The Ravens were supposed to be in the Super Bowl. At least, that's what SI's resident NFL whiz and MMQB head Peter King said before the season. Apparently we should hope that he doesn't like our chances in the future--we did much better when he thought the team was past its prime with Lewis and Reed.
At 2-6 the Ravens are off to the worse start in franchise history. It's a disastrous season, literally unprecedented. But, at least we're not alone. There are two teams who I would argue are even worse off, and will below. I'm not going to touch on the Ravens much. The rest of...well, this whole site, really...takes care of that.
The Lions were expected to be playoff contenders. That's gone well. The Lions currently own the worse record in the NFL, only saved by eking out a win against the otherwise laughable Bears. The Bears at least have a functioning quarterback. Jay Cutler may be a moody cuss with all the charisma of stale bread, but he's also capable of dropping a ball within a few inches of perfection quite literally anywhere on the field. He's arguably the best actual passer in the NFL, and I say that as a tremendous proponent of the arm talent of both Flacco and Phillip Rivers.
What do the Lions actually have going for them? They let their top two defensive linemen leave in free agency, at least one of their star linebackers is almost permanently hurt, and their stable of running backs, while improving, is nothing next to the Petersons, Gurleys and Fortes that the Lions compete with in the NFC. Their wide receiver situation is enviable--even hurt, Megatron is one of the best in the league, and Tate has proved he is capable of being a decent #1 when Calvin Johnson is hurt. But Stafford seems to have lost every ounce of progress he made over the last few years, and the front end of the defense--once so feared--is now headlined by Haloti Ngata, who is great but also past his prime.
Yet they're not the biggest disappointment. That's the Colts.
To be more specific, it's Andrew Luck and the turnstyles that suit up in front of him. The defense has actually outperformed expectations. That's not saying much, but it's still something. The free agents who were supposed to buoy the offense upward--Gore, Andre Johnson and the like--have not been the difference makers expected. Gore has been okay, and certainly an upgrade, but not the consistent marauder from his San Fran days. Johnson, a near-shoe-in Hall of Fame candidate, has clearly lost a step. He's still talented, but lacks the quickness or flat speed to demolish people as he used to. The Colts' first round pick has a ceiling which, by basically every report (ESPN, NFL.Com, the Colts, walterfootball....) is less of a ceiling and more of a part planes scrape when they don't gain altitude rapidly enough. Just...not yet.
But Luck...either his last half-decade of play was a massive fluke, and he's actually more on par with Tebow than Manning, or his continually terrible line has given him a case of the yips. Which should make Ryan Grigson feel so proud about his priorities in the last few drafts and free agencies. He may have managed to ruin one of the best prospects ever.