What is the pecking order for NFL franchises?

[Flying Headbutt]

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.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

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.

 

[Stitch]

Check out Bleacher Report. I'm sure there is a list.

 

[Mystery Meat II]

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.

 

[mustangj17]

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.

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. ****, Matt Millen was there for how long before they got rid of him?

 

[Flying Headbutt]

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

 

[Mizzougrad96]

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

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Bengals have to be among the career killers.

 

[Madhavok]

It's been over 10 for Buffalo.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

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.

 

[golfnut8924]

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.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

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.

 

[mustangj17]

It's been over 10 for Buffalo.

You realize Buffalo has been to like 4 Super Bowls since the Lions last won a playoff, game right?

BTW, I agree Detroit is a career-killing stop, but its not like you wont get paid more than you are worth.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

If I had to bet on the longterm success of two franchises it would be Pittsburgh and Green Bay.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

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.

Royalty:
Steelers, Patrtiots, Colts, Packers,

Good Org.
Vikings, Ravens (borderline royalty), Titans, Eagles

Middle of the Pack
Chargers, Rams, Seahawks, Bears, Saints, Broncos, Jaguars, Giants, Chiefs, Cowboys, Falcons,

Dregs
Dolphins, Bills, Jets, Texans, Browns, Buccaneers, Panthers, 49ers

Career Killers: featuring the Do NOT Want Bear
Bengals, Raiders, Redskins, Cardinals, Detroit

 

[Mizzougrad96]

It's been over 10 for Buffalo.

You realize Buffalo has been to like 4 Super Bowls since the Lions last won a playoff, game right?

BTW, I agree Detroit is a career-killing stop, but its not like you wont get paid more than you are worth.

Yeah, I don't think Detroit has been to the playoffs since 1993 (I might be forgetting one). The thing with the Lions is they really don't have an excuse for being bad for so long. They have the money. They spend the money.

The Bengals are the cheapest in the NFL by far. I once sat next to Marvin Lewis in coach on the way back from the NFL owner's meetings. I said, "They wouldn't even spring for First Class?" and he just laughed.

The Niners have been a bad franchise since they fired Mariucci. I'm not saying Mooch was Bill Walsh, but he was better than Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary put together.

 

[outofplace]

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

Not bad. I think if you are going to put the Giants among the royalty, the Colts have to be there, too. I guess it depends how far back you want to go when making the judgement, but if the Bills are at the bottom, that means you aren't including the '90s.

I thought the line between dregs and career killers was interesting, basically suggesting those franchises at the very bottom can't win. Put the right people in charge and that will change. Hell, keep ownership from ****ing it up for a couple of years and it can change. Just see Arizona's recent run of respectability.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

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.

Yeah, with an epic-**** schedule. The division came back to reassert the true order of things, this year. As long as they have the tightass owner with the God complex, they've got no shot.

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

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

Not bad. I think if you are going to put the Giants among the royalty, the Colts have to be there, too. I guess it depends how far back you want to go when making the judgement, but if the Bills are at the bottom, that means you aren't including the '90s.

I thought the line between dregs and career killers was interesting, basically suggesting those franchises at the very bottom can't win. Put the right people in charge and that will change. Hell, keep ownership from ****ing it up for a couple of years and it can change. Just see Arizona's recent run of respectability.

Not sure anything about 'Zona's so-called run is respectable. The team has had two winning seasons in the last 10 years and three winning seasons in the last 20.
Back to back winning seasons for a franchise that has sucked for so long really can't be a labeled a run, much less a respectable one.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

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

Not bad. I think if you are going to put the Giants among the royalty, the Colts have to be there, too. I guess it depends how far back you want to go when making the judgement, but if the Bills are at the bottom, that means you aren't including the '90s.

I thought the line between dregs and career killers was interesting, basically suggesting those franchises at the very bottom can't win. Put the right people in charge and that will change. Hell, keep ownership from ****ing it up for a couple of years and it can change. Just see Arizona's recent run of respectability.

Not sure anything about 'Zona's so-called run is respectable. The team has had two winning seasons in the last 10 years and three winning seasons in the last 20.
Back to back winning seasons for a franchise that has sucked for so long really can't be a labeled a run, much less a respectable one.

Which they then proceeded to sabotage with their tightass ways. I'm sure Mr. Billy thinks that one Super Bowl every 20-30 years is enough to keep the fan base placated.

I hear the calliope playing . . .