Modern Era Success - How does your team stack up?

[rajncajn]

Earlier this week I got into a mini debate on the merits of the amount of media attention some teams get, bot h in terms of news coverage and nationally televised games and while most of what I presented was just meant to be some hard ribbing to one particular fan base who shall not be named, it did peak my interest with a question or idea I've had in my mind for quite some time.

 

I know that a lot of teams such as Pittsburgh, Green Bay and Dallas have a very long and 'storied' history. Several of the older teams have had multiple championships and what would be considered dynasties where they would go on 3-5 year runs of winning seasons and/or championships. However, in the modern era of football the dynasties are pretty much a thing of the past. A team may go on a one or two year run, but it's much more difficult to sustain winning seasons for more than a few years. So I got to wondering, in the modern era of football, how should a team or fan base measure success? Of course the first measure of success would be a championship and looking back over the past several years it's very easy to see what teams have won. But given there is only one champion every year & 32 teams, there are other levels of success such as playoff appearances and winning percentage. It's what gives us other 31 teams hope for our own championships & something to root for. If you're team is in the mix the majority of the time then your team should be considered 'successful' regardless of whether you have the championship or not.

 

So, what I've done here is compiled some numbers of each teams winning percentages at different intervals and ranked them beginning at 20 years then 15, 10 & 5. I did it this way for a few reasons. One being that there were a few teams not around back that far, another being that some people may have a different idea of what should be considered the 'modern era.' But I also wanted to look at more recent trends, what teams are on the rise & what teams have dropped. if you're one of those people who just consider playoff appearances as the measure of success, I also ranked the teams in amount of playoff appearances over the past 12 years (Houston only being 11 years old) at the end. Here are the results:

 

Note the Texans are not included in the 20 or 15 year span due to years in the league. Also note that Cleveland(17yrs), Baltimore(17yrs), Carolina(18yrs) & Jacksonville(18yrs) were included in the 20 year history but were averaged accordingly with the number of games they played. For the purposes of this research, ties were not included in the winning percentage. Current season results were included in this research.

 

20 year span

 

New England Patriots 0.652866242Green Bay Packers 0.640127389Pittsburgh Steelers 0.633757962Indianapolis Colts 0.579617834Denver Broncos 0.576433121Baltimore Ravens 0.556390977Philadelphia Eagles 0.550955414Dallas Cowboys 0.544585987Minnesota Vikings 0.538216561New York Giants 0.538216561San Francisco 49ers 0.538216561Tennessee Titans 0.535031847Miami Dolphins 0.50955414Kansas City Chiefs 0.506369427San Diego Chargers 0.506369427Atlanta Falcons 0.503184713Jacksonville Jaguars 0.492907801Seattle Seahawks 0.49044586Chicago Bears 0.487261146New Orleans Saints 0.484076433Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0.484076433New York Jets 0.477707006Buffalo Bills 0.464968153Carolina Panthers 0.45035461Oakland Raiders 0.429936306Washington Redskins 0.417197452St. Louis Rams 0.404458599Arizona Cardinals 0.394904459Cincinnati Bengals 0.385350318Detroit Lions 0.375796178Cleveland Browns 0.34962406

 

15 year span

 

New England Patriots 0.696581197Indianapolis Colts 0.636752137Green Bay Packers 0.623931624Pittsburgh Steelers 0.623931624Baltimore Ravens 0.58974359Denver Broncos 0.564102564Philadelphia Eagles 0.564102564Tennessee Titans 0.55982906New York Giants 0.547008547Atlanta Falcons 0.538461538Minnesota Vikings 0.52991453New York Jets 0.525641026New Orleans Saints 0.517094017Dallas Cowboys 0.508547009San Diego Chargers 0.508547009Seattle Seahawks 0.508547009Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0.504273504Chicago Bears 0.5Jacksonville Jaguars 0.491452991Miami Dolphins 0.491452991San Francisco 49ers 0.47008547Kansas City Chiefs 0.444444444Buffalo Bills 0.431623932Carolina Panthers 0.431623932Washington Redskins 0.431623932St. Louis Rams 0.427350427Oakland Raiders 0.414529915Arizona Cardinals 0.401709402Cincinnati Bengals 0.397435897Cleveland Browns 0.321100917Detroit Lions 0.320512821

 

10 year span

 

