We’re through the first five weeks of the NFL season, and plenty has been learned about all 32, good and bad. These five teams are not going in the right direction and should blow it up before it’s too late.
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- New England Patriots
Robert Kraft can always look up at the rafters of Gillette Stadium fondly, but it’s time to wash the Bill Belichick era away. It just has to be time. Over the past two weeks, the New England Patriots have been outscored 72-3 in what personally has been the ugliest back-to-back performance from an NFL team I have ever seen. I don’t want to hear about the defensive injuries or a struggling Mac Jones; 72-3 is 72-3. In a loaded AFC East and AFC as a whole, the Patriots have no choice but to tear it down and rebuild if they want to return to the winning tradition they have become accustomed to. Kraft won’t fire Belichick, given all he’s done, but hopefully, after the season, he will force him into retirement.
- Minnesota Vikings
We were on the Minnesota Vikings taking a step back all offseason, but I don’t think even we considered that it could be this bad. Kirk Cousins is clearly amid his last season in Minnesota, the defense is horrible, and now, Justin Jefferson has been placed on injured reserve. Sitting at 1-4, there is not much hope for this team whatsoever, so considering a Cousins or even a Danielle Hunter trade is the smartest move they can make in the short term to ensure they are as high as possible in the NFL Draft to land a young quarterback to pair with Jefferson.
- Carolina Panthers
How would the Carolina Panthers go about blowing it up? They went all in this past spring by mortgaging away their future to land Bryce Young, and now the concern is he can’t be a franchise quarterback in this league. Plus, sitting as the lone 0-5 team left in the NFL, it appears their first-round pick, which the Chicago Bears now own, will be the key to Caleb Williams. With no picks and no hope, the Panthers should trade everyone who has value in an attempt to recoup some of their lost draft picks, namely Brian Burns, who would fetch a first-round pick and some on the market.
- New York Giants
How do the New York Giants even blow it up? They aren’t going to fire Brian Daboll since he is the reigning Coach of the Year, and they’re handcuffed to Daniel Jones now at a price tag of $40 million annually. Simply put, this team stinks. Their defense sucks, their offense sucks, and their quarterback sucks more. Saquon Barkley can’t stay on the field, and even after trading for Darren Waller to spark the passing game this offseason, they can’t find a way to get him the ball consistently. After a fluke postseason showing last season, it’s clear an ugly few years awaits for the Giants.
- Denver Broncos
As the midseason trade deadline approaches, it’s expected that the Denver Broncos will be the biggest sellers on the market, and it’s more than warranted. The past year and a half of Broncos’ football has been laughable. After acquiring Russell Wilson, it’s all gone south since. Now, sitting at 1-4 after Sean Payton has been unable to turn the tide around, it’s time for the Broncos’ brass to realize this isn’t working. It already started with the Randy Gregory trade, but the Broncos still have many talented players on both sides of the ball, giving Denver some picks to move forward with.
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