2017 NFL midseason grades Chiefs and Eagles get an A Browns fail the first half

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With Week 9 upon us, that means we're officially more than halfway through the 2017 season, which makes right now the perfect time to hand out midseason report cards.In a season where parity has taken over, the midseason grades definitely reflect that. Out of 32 teams, we only handed out a total of four A's and two F's.The got an F because we don't have a lower grade to give them. Not only did they go winle s on the field during the first half of the season, but they also somehow managed to in a potential franchise quarterback. Browns being Browns. Report: Bengals agreed to trade McCarron, but Browns failed to notify NFL in time John Daly (@johndalytv) Between that trade and the last 10 drafts, it's almost like they don't even really want a franchise quarterback. Alright, let's get to the grades.AFC East Patriots (6-2) B+ It's amazing that 40-year-old back is still functional after the way he carried New England through the first half of the season. Through eight weeks, Brady leads the NFL in pa sing yards and is second in touchdown pa ses, which is good news for the because they needed everything he had to offer over the first two months of the season. Bill Belichick has clearly finally realized that Brady will likely play until he's 70, which is why the team dumped . On the defensive side of the ball, although the Patriots got off to an ugly start, they've improved steadily over the past few weeks. In their past four games -- all wins -- the Patriots have only given up 12.8 points per game, which is a huge step up for a unit that was surrendering 32 points per game through the first four weeks of the season. Bills (5-2) B+ The crazy thing that most people don't realize about the is that they're one drive and one play away -- a drop against the -- from being undefeated. The only reason the Bills don't get an 'A' here is because the offense has been extremely inconsistent. One week, they can't even hit the 200-yard mark (176 in Week 2 against the Panthers) and in another week, they're shredding the for 434 yards. is the key to making their offense go and as long he stays healthy, the Bills should have a good chance of ending North America's longest playoff drought at 17 years. Dolphins (4-3) C The season has been the ultimate Rorschach test in the NFL this year. If you're a gla s half-empty kind of person, then you'd probably give them a 'D' here because their offense is horrible and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better anytime soon, especially since their starting quarterback will be playing with a cracked Boston Bruins Kids Jersey rib going forward. On the other hand, if you're a gla s half full kind of guy, a 'C' makes perfect sense because the Dolphins have four wins despite the fact that they have the NFL's worst offense. The truth though is that we ignored the gla ses for this grade and what we did here is give the Dolphins defense a 'B+' and their offense a 'D-.' That averages out to a 'C,' right? Jets (3-5) C+After an offseason where the Jets got rid of almost every veteran on the roster, the general consensus around the NFL was that they were tanking to grab one of the top picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. Instead, the Jets' front office looked like a bunch of geniuses after New York shot off to a 3-2 start. Although the Jets have lost three straight, they were all winnable games, and this team has surprisingly been fun to watch this year. The Jets have been propped up by an opportunistic defense that's forced 13 turnovers this season, which is the sixth-highest number in the NFL and the highest number for any team in the AFC with a losing record.AFC North Steelers (6-2) B+If you like in-season drama, then the are the team for you. In a span of eight weeks, we've had an tantrum, complaining that he's not getting the ball enough and a trade demand from . Despite all the distractions, the Steelers have shot off to a 6-2 start that included wins over two of the NFL's best teams -- the 6-2 and the 6-2 . Oddly enough, the biggest question mark through the first half of the season has Tim Schaller Jersey been their quarterback. After an offseason where he mulled retirement, has been playing below average all year. If Big Ben doesn't start ticking during the second half of the season, the Steelers likely won't be making any sort of long playoff run this year. Ravens (4-4) C+The have been an offensive disaster this season thanks in large part to the play of quarterback . However, let's not completely pin the team's offensive struggles on Flacco. The Ravens are lucky they've had enough players to even field an offense through the first eight weeks of the season with all the injuries they've suffered. The team has nine offensive players on injured reserve, which they've had trouble recovering from. Of course, the Ravens have shot to 4-4 thanks to their bread and butter: Defense. With two shutouts