By Julian Passman
It’s always fascinating to me to watch a once dominant team become a non-factor. I can understand a 10-6 record fall to 9-7 or 8-8, but the first to worst drop has constantly been a shocker. This year, two teams have suffered from this trend, those being the Atlanta Falcons, and the Houston Texans. Houston finished 12-4 last year while Atlanta finished 13-3, both won their respective divisions. The 2013 season, however, has been the complete opposite. Houston is a league worst 2-11 and Atlanta holds a 3-9 record of their own. Atlanta was picked by many as a Super Bowl contender, but has suffered a ton of injuries throughout the year, which can partially explain their porous record. Houston, on the other hand, probably outperformed their talent level last year, and I expected them to come back to earth a bit this season, however, I did not at all predict them to be the worst team in the league. The Texans have a lot of questions to answer especially at the Quarterback position, where they have tried three different options this season. Worst of all, Houston has cemented itself as the worst team in the league after losing to the Jaguars twice in the past three weeks. The Jaguars. Turns out, you can, in fact, be worse than Jacksonville, although it seems quite hard to do. Gary Kubiak was just recently fired after Thursday’s loss to the Jags, which just further reiterates the cut-throat nature of the NFL. One season you can be divisional champions, the next, you can be without a job. I believe the Falcons will bounce back next season and once again compete for the NFC title. I am more skeptical about Houston just because of the uncertainty at QB and the health of Running Back, Arian Foster, but I would at least expect them to finish somewhere around the .500 mark next year.
Schaub looks to the grass for answers
Beneath The Helmet 