocre team as it did when he was winning with the New York Jets. Maybe it is time for a television job.
There were lots of player performances that fell short of expectations, but Joe Flacco earns special mention. The third-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL is in his ninth year with the Baltimore Ravens, presumably his prime. The fact that he threw for more than 4,000 yards for the first time in his career does not hide the fact that he is the 23rd ranked QB in the league. He manages a paltry 6.50 yards per passing attempt, which is 27th among starting quarterbacks. And, oh by the way, the Ravens will be missing the play-offs for the third time in four years since their Super Bowl appearance.
In Baltimore, fans grumble they have a run-of-the-mill quarterback drawing an elite salary.
Then there are the fantasy football flame-outs. It may not be Todd Gurley’s fault that his team, the Los Angeles Rams, have a weak offensive line and a rookie quarterback that was not ready for the NFL. But after two strong statistical seasons and becoming a top 10 fantasy draft pick, the Rams running back spent the team’s first season in LA getting stoned at the line of scrimmage. The face of the franchise barely rates among the top 20 at his position.
In real life, he may have had more impact. After one particularly sour December Sunday, he said the Rams play-calling and performance was worthy of “a middle school offence.”
The next day, his coach, Jeff Fisher, was dismissed.
On the team front, the deeply talented Arizona Cardinals stood out for all the wrong reasons. Despite playing in a division with two of the worst teams in the NFL, the Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, the Cardinals will finish with a losing record. One year after they played in the NFC championship game, and came into this season as solid Super Bowl contenders, their skills vanished. Someone alert the authorities.
Finally, there is the depressing story of the San Diego Chargers, the most beloved sporting institution in their small corner of California. After a decades-long battle, the community does not love them enough to approve hundreds of millions of dollars for a new stadium, and the owners do not love the city enough to pay to stay.
Likely they will move to LA next year, serving as second banana to the Rams, shunned by their resentful former fans and ignored by the Rams-centric region.
At least there will be no one for them to disappoint.
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