this year, Baltimore's defense has almost matched the NFL shutout total from all 32 teams for the entire 2016 season (Three). Bengals (3-4) CThe are one of the few teams in the NFL who are exactly who we thought they were: They have a punishing defense and then they also have talented skill players who never get the ball because never has enough time to throw. After letting starting offensive linemen and leave in free agency, most people figured that Dalton would take a beating this season and that's exactly what has happened. The Bengals quarterback is on pace to take over 50 sacks in 2017 and could challenge the franchise record of 53 sacks taken that was set in 1993 and tied in 1998 (Note: The NFL has only been keeping track of sacks since 1982). The bad news for Dalton is that the Bengals face four the NFL's top-7 sacking teams over their final nine games ( , Steelers, Vikings, ). Browns (0-8) F This team has basically been in total disarray since Hue Jackson's arrival in 2016 and things haven't gotten any better this season. The only thing Jackson has been consistent about this season is being inconsistent. Over the past month, he's benched quarterback twice, and the amazing part is that Kizer was benched for two different quarterbacks -- and -- who arguably went out and played worse. Of course, you can't completely blame Jackson for all of this. The Browns' coaching staff and front office haven't been on the same page all season. As a matter of fact, it doesn't even seem like they're reading the same book. Things are so bad in Cleveland that Jackson's daughter was apparently calling out the front office after the Browns didn't go after Jimmy Garoppolo at the trade deadline. The two quarterbacks Hue has wanted most since taking over are Goff and Garoppolo. It's fair to put RG3 on him. But it's never his call. Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) Only in Cleveland does the coaches daughter publicly crush the front office. TheJeremyinAkron (@JeremyinAkron) It seems like the Browns are either going to have to make a change with their coach or their front office soon. AFC South Titans (4-3) CThe first half of the ' season has been all over the place. It's almost hard to believe that the same team that beat the Jaguars (37-16) and (33-27) went out and got blown out of the water in a 57-14 lo s to the . One thing that Titans really struggled at during the first half of the season was scoring touchdowns in the red zone. The Titans ranked second-to-last in the NFL with 41.2 percent touchdown rate in the red zone through the first eight weeks. To put that in perspective, that's worse than the Browns, and , and only better than the . That's a huge step down from last year when the Titans led the NFL in red zone efficiency (72 percent TD scoring rate). Jaguars (4-3) B+If can somehow become a competent NFL quarterback over the second half of the season, the Jaguars could become a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The Jags defense has been one of the best in the NFL this year and has been a total nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. The Jags already have two 10-sacks games in 2017 and are currently on pace -- with 33 sacks through seven games -- to break a single-season sack record that has stood since 1984 when the Bears racked up 72. Texans Jakub Zboril Jersey (3-4) B-After watching for six and a half games, it's completely baffling that someone made the decision to give the Texans' quarterback job to coming out of training camp. As good as Watson is now, imagine how good he'd be if he had taken most of the first-team reps during training camp. The emergence of Watson has been huge for the Texans because he's had to carry a team that suddenly has a decimated defense. Through the first eight weeks of the season, the Texans have lost several key players for the year, including J.J. Watt, and . The good news for the Texans is that Watson seems ready to win every game in a shootout if that's what needs to be done. Colts (2-5) D- At this point, the Colts might just want to fire everyone and start over because this season has been a disaster for the Colts. The Colts first mistake was going into the season with as their starting quarterback. Even though they knew was going to mi s training camp, they refused to go out and sign anyone. By the time they traded for , it was too late, because they were basically asking him to learn the entire offense on the fly. As if that's not bad enough, Colts have also been torturing their fans by being the worst fourth quarter team in football. Through the first eight weeks, the Colts have been outscored 92-25 in the fourth quarter. Also, their only two wins this season came over the 0-8 and 0-8 Browns, so I'm not even sure they technically count as wins.AFC West Chiefs (6-2) A-Apparently, drafting was the motivation needed to finally turn into an MVP-caliber quarterback, which is exactly what he's done through the first eight weeks of the season. In eight games this year, Smith has thrown 