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What is the pecking order for NFL franchises?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Flying Headbutt, Dec 28, 2010.

  1. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    Who are the top franchises in terms of stature around the NFL anymore? Reason I ask is because I heard a guy on the radio the other night talking about what a great job the 49ers coaching job is and how great the organization is. All I could think was that he must have recorded that statement back when Bill Walsh retired. These days that once-proud franchise seems mediocre to me. Of course, back when Walsh retired people would talk about how bad New England was and that's clearly not the case now.

    So in terms of success on the field, off the field, and organizational structure, how do they rank? To make it easier we can even divy it up by categories like NFL Royalty, Good Organizations, Middle of the Pack, NFL Dregs, and Career Killers.
     
  2. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    This is the way I would break it down.

    Last 20 years how many winning seasons?

    Last 20 years how many playoff appearances? If you've made the playoffs 10 or more times in the last 20 years I would say you're an elite team. That's not easy to do in a league with so much parity.

    The Patriots are elite right now. So are the Steelers. Even though they've never won a Super Bowl, I might put Philly up there as well. The Colts are there as well.

    The Packers almost always have at least a winning record. The Giants are usually good.


    The bottom? Lions, Bengals, maybe the Bills.
     
  3. Stitch

    Stitch Active Member

    Check out Bleacher Report. I'm sure there is a list.
     
  4. Mystery Meat II

    Mystery Meat II Well-Known Member

    I can come up with four teams in the NFL Royalty tier -- Packers, Steelers, Colts and Patriots. Then it all goes pear-shaped from there.

    Perhaps the Cowboys, Redskins and 49ers in the Once and Future King tier, because they have the resources and tradtion to make them more attractive than their recent history would have us believe.

    Texans are pretty much the epitome of Middle of the Pack tier.

    I don't think there's a Career Killer franchise out there, because at any given point, one of those teams makes a big run. Arizona is probably the best fit given history, but they were one tip-toe catch from winning the Super Bowl two years ago. Kansas City, an afterthought for years, is in the playoffs this season. 3-13 teams become division winners and vice versa. At best, you can create an Unstable tier for franchises that have ownership or stadium issues: Buffalo, Jacksonville, Oakland, Minnesota.
     
  5. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    Why would the Lions be the worst? I understand near the bottom because of the losing ways, but they have a great stadium and great facilities. The ownership spends a lot of money and despite constantly sucking - they have a solid fan base.

    If you are a player or coach, it is not a terrible place to be. Shit, Matt Millen was there for how long before they got rid of him?
     
  6. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    In my opinion....

    NFL Royalty:

    Patriots, Giants, Steelers, Packers


    Good organizations:

    Philly, Minnesota, Atlanta, Ravens, Colts, Titans (though that could change if Fisher leaves), Chargers (in spite of AJ Smith's petulance at times)

    Middle of the Pack:

    Dallas (here's to you, Jerruh!), Chicago, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Seattle, San Francisco, Arizona (barely), NY Jets, Miami, Jacksonville, Houston, Denver, Kansas City


    Dregs: (bad organizations that could win if they weren't run so poorly)

    Washington, Carolina, St. Louis (on the way up though), Cincinnati, Buffalo


    Career Killers:

    Cleveland, Detroit (though I like what Schwartz is doing there), Oakland
     
  7. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    The Niners haven't made the playoffs in eight years. That's not easy to do.
     
  8. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Bengals have to be among the career killers.
     
  9. Madhavok

    Madhavok Well-Known Member

    It's been over 10 for Buffalo.
     
  10. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    The Bengals were in the playoffs last year, though. That's why I have them in the dregs. Heck they won the AFC North in 2006. Every few years they pull off something successful.
     
  11. golfnut8924

    golfnut8924 Guest

    It's something that -- like a lot of things in sports -- is going to change with the climate. I bet the above poster wouldn't have put the Bills at the bottom in the early 90's when they went to the Super Bowl 4 straight times or whatever it was. But now? Yeah they're somewhere near the bottom. 20 years from now? They might be back on the top.

    20 years might be too long of a measuring stick. 10 years maybe.

    And I think it's different for some teams. If the Packers had 3 straight seasons of 5 wins or less, my guess is that Lambeau would still be packed to the brim and Packers tickets would still be the hottest ticket in town. They might not take as much of a financial hit as another team who goes into a tailspin because of the Packers culture in that town. Therefore, a coaching vacancy in Green Bay might still have some sex appeal to it whereas a coaching vacancy in say Arizona after multiple losing seasons might not hold as much water.
     
  12. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    Oh this is all fluid and subjective. And should combine success on the field, off of it (financial and interest) and organizational stability at the top. But it's definitely all subjective, and yes Buffalo in the early 90s would have been considered very good.
     
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