Yardbarker
x
NFL Kickoff Week: Which NFL teams should be relegated Premier League-style?
San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly could take the CFL by storm according to our panelists. Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

NFL Kickoff Week: Which NFL teams should be relegated Premier League-style?

Welcome to the Yardbarker NFL Roundtable, a place where our most fervent football contributors can kick back, relax and look at the fun (and sometimes not-so-fun) parts of the biggest league in America, the massive behemoth that is the National Football League. Don't forget to check out Part IPart IIPart III, Part IV, Part V,Part VI and Part VII

Say what you want about soccer, at least they have a good way of getting rid of clubs not carrying their weight and promoting smaller teams into the top-tier when it's deserved. Imagine if the NFL and the CFL combined forces and became one large league where this was possible? Aside of the fact we could forget about the whole Bills-Toronto rumored move – really, that was a thing once! – smaller teams like the Oakland Raiders and the Jacksonville Jaguars could build more intimate stadiums better suited to fit their communities needs. So we asked our panelists: 

Battle for last place: Browns, Bears, Niners. If you had to pick a team that would be relegated to the CFL after this season, which team do you think would be banished to the CFL and could only return upon winning the Grey Cup?*

Daniel Tran: As much as I want to see Robert Griffin III and Josh Gordon tear up the CFL, the San Francisco 49ers just don't have the talent to win games this season. Carlos Hyde is talented but often injured, and Blaine Gabbert isn't exactly Tom Brady when it comes to making the receivers around him better. Let's give this relegation idea some room to evolve. Tanking will be discouraged, and the regular season will actually mean something to EVERY team. Make it happen, Roger.

Mike Tunison: Cleveland appears intent on tanking their way through 2016, though in kind of an interesting way, if that's possible, so they seem like they'll end up the worst of the three.

Demetrius Bell: The Bears and 49ers at least have recent history of being decent-to-good. The Browns have just been spinning their wheels in the mud for almost the entirety of their existence since being revived for the '99 season. If there was any team that could benefit from being relegated and coming back with confidence from winning a trophy in a lower division, it'd be the Browns.

Vincent Frank: The Cleveland Browns. That's only because I'd personally love to see Robert Griffin III and Josh Gordon absolutely light up Canada. They seem to be the perfect fit for that game up north. Then again, Chip Kelly's scheme having to work with just three downs and an extended field. Man, that'd be fun.

Shiloh Carder: Browns. Look, every year somebody is going to be really bad. But the Browns seem to have gotten a lock on the basement since returning to the NFL in 1999. One playoff appearance and just two winning seasons in that time frame while 13 of those 17 seasons ended with at least 10 losses (including 7 of the last 8 seasons). Look, Cleveland lost the Browns for three years so being banished to the CFL isn't a horrible option for the Dawg Pound.

Phillip BarnettIt would have to be the 49ers for me. As much as I love what Colin Kaepernick has done to initiate conversation about race relations during this preseason, he can't eliminate a life long hatred for the 49ers and their fans' ubiquitous 'Quest for 6' campaigns. This 49ers team should be awful, and nothing feels more right than sending a floundering 49ers team to Canada – even if it’s one of the NFL's most prestigious franchises.

Joe Boland: The Niners, for obvious reasons. Chip Kelly's "genius" offense could be appreciated more North of Border, Colin Kaepernick's strong arm could benefit on the longer field, and the Niners could recruit Canadian League players to replace the multitude of retirements that are bound to happen following a year of Chip Kelly's insane practices.

Sam Greszes: I really do think it's going to be the Bears. There are at least flashes of excitement for the Browns and Niners. Kaepernick played great in his last preseason game, and though the Browns right now look like a team full of wasted potential, there's a chance that lightning strikes and they actually play pretty well. The Bears have Alshon Jeffery. That's it. They're going to be relegated to the CFL and they won't be back in the NFL until, like, 2030.

Jamie Neal: Any of these three could be destined to join the CFL. Quarterback issues, poor wide receiver groups, mediocre running back situations (except for SF), and question marks littering each team on the defensive side of the ball... I mean, can’t we just trade all three to the CFL and take the three best CFL teams and make them NFL franchises?

No? Ok.

Then I think the Browns end up playing in Canada. There are too many question marks across the entire roster for anyone to have faith in that squad. Hue Jackson needs some time to put his stamp on that team and it won’t happen in the first season with RGIII at the helm and Josh Gordon missing four games because he couldn't stay away from alcohol and that evil temptress Mary Jane. The defense isn’t strong enough to withstand the onslaught they will be facing in the AFC North, AFC East, and NFC East. They'll be lucky to go 3-13 and should be picking at the top of the draft… again.

David Matthews: Do we have to relegate them? Can we instead cast the San Francisco 49ers into the sea? Chip Kelly is my favorite type of person: a complete idiot who thinks he belongs in Mensa. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a certificate from a con artist saying he's a genius hanging somewhere in his office. Chip's literally an NFL coach and is rolling with Blaine Gabbert in Week 1. [Extremely Seinfeld voice] Good luck with all that. 

*Pipe down CFL fans, before all six of you email us at once. We're not disrespecting your league. We're making one giant league to dominate all of football. We'll even let you visit the Stanley Cup at our parties. Promise.

 

Can you name every Las Vegas Raiders head coach since they won Super Bowl XVIII?
SCORE:
0/16
TIME:
5:00
1979–1987
Tom Flores
1988–1989
Mike Shanahan
1989–1994
Art Shell
1995–1996
Mike White
1997
Joe Bugel
1998–2001
Jon Gruden
2002–2003
Bill Callahan
2004–2005
Norv Turner
2006
Art Shell
2007–2008
Lane Kiffin
2008–2010
Tom Cable
2011
Hue Jackson
2012–2014
Dennis Allen
2014
Tony Sparano
2015-2017
Jack Del Rio
2018-
Jon Gruden

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.