16 touchdown pa ses and zero interceptions. Those numbers are a big reason why he's currently leading the NFL in QB rating. Although Smith is almost always efficient, the big change this year is that he's been willing to throw the ball downfield. No QB owns a higher pa ser rating on deep pa ses than Alex Smith this season Pro Football Focus (@PFF) Thanks in large part to his willingne s to throw the deep ball, Smith is on pace to throw for 4,362 yards this year, which would obliterate his previous career-high of 3,502. Of course, the Chiefs haven't just been the Alex Smith show. The emergence of rookie and the continued dominance of tight end has helped the Chiefs overcome the uncharacteristically below average play of a defense that's giving up more yards per game than all but two teams in the NFL. Raiders (3-5) C-The had high hopes going into the 2017 season and through the first eight weeks, Raiders fans have watched in horror as those hopes have crashed into a brick wall. The Raiders problems this season have been all over the place. The addition of hasn't really helped the offense, has struggled nearly all season and the defense still hasn't picked off a pa s this year, making them the first team in NFL history not to record an interception through the first eight games of the season. The only good news for the Raiders is that they're currently only 1.5 games out of the final wild-card spot in an AFC playoff field that's completely jumbled Sean Kuraly Kids Jersey this year. Broncos (3-4) D+The have had two seasons to figure out their quarterback situation and so far, they've completely failed. With one of the top defenses in the NFL, all the Broncos need is average play from their starting quarterback, and they haven't even been getting that. In the Broncos past three games, all lo ses, has thrown six interceptions and just two touchdown pa ses. Things are so bad in Denver that players on the defensive side of the ball are now calling out the offense. Some honest and very strong quotes from Broncos CB Chris Harris: Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) It appears that the Broncos are , who probably isn't going to save the season. Los Angeles Chargers (3-5) C+After a crazy offseason that included making the move from San Diego to Los Angeles, the are basically a good kicker away from a being 5-3 right now. Four of their five lo ses have come by one score and they've been able to stay in games thanks in large part to a defense that's been terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. The Chargers have racked up 26 sacks this season, which is tied for third in the NFL. After a bye in Week 9, the Chargers could quickly work themselves back into the playoff picture because their next two games are against the two teams that currently hold the two wild card spots in the AFC: The Jaguars and Bills.NFC East Eagles (7-1) AThe first half of the season couldn't have gone any better for the , who blew away every NFC team they played through the first eight weeks. When it comes to playoff tiebreakers, racking up NFC wins is always a good thing, and the Eagles did that, going undefeated in their division (3-0) and their conference (6-0). The Eagles' rise to the top of the NFL has been led by , who's thrown 19 touchdown pa ses this year, which is tied for the league-lead. The Eagles haven't just been riding the Wentz-Wagon to victory, though. Philly also has also had a dominating run defense that ranks No. 1 overall in the NFL, surrendering just 70.4 yards per game. If the Eagles weren't the team to beat heading into the second half of the season, they definitely are now after adding to an already high-powered offense. Cowboys (4-3) BThe first half of the season can only be described as a roller coaster and that's mainly because they've been hit with wild ups and downs both on and off the field. Off the field, seems to have his suspension reinstated every week, only to have his legal team succe sfully appeal it. Although Elliott didn't mi s any games during the first half of the season, the case was likely something that was weighing on him. On the field, the Cowboys have struggled against strong offensive teams -- surrendering 35 points in consecutive weeks to the and -- which doesn Chris Wagner Women Jersey 't bode well for the second half of the season because the Cowboys next three games are against the Chiefs, and Eagles. And they'll be going into those games without Elliott, who's now suspended. Redskins (3-4) C-The first half of the season really couldn't have gone any worse for the , especially when you consider that their 3-4 record includes an 0-3 mark against NFC East teams. If the division somehow comes down to a tiebreaker, you can pretty much bet the Redskins aren't going to win it. The problem for the Redskins is that things are likely going to get worse before they get better. The team is extremely banged up -- Jay Gruden said there will be at least 13 players on the injury report heading into Week 9 -- and if the Redskins falter down