New England Patriots 0.785714286Indianapolis Colts 0.694805195Pittsburgh Steelers 0.655844156Baltimore Ravens 0.616883117Green Bay Packers 0.61038961San Diego Chargers 0.597402597Philadelphia Eagles 0.584415584Atlanta Falcons 0.564935065New Orleans Saints 0.558441558Dallas Cowboys 0.558441558Chicago Bears 0.551948052Denver Broncos 0.545454545New York Giants 0.545454545Seattle Seahawks 0.519480519Tennessee Titans 0.512987013Minnesota Vikings 0.5New York Jets 0.487012987Carolina Panthers 0.480519481Cincinnati Bengals 0.480519481Jacksonville Jaguars 0.461038961Houston Texans 0.454545455Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0.441558442Kansas City Chiefs 0.435064935San Francisco 49ers 0.428571429Miami Dolphins 0.422077922Arizona Cardinals 0.415584416Washington Redskins 0.402597403Buffalo Bills 0.396103896St. Louis Rams 0.337662338Cleveland Browns 0.318181818Detroit Lions 0.311688312Oakland Raiders 0.311688312

 

5 year span

 

New England Patriots 0.743243243Atlanta Falcons 0.702702703Baltimore Ravens 0.702702703Pittsburgh Steelers 0.689189189New Orleans Saints 0.675675676Green Bay Packers 0.662162162New York Giants 0.608108108Indianapolis Colts 0.594594595Chicago Bears 0.567567568Houston Texans 0.567567568San Diego Chargers 0.567567568New York Jets 0.554054054Philadelphia Eagles 0.554054054San Francisco 49ers 0.554054054Tennessee Titans 0.540540541Dallas Cowboys 0.527027027Minnesota Vikings 0.5Arizona Cardinals 0.486486486Denver Broncos 0.472972973Miami Dolphins 0.472972973Cincinnati Bengals 0.432432432Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0.432432432Carolina Panthers 0.405405405Oakland Raiders 0.391891892Seattle Seahawks 0.391891892Buffalo Bills 0.364864865Washington Redskins 0.364864865Jacksonville Jaguars 0.351351351Kansas City Chiefs 0.324324324Detroit Lions 0.297297297Cleveland Browns 0.27027027St. Louis Rams 0.202702703

 

 

Playoff appearances (12 yrs)

 

10 Indianapolis Colts9 Philadelphia Eagles9 New England Patriots8 Pittsburgh Steelers8 Baltimore Ravens8 Green Bay Packers7 New York Giants6 Seattle Seahawks6 New York Jets5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers5 Denver Broncos5 San Diego Chargers5 Tennessee Titans5 New Orleans Saints4 Minnesota Vikings4 St. Louis Rams4 Chicago Bears4 Dallas Cowboys4 Atlanta Falcons3 Miami Dolphins3 San Francisco 49ers3 Oakland Raiders3 Carolina Panthers3 Kansas City Chiefs3 Cincinnati Bengals2 Jacksonville Jaguars2 Washington Redskins2 Arizona Cardinals1 Cleveland Browns1 Detroit Lions1 Houston Texans

 

Edited November 20, 2012 by rajncajn

[rajncajn]

I do want to add that this is in no way meant to further poke fun at any given team, merely just to satisfy a nagging curiosity of my own. If it was anything personal I would not have posted it as it pains me to see Atlanta ranked above the Saints on anything.

 

I also would have liked to have been able to post this in spreadsheet form because it would also show the win/loss numbers, number of games played, etc, but the formatting just makes it too difficult to read so I only included the winning percentage which is what I ranked the teams by. If anyone would like a copy of the entire spreadsheet just let me know & I'll figure out a way to get it to you via upload or email.

[Caveman_Nick]

I have felt very lucky as a fan. The Pats have done an amazing job sustaining success in my adult life.

[Bier Meister]

please go back 30 years TIA

[skylive5]

I measure the success of my team by the amount of championships they have won. That would be 5 and ties them with SFran and dallas for sixth place all time.

 

Also by the number of Hall of Famers ... which is 17 and places them 5th all time.

[rajncajn]

please go back 30 years TIA

 

That didn't take long.

 

I measure the success of my team by the amount of championships they have won. That would be 5 and ties them with SFran and dallas for sixth place all time.

 

Also by the number of Hall of Famers ... which is 17 and places them 5th all time.

 

So, would you say based on that criteria that your team has been successful in the modern era?

 

Also, the hall of fame should not be considered in team success imho as it is completely subjective and somewhat biased. Not to mention that many modern era players have or will have played for multiple teams. That's not to day that you shouldn't be proud of their contributions to your team, but they are more individual accomplishments than team.

