The 10 most disappointing NFL teams in the 2008 season

The year 2008 in the NFL was a year of great surprises and disappointments. We saw history made, major crashes, and many coaches fired. These are the most disappointing teams of 2008.

10. Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns finished the season 10-6 last year. Hopes were high in Cleveland. The dogs were beginning to think that things were looking up. Well, now not so much. They finished the season 4-12, fired their head coach and hired another head coach, Eric Mangini, who was recently fired from the Jets.

9. Washington Redskins

Expectations for the Redskins weren’t very high this year. They just hired a new untested head coach in Jim Zorn bringing in a new offense with the verdict still pending on their quarterback Jason Campbell. Most people expected them to finish where they did, 8-8 at the bottom of the NFL’s toughest division, the NFC East.

So why is this team on this list? They started the season 6-2 with some tough road wins against Philadelphia and Dallas. They then lost 6 of their last eight games. Not good. Especially in Washington.

8. Green Bay Packers

The good news is that the Brett Favre saga is finally over. The bad news is that the Packers also won this season. Aaron Rogers seemed to have done the part for him with a 93.8 QB rating. But what about the intangibles?

Does Aaron Rogers have the fire and leadership skills that Brett possessed during his time in Green Bay to lead this team? Only time will tell in another 16 years.

7. Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks have been known to make the playoffs with 5 consecutive playoff appearances. They now finished the season 4-12 as one of the worst teams in football. What a disappointing way for Mike Holmgren to end his NFL coaching career. Now they have a new head coach that they have to fit in with to hopefully right the ship.

6. Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos started the season 3-1 and had one of the best offenses in the league. But with a defense ranked 29th in the league, they lost 3 in a row down the stretch, putting them out of position to make the playoffs and finish the season 8-8.

As a result of his poor season, the Broncos fired the face of the franchise, future Hall of Fame coach Mike Shanahan, after 14 seasons and 2 Super Bowls. He talks about a disappointing season.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville was considered one of the top 5 teams in the league going into the 2008 season. They were ranked #5 on ESPN’s week 1 power rankings. They finished with an 11-5 record last year and made it to the second round of the playoffs.

This year they decided to go full circle and finished with a 5-11 record. Now they have to deal with bad free agent signings from the past, salary-cap issues, and have decided to start building through the NFL draft.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers begin the season 9-3 and were already eyed for playoff position. That is until they lost the next four games in a row with the last 2 games at home. In their final game of the season, the Oakland Raiders, of all teams, who finished the season with a 5-11 record, defeated the Bucs 34-21.

With strained player relationships and only an average offense, the Buccaneers fired head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen. The good news is that now Jon Gruden is no longer on the bench.

3. New York Jets

There was new life in New York and I don’t mean the New York Giants. I’m talking about the other New York, the Jets. They made a big splash by signing future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. The Jets got off to a good start going 8-3.

Talk of a New York Super Bowl started with the Jets against the Giants. The New York Brets were alive and kicking. But the season wasn’t over and the Jets lost 4 of their next 5 games with Brett Favre throwing 9 interceptions during this period. Oh, and then they fired their head coach!

2. Detroit Lions

Detroit finished with a perfect season. Kind of like the Dolphins ’72 season in reverse, 0-16. They went into the history books as the only team to go 0-16. Sure, no one expected much from this team other than to go all year and not win 1 game. A? Men. It sure sucks being a Lions fan these days.

1.Dallas Cowboys

And then there was one. The only. The America team! The Dallas Cowboys were many people’s preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl. This team finished the 2007 season with a 13-3 record, one of the losses being a meaningless game in the last game of the season. His team is packed with superstars on both sides of the ball.

Yeah, but when you have a bunch of heads on your team like TO and Pacman Jones, you’re bound to run into some trouble. He always defended Terrell Owens and tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But if you destroy the locker room chemistry of every team you go to, then you might have some issues you need to address. The issues with Terrell Owens complaining about not getting the ball and the distractions from Pacman Jones were too much for this team.

Not to mention, Wade Phillips probably isn’t the right coach for a place like Dallas. It takes someone a little tougher, similar to Parcells or Cowher, in the big D.

Going from being a Super Bowl favorite to not even making the playoffs is just plain bad. And not only did they not make the playoffs, but Philadelphia destroyed them in the last game of the season (44-6) when they had everything to play for. That’s what I call a disappointing season!

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