the stretch, that will raise a lot of questions about their future, with the . main one being, should they pay ? Giants (1-6) FBefore the 2017 season started, was talking about the po sibly going undefeated this year, and now we're here. John Corrado (@johnno92) In terms of pure expectations, the Giants have been the worst team in the NFL this year. No one was expecting the Browns or 49ers to compete for a playoff spot, so it's not a total shock to see those teams floundering at 0-8. However, Giants players spent the offseason talking up their team whenever they could only to watch the Giants come out and fall flat on their face. The Giants have been a soap opera all season and things should only get more interesting over the final nine weeks of the year. The Giants have had to deal with some serious injuries this year -- like losing and for the season -- but that's not really an excuse, because they were bad before that happened. NFC North Vikings (6-2) ADespite the fact that their starting quarterback has only played in two games this season, and despite the fact that their electric rookie running back was lost for the year in Week 4, the Vikings still managed to shoot out to a 6-2 start on the season. The Vikings are basically the definition of what "next man up" is supposed to mean in the NFL. After and went down, the Vikings plugged in their backups and moved on with the season. A big reason why those two offensive injuries haven't killed Minnesota is because their defense has been so dominant this year. Through eight weeks, the Vikings are giving up just 282.1 yards per game, which ranks third in the NFL. Packers (4-3) B-The first half of the Packers season was actually going pretty well until went down in Minnesota. Before Rodgers' injury, the Packers had shot off to a 4-1 start and looked like a team that would definitely be contending for the NFC title. However, without Rodgers over the past two weeks, the Packers have looked lost on offense. it's almost impo sible to grade the Packers because they're two completely different teams when they have Rodgers vs. when they don't. Rodgers doesn't just open things up offensively, but he also keeps the offense on the field for long periods at a time, which in turn gives the defense a break. That's not happening with Hundley, and not coincidentally, the Packers defense gave up their highest yardage total of the season in Hundley's first start. Lions (3-4) CThe first half of the season ended on an ugly note for the Lions, who lost three straight games following a 3-1 start. The Lions have had basically had the same problems for the past few years and those i sues are rearing their head again in 2017: They can't protect and they have no run game, which would be nice to have because it would take some pre sure off their quarterback. Stafford has been sacked 25 times in this season, which is tied for the second-highest total in the NFL. Stafford's received no help from a Lions ground game that's averaging only 82.1 yards per game this season, which is the fifth-worst number in the league this season. Bears (3-5) CAfter starting the year with a 1-4 record, the Bears season looked to be left for dead after just five weeks. However, the Bears have started to turn their season around thanks in large part to a pa sing attack that no one can stop. That's a joke, the Bears have no pa sing attack. However, they do have a defense that's turned into the 1985 Bears over the past month. During October, the Bears defense almost didn't need any offensive help because they nearly scored as many touchdowns as they allowed. Over the past four weeks, Chicago's defense scored three touchdowns and only allowed four. If rookie quarterback gets comfortable running the offense, the Bear could turn into a surprise second half team.NFC South Saints (5-2) B+ fans have probably been wondering for years what would happen if actually got some defensive help in New Orleans, and it looks we finally have our answer. After years of getting torched, the Saints defense has stepped up big time in 2017. Let's just put it Maxime Lagace Jersey this way, the Saints 20-12 win over the Bears in Week 8 marked the first time since 2009 that the Saints have won a game where Brees didn't throw a touchdown pa s. Basically, it's been nearly eight years since the Saints were able to win a game without much help from Brees. A big catalyst for New Orleans' defense has been rookie , who's slowly turning into a shutdown corner. If Lattimore plays the second half of the season like he played the first eight weeks, it wouldn't be surprising at all to see him named defensive rookie of the year. Falcons (4-3) CThe Falcons basically spent their entire offseason insisting that there would be no Super Bowl hangover this year, but if the first half the season was any indication, it's starting to look like they haven't quite recovered from blowing that 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl. It's hard to say what the lowpoint of the first half was for Atlanta, but it