[loaf]

ugh

[skylive5]

Rajn'.... if you are saying that the "modern era" started just 20 years ago then no...my team has not been all that successful.

 

Personally I would say that the "modern era of NFL football" started in 1957 with the drafting of a brand new type of Full Back into the NFL.

[rajncajn]

Rajn'.... if you are saying that the "modern era" started just 20 years ago then no...my team has not been all that successful.

 

Personally I would say that the "modern era of NFL football" started in 1957 with the drafting of a brand new type of Full Back into the NFL.

 

 

Wouldn't you say that it's a bit unfair trying to make a comparison of overall success between a team that has had over 80 years to amass the accomplishments you listed and one that has had just 11, or even 18? Maybe 20 years isn't enough to encompass the modern era, maybe it should go back to the 80s & possibly even the 70s, but I really wanted to include teams like Carolina, Jacksonville, Baltimore & Houston to get a view of the teams that are part of the league as it is today. Going back more than 20 years really throws that out the window.

[skylive5]

Wouldn't you say that it's a bit unfair trying to make a comparison of overall success between a team that has had over 80 years to amass the accomplishments you listed and one that has had just 11, or even 18? Maybe 20 years isn't enough to encompass the modern era, maybe it should go back to the 80s & possibly even the 70s, but I really wanted to include teams like Carolina, Jacksonville, Baltimore & Houston to get a view of the teams that are part of the league as it is today. Going back more than 20 years really throws that out the window.

 

 

No, not really. LOL

 

I understand what you are saying....and cutting the go back time to just 20 years so you can include all the new teams that have little history is a nice thing for you to do. I guess. But that is like saying that this thread should only be for those here that are 30 years old or under.

 

I can measure the success, and ineptitude, of my team back to the very early 50's. Should I just disregard what they have done before the last 20 years to measure how I see them. Can't do it. Sorry.

[rajncajn]

You're completely missing the point. I'm not saying or asking anybody to forget what their teams have done in the past. Nor am I trying to take away from any of that. This is strictly an exercise in gauging how successful teams have been in today's NFL. The NFL with 32 teams, 16 games (which has been in affect for only 24 years) and free agency (which has only been around since the early 90's). Today's NFL where parity is now the norm and dynasties are no longer typical. And as I said initially, of course championships are always going to be the ultimate measure of success, but it's not the only measure. You can't look at teams like Philadelphia who have been to the playoffs more times than any team other than Indy & New England and say that they have not been successful. You can't look at Baltimore who've been at the top of the league in winning percentage since their inception , who have no players that you can consider strictly Ravens players (Rod Woodson, Shannon Sharpe, Deion Sanders) currently in the Hall of Fame and only have one championship to their name as unsuccessful.

[Big John]

The NFL with 32 teams, 16 games (which has been in affect for only 24 years)

 

34

[whomper]

im still mad Dallas is on TV a lot

 

 

Fixed

[HowboutthemCowboys]

Fixed

 

 

[rajncajn]

34

 

Fixed

 

 

 

What was I called Dallas before? Oh yeah... mediocre.

[Caveman_Nick]

Modern era (to me) means the era of free agency and salary cap...tough to compare what teams did prior to what they have accomplished during that time.

[HowboutthemCowboys]

What was I called Dallas before? Oh yeah... mediocre.

 

 

meh..anyone can see that, sometimes they're not even that good.

 

Just curious, how does the 400 days in a row that the cheaters were the lead story on sportscenter figure into the amount of media attention we all get crammed down our throats?

[rajncajn]

 

 

meh..anyone can see that, sometimes they're not even that good.

 

Just curious, how does the 400 days in a row that the cheaters were the lead story on sportscenter figure into the amount of media attention we all get crammed down our throats?

 

From the other thread

 

Personally, I think the 'attention' should be equal across the board or at least more focused on the relevant teams rather than how poorly the Cowboys are doing despite having such great players or what Dallas needs to do to get back to winning or what Dallas needs to do to get back to the playoffs or why Tony Romo is struggling or who is dating these days or who Dallas' next coach should be, but we all know that isn't the case.

 

Just think, what you had to put up with for one season, the rest of us have to put up with every year.

Edited November 21, 2012 by rajncajn

[WashingtonD]

The only true measures of nfl franchise greatness are: Super Bowl wins in strike shortened seasons and number of bad Keanu Reeves movies inspired by said wins.