Remember Lucy pulling away the football from Charlie Brown, as he is sent to a flying oblivion?

That speaks volumes to many NFL teams in 2012, most recently the New York Jets.

Monday night’s disaster proved to be a media maelstrom when Mark Sanchez had his own Charlie Brown moments in the 4^th quarter. After causing four costly interceptions earlier, Sanchez and the Jets still had a chance to win when they took over at the Tennessee 25 with 47 seconds left following an ugly 19-yard punt by Brett Kern. But Sanchez fumbled a low shotgun snap, leading to a surprise Titans recovery.

Since Monday night, the Jets’ fans sagging agony has grown as they now know the fact that their team is eliminated from AFC playoff contention. Not only that, but the lowly New York franchise owes Sanchez $17 million dollars next season—it’d be an embarrassment to keep him in the circus.

Don’t worry, Jets fans. The crabgrass is just as green on the other side of the NFL fences.

 

The Eagles have an internal chaos with the fanbase’s disdain rises each day as long as head coach Andy Reid remains. To make matters worse, his son Garrett’s unexpected training camp death now has news that shows he 19 viles of steroids with him in his Lehigh dorm room. Could it be that he provided players?

The Arizona Cardinals have a Christmas wish list: A quarterback! With the comical trio of Kevin Kolb, John Skelton, and rookie Ryan Lindley, the Cardinals have hit rock bottom—losing 9 straight games before Week 15. At one point, they tanked 58-0 against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the number one overall pick but with that, tragedy struck with linebacker Jovan Belcher’s muder-suicide a few weeks back.

The Chicago Bears went from a dominating 7-1 to lousy 8-6 and essentially pushed behind the Minnesota Vikings as a Wild Card contender. Linebacker Brian Urlacher is making sharp statements to Bears’ fans amid criticism.

 

 

The Pittsburgh Steelers have close animosity within their own team, as Ben Roethlisberger and Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley have apparently not seen eye to eye, which makes last Sunday’s crushing loss to the Dallas Cowboys as a source of letdown for many Steelers’ fans looking forward to a playoff run.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking for an identity. Barely anyone shows up to their home stadium of Everbank Field. The NFL has reached a deal with the Jaguars to play them at special London games for the next 3 seasons (once per year) in an effort to ‘globalize’ the Jaguars to gullible supporters of a team nobody in America gives thought to, even during the NFL season. The team has lost their first round quarterback Blaine Gabbert for the season (to injury) and have watched backup Chad Henne surprise fans and opponents, leading the Jaguars to a close 43-37 OT loss back in November.

The Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers, and Baltimore Ravens are sinking in the standings quicker than anyone can imagine. The Ravens’ Head Coach John Harbaugh fired Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron and have now faced the challenge of backing into the playoffs with tough games ahead versus the never-say-die New York Giants and the hot Cincinnati Bengals. The Chargers are likely to fire Head Coach Norv Turner and General Manager A.J. Smith. The Lions, well, are going to head into 2013 as the Lions but with a heap of disappointment hanging over their heads since not repeating a playoff run like last year.

Each team’s fan base will look forward to Christmas specials rather than meaningful  playoff games. Their best gifts might be jerseys or memorabilia that will make their stomach turn after a horrendous 2012. It will be a festive mess for many,  and much like Charlie Brown and his famous tree—maybe it’s about appreciating the good, bad, and ugly in spirit.