probably came in Week 6 when they blew a 17-0 second half lead to a Dolphins' team that has the NFL's worst offense. Of course, you can't completely blame the Super Bowl hangover for Atlanta's struggles, you can also pin some blame on new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. In his first year with the team, Sarkisian looks like a kid at Christmas who has so many toys to play with that he just gets confused. The Falcons are still one of the three most talented offenses in the NFL, Sarkisian just hasn't figured out how to utilize all the talent he's been given. Panthers (5-3) B-For a team that's only two seasons removed from a Super Bowl appearance, the Panthers have put together one of the quietest 5-3 records in the NFL this season. Of course, that could be because every time they do something good, they follow it up with something bad. After jumping out to a 4-1 start, the Panthers then lost two in a row, including an inexplicable 17-3 setback to the Bears in Week 7. Although is the face of the franchise, the Panthers defense has been carrying Carolina through the first half of the season. The Panthers have been beating up opposing quarterbacks -- their 27 sacks ranks second in the NFL -- and they're only surrendering 264 yards of offense per game, which also ranks second in the NFL. One thing that will be interesting going forward is how Newton reacts to losing , the Panthers' leading receiver who Par Lindholm Men Jersey was traded to the Bills on Tuesday. Buccaneers (2-5) DThe Buccaneers were a popular preseason choice to win the NFC South, however, those division titles basically went down the drain during an ugly first half of the season where nothing went Tampa's way. You can really pin the blame on anyone here. For instance, take their 19-14 lo s to the Patriots in Week 5. In that five-point lo s, kicker mi sed three field goals. There's also the 34-17 lo s to the Vikings in Week 2 that can be pinned on , who threw three interceptions. The defense has had its fair share of problems also. In Week 6, the Bucs surrendered 38 points to a Cardinals team that has averaged just 13.5 points in all their six other games this season. Basically, the Bucs can blame their poor start on everyone on their roster.NFC West Seahawks (5-2) B+If the first eight weeks of the season proved anything, it's that the Seahawks might be the scariest team in the NFC. Not only did the Seahawks prove they can win with defense, which we already knew, but the offense proved that Seattle can also win if they're forced into a shootout. The Seahawks' 41-38 win over Houston in Week 8 marked the first time in career that he's won a game where the opposing team scored 31 or more points (He had been 0-6). The Seahawks only really had two holes through the first half of the season -- their offensive line and their run game -- and they plugged one of those holes before the trade deadline by adding Texans' left tackle . If Wilson gets any help in the rushing department, the Seahawks will likely become the most dangerous team in the NFC over the second half of the season. Rams (5-2) AAlthough the Eagles have the best record in the NFL, we can probably all agree that the Rams have been the most surprising team in the league this year. New coach Sean McVay has basically resurrected a franchise that Jeff Fisher left for dead. After a 2016 season, where the Rams offense was almost painful to watch, McVay has revived the Greatest Show on Turf and turned the 2017 Rams into the NFL's second-highest scoring offense through the first eight weeks of the season. Thanks to McVay, the Rams are on track to earn their first playoff berth since 2004. Cardinals (3-4) C-The first half of the Cardinals season started on a low note after went down with an injury in Week 1. The injury was devastating for the Cardinals because their entire offense was pretty much designed to go through their star running back. With Johnson out, the Cardinals haven't really been that competitive. Although they eked out wins over the 49ers (18-15) and Colts (16-13), their four lo ses have come by an average of 20.8 points. With now also out due to injury, it's hard to see the Cards rebounding over the second half of the season. 49ers (0-8) D-Although the 49ers are winle s this year, we're not giving them the same failing grade that we gave the 0-8 Browns. The difference between these two teams is that that the 49ers have actually been competitive this year and they're doing everything they can do get that first win. On the competitive side of things, the 49ers actually set an NFL record this year when they lost five straight games by three or le s points. Coach Kyle Shanahan and new general manager John Lynch also get some serious credit for the Jimmy Garoppolo trade that went down on Monday. After Shanahan quickly realized that the team was going nowhere with rookie C.J. Beathard under center, Lynch went out and got Garoppolo, who could be the team's quarterback of the future.
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