NFL Dogs: An Early Look

While many publications are starting to look at the best teams in the NFL, there is so much money to be made betting AGAINST teams with weaknesses. Here’s a look at some NFL teams that seem to be moving in the wrong direction.

Raiders: Art who? Art Shell is back to coach the Raiders, a curious move since he hasn’t been involved as a coach since the Raiders fired him after the 1994 season. That was a long time ago and the NFL has changed. Just ask Joe Gibbs, who struggled in his first year back admitting that the game had changed a lot. For example, when Gibbs was winning Super Bowls in the 1980s and ’90s, one of his mantras was ultimate quarterback protection. He tried it in 2004, but with so few receiving targets, no one could open up against today’s Cover-2 defense. The Redskins ranked 29th in passing that season.

And Shell didn’t set the NFL world on fire when he first coached. His offensive coordinator will be Tom Walsh, who was fired by the Raiders along with Shell after the 1994 season. Walsh was an assistant with the Raiders from 1982 to 1994, coaching quarterbacks and wide receivers before becoming offensive coordinator under Shell. . Speaking of a possible knockback attack! Will they go out in Single Wing or in T-Formation?

Just as curious have been the personnel moves, getting rid of the mistaken prone quarterback Kerry Collins for the wrong prone Aaron Brooks. Age has been an issue with a weak defense in recent years, signing the likes of Ted Washington, DE Bobby Hamilton and Warren Sapp. So who are they adding this offseason? 11-year-old CB Tyrone Poole and CB Duane Starks, the latter of whom was a flop with New England’s poor secondary last season. Since losing the 2003 Super Bowl to Tampa Bay, the Raiders are 14-33-1 against the spread!

Vikings: Brad Childress is Minnesota’s new head coach, a former Eagles offensive coordinator. I hope he knows what he’s getting himself into. Trading star WR Randy Moss and shipping star QB Daunte Culpepper in each of the past two offseasons while getting little in return makes it very difficult for the new coach. Capable quarterbacks are rare in this league, and dumping Culpepper without at least seeing if he’s healthy for a potential turnaround season makes little sense. After all, he’s only 29 years old and in 2004 Culpepper had an incredible season with 39 touchdowns and 11 picks.

They also let WR Nate Burleson walk. He had a poor season, but in 2004 Burleson had 1,006 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. Minnesota’s offense ranked 25th in the NFL in 2005, a poor 27th running the ball, and will again be led by 38-year-old Brad Johnson. The Vikings’ defense wasn’t much better than their offense, ranking 21st overall. Many eyebrows were raised on draft day when the Vikings SWITCHED into the second round to take Tarvaris Jackson from Alabama State. Whose? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Many people wonder what the Vikings are doing.

Bills: The late push to almost make the playoffs in 2004 was a mirage, folks. The Bills are 31-49 since 2001, tied with Cleveland for the third-worst record in the NFL in that span. And they seemed lost for 2006. New coach Dick Jauron steps in after a less-than-remarkable streak with the Bears a few years ago. There is no QB, with JP Losman and Kelly Holcomb fighting for the job.

And the organization decided to let go of a lot of quality talent this offseason, losing WR Eric Moulds, S Lawyer Milloy and NT Sam Adams (salary cap dropouts). One of the biggest surprises of the 2006 draft was when the Bills selected Ohio State safety Donte Whitner with the eighth pick. Buffalo once again surprised by drafting NC State defensive tackle John McCargo, who was not expected to rise so high. The secondary also adds rookie Ohio State cornerback Ashton Youboty and South Carolina safety Ko Simpson. This secondary will be very young, and the defense couldn’t stop the run last season (29) and it doesn